Tuesday Prayer

In these few silent moments,
I gather my scattered thoughts,
so full of cares, concerns, and sweetness.

My heart is is with those whom I know
are grieving--
grieving for a life,
grieving the loss of a job,
grieving the loss of opportunity,
grieving all of the hopelessness and insanity in our world.

My heart is with those who scurry,
and hurry, and harry along the journey...
Deep breaths from my soul and spirit to them....

My heart is all of a swaying dance song,
for the light and love of others,
who make people laugh and wiggle and sizzle.

My heart is now full of You.
Take me through this day
with intention
and love
and service
to Yours.

Amen.

Monday Prayer: A Song of Degrees

Up to those bright, and gladsome hills
Whence flows my weal, and mirth, 
I look, and sigh for him, who fills
(Unseen) both heaven and earth. 


The glorious God is my sole stay, 
He is my sun, and shade, 
The cold by night, the heat by day, 
Neither shall me invade. 


He keeps me from the spite of foes, 
Doth all their plots control, 
And is a shield (not reckoning those) 
Unto my very soul. 


Whether abroad, amidst the crowd, 
Or else within my door, 
He is my pillar and my cloud, 
Now, and forevermore. 




- Henry Vaughan,   an adaptation of Psalm 121














The Poet's Book of Psalms. Oxford University Press, 1995. p.190

prayer for Proper 12B/Ordinary 17B/Pentecost 9

Loving god,

We praise you.

We thank you.

We humble ourselves before you.

We take time now not only to pray but also to listen Lord,

We pray for your compassion on those who are sick and dying.

We pray you show your love to those who are lonely or feeling unloved.

We pray you show your grace to those who are stressed at work,

 those who are jobless and searching for work and Those who are retired.

We ask you show us your hope who find themselves in the midst of despair and hopelessness.

We ask that you show your peace to those who live in turmoil and unrest.

Oh Lord your whole world is hurting

And your people are hurting.

We pray for wisdom for our leaders.

We pray for families affected by the recent mass shootings.

We pray for the families of the victims of child abuse.

We pray for the families affected by alcohol or drugs.

Strengthen, guide them give them grace.

Lord, call us into Christian action to be your hands and feet to your people in this hurting world.

Empower and equip us to make real your love and grace to those in need.

cross posted revgalblogpals

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All Blessed be God for ever.

Book of Common Prayer

Thursday Prayer

Here is a beautiful haiku poem by our RevGal Diane that she posted on Facebook:

Lord, pry open my life
Inside are bones, darkness, and
jewels of your love.
~~Diane Roth

Tuesday Prayer

Laughter Came From Every Brick

Just these two words He spoke

changed my Life,

"Enjoy Me."

What a burden I thought I was to carry--

a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me, "I know a song, 

would you like to hear it?"

And laughter came from every brick in the street

and from every pore

in the sky.

After a night of prayer, He

changed my life when

He sang,

"Enjoy Me."

-St. Teresa of Avila

from

Love Poems from God: 12 Sacred Voices from the East and West

by

Daniel Ladinsky

Monday Prayer: Hymn to Christ

You who bridles untamed colts,
Who gives flight to birds,
Who steers ships along their course,
Tame our wild hearts,
Lift our souls to you,
Steer us toward the safe harbor of your love.

King of the saints,
Invincible Lord of the Father,
Prince of wisdom,
Source of joy,
Savior of our race,
Cultivator of all life,
Guardian of our desires,
Whose sure hand guides us to heaven.

Fisher of mean,
You cast out the sweet bait of your gospel,
You draw us out of the waters of sin,
Shepherd of men,
You call us with your sweet, gentle voice,
You invite us into your eternal sheepfold.

Fountain of mercy,
Light of truth,
Faith without limits,
Love without end,
Exemplar of virtue,
Proclaimer of justice,
Leader of men,
Your footprints show the way to heaven.

Mother of your people,
Your celestial breasts give pure spiritual milk.
You slake the thirst of all who have faith.
Bridegroom of your people,
Your celestial beauty inspires us to sing your praises,
You lift our voices with hymns of everlasting praise.

-Clement of Alexandria











cross-posted at Faith, Grace, and Hope

praise

"The angels praise God obediently. They use their voices and their lyres to praise God's creation. Those of us on earth must also worship God in two ways. First, we should praise, and second, we should do good works.
God is known by our praise, and God's miracles are seen in our acts of kindness because we're filled with God's love and are happy to be doing the Lord's work diligently. All of God's miracles are accomplished through our praise and through our kindnesses."

~Hildegard of Bingen, The Book of the Rewards of Life~

7th Anniversary Prayer

God our provider,
Today the group called RevGalBlogPals celebrates its 7th anniversary.  
We are grateful to you for the opportunity to know and support one another in ministry, whether ordained or lay.
We thank you for this group that allows us to share ourselves and learn how to live in community, in some new ways.

Give us grace, humility, and humor to do your will and your work always.

Amen.

A Tuesday Blessing...

The following is a blessing to give to your Self.   It is from a wonderful book, The Celtic Wheel of the Year:  Celtic and Chrisitan Seasonal Prayers, by Tess Ward.  I love how she weaves celtic spirituality with the practice of Christianity.  

May the blessing of God be upon my head
with warm  "well-done.  I delight in you."
As I continue on my quest,
may I not be haunted by my unlived life
but blessed by You, the goodness of other people
and Your world, that takes my breath away,
and shows me my place in the universe.

Monday Prayer: Possibility

God who knows and loves us...

Grace that is our nourishment and our inheritance...

Love that surrounds and gifts us...

Bring us today more fully into the possible...

Into the potential...

Into the people you have made us to be.

Prayer for Sunday Proper 10B/Ordinary 15B/Pentecost 7

Lord, its all yours; this earth, this universe,
All of us. We are all yours.
And we praise your name for the beauty of it all.

We come seeking a deeper relationships with you God.

We come wanting to know you better, and
Wanting to know you better.
And so we come to worship,
come to listen and come to pray.

We ask that you hear our prayers;

Hear the cry of the needy,
fill their hearts with your love.
Hear the cry of the hungry,
Fill their bellies with food.
Hear the cry of the lonely,
Fill their lives with friendships.
Hear the cry of those who are grieving,
Fill their souls with your presence.

Lord, we would love to dance like David

Before you, but some of us are handicapped,
Some are stiffened by arthritis,
 weakened by neurological or muscular diseases,
some of us are tired from our work, and
some of us are burdened down with problems and stress.
Lord we pray for that day when we not only get to feast at your heavenly banquet,
But also for the day when we get to dance like David.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

stone hearts

God, we are tired of our stubborn hearts, but we sure don't know what to do about them. Somehow stop our insensitivity. Transform these rock hard feelings I hold so close to my chest. Melt my stony heart, this boulder in my chest. All this and more is exactly what the Holy Spirit does when she enters the soul.

~Catherine of Siena, Letters~

Thursday Prayer

Lord of healing
Lord of my darkest place:
Let in your light.

Lord of my greatest fear:
Let in your peace.

Lord of my most bitter shame:
Let in your word of grace.

Lord of my oldest grudge:
Let in your forgiveness.

Lord of my deepest anger:
Let it out.

Lord of my loneliest moment:
Let in your presence.

Lord of my truest self--my all:
Let in your wholeness.

~~Alison Pepper

Pepper, Alison. The Book of a Thousand Prayers. Ed. Angela Ashwin. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002. 117.

Wednesday Prayer: 3 Minute Retreat

Courtesy of Loyola Press

For today's prayer, go to this link. 

Choose one of the 3-minute retreats.  Click "Start your retreat."


--

Amen.

Tuesday Prayer...

In this day,
I come to You
in silence
to steep in your Presence,
to bathe in your Light,
to marinate in your Love,
to immerse in your Justice,
to be infused and coated and filled
with You,
so that I might bear You
with integrity to the places and people and situations
that need You
Use me, and may I be opened to You.
Amen.

Monday Prayer: Peace in the Heart

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

- Lao Tsu

Prayer for Sunday Proper 9B/Ordinary 14B/Pentecost 6

Lord,

We lift up our eyes and our hearts.

We pray to be filled with your tender mercies,

We come to you in faith,

Asking for your steadfast love

To touch our inner most parts,

Lord we pray for your church, your denominations

especially those who have met and are meeting.

We pray for your churches that are being martyred in other countries,

especially those in Kenya.

We pray for those suffering from fires in Colorado,

the oppressive heat,  those enduring the loss of electricity and .

those who have experienced flooding.

We pray for healing for our sisters and brothers

and for our world that needs healing.

We pray for strength for those who are caring for elderly parents,

and those who are sandwiched between parents and children.

We remember our members who are homebound whether temporarily or long-term.

We remember those who are in nursing homes.

We pray for comfort and presence for those who are grieving.

Let us as your children reach out in love and care to these in need.

Lord, we thank you for all you have done and are doing in our lives, our churches and our world.

Help us to be ever mindful to hear and see you at work in our world.

Lord help us to remember that your grace is always abundantly available for us

no matter what we are going through.

Amen

Thursday Thought

"If you have time to chatter,
Read books.

If you have time to read,
Walk into mountain, desert and ocean.

If you have time to walk,
Sing songs and dance.

If you have time to dance,
Sit quietly, you happy, lucky idiot." 

by Nanao Sakaki

A Tuesday Prayer

Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
    And, in spite of old sorrows
    And older sinning,
    Troubles forecasted
    And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.
                              --Susan Coolidge in Women Pray:Voices Through the Ages, from Many Faiths,
                                                                Cultures and Traditions ed. Monica Furlong

Monday Prayer: Make Me an Instrument