Slow Me Down, Lord

Slow me down, Lord.

 

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid  confusion and lists of things to do, the calmness of the everlasting hills, and moments of communion with you as I start the day.

 

Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations---of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift---that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.

 

Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.

 

Amen

 

author unknown

A Thursday Prayer

Oh, Lord, you told us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Help us to love you with our whole beings. With this love, help us to love you and our world with all our heart, soul and mind. Move us to love in Love. Amen.

My morning prayer

Good morning, God.

Thank you for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  

Thank you for helping me, and for being my friend.

Please help me to be your person in the world today.  

Amen.  

Tuesday Prayer: A Blessing

Blessed Mother Blessing

My prayer for, and to, and over the crown of your life is this...

We lift you up so your soul can be seen by Mother Mercy,

she who checks doorways, sees through cracks

and into corners where souls often hide, seeking refuge.

She who is the Immaculate Heart sees you easily,

greets you warmly, remembers you with love,

for she is

the Mirror of Heaven,

the Tower of Ivory,

Obsidian Blade,

Star of the Waters,

Seat of Wisdom...

We lift you up so Blessed Mother can see

all that you need now

in order to bring goodness and contentment,

healing and health,

understanding and love

--to you and to your beloveds--

in every possible way.

And especially, may all these be given to you

in ways you can most easily see and understand...

and in ways you can put to immediate good use.

We lift you up because you were knitted up

in your earthly mother's womb by One Greater...

not only born already blessed...

but also born as a blessing on all of us...

Do not forget this,

for we have not forgotten you.

And neither and never has your Greater Mother.

Let you walk now forward into this day,

both deeply blessed and blessing others

with the magnitude of our Holy Mother's love. 

Aymen

...which means in the old language--Let it be so.

--Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Untie the Strong Woman:  Blessed Mother's Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul

Monday Prayer: A Confession

Loving, life-giving God, you have spoken to us, and called us to be your disciples.
Too often we allow ourselves to be silenced by those who are indifferent to our insights and our experience.
Forgive us and make us strong to raise our voices in hope. 

We allow ourselves to be silenced by our own fear and self-doubt.
Forgive us and make us strong to raise our voices in hope. 

We allow ourselves to be silenced by the structures of power which dominate and determine our lives.
Forgive us and make us strong to raise our voices in hope. 

By our silence we allow the powers of injustice and death to have the last word.
Forgive us and make us strong to raise our voices in hope. 

May we be silent no longer, but raise our voices to share what we have seen and heard.
It is Christ who meets us, calls us by our name, and sends us as his apostles. 

Amen. 







Pocket Prayers for Peace and Justice, compiled by Christian Aid. p. 51

Our Prayer

Lead us to a place,
Help us find your grace,
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Amen

The Peace of Christ

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors. 

- Peter Sutcliffe, the Northumbria Community.  In Common Prayer. 

Tuesday Prayer

Good people,

Most royal greening verdancy,
rooted in the sun,
you shine with radiant light.

In this circle of earthly existence
you shine
so finely,
it surpasses understanding.

God hugs you.
You are encircled
by the arms
of the mystery of God.

-Hildegard of Bingen, Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen, trans. Gabriele Uhlein, O.S. F.

Monday Prayer: Jesus as a Mother

Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you:
You are gentle with us as a mother with her children;
Often you weep over our sins and our pride:
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds:
in sickness you nurse us,
and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life:
By your anguish and labour we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness:
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead:
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us:
in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness:
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.


- St. Anselm

prayer for Sunday Proper 15B/Ordinary 20B/Pentecost 12

Oh God of wisdom,

As our children are headed back to school and college to learn anew, help us pass on to them the wisdom that has been given down to us from the generations before us.

Help our children as they learn their daily lessons to listen and learn.

Help their teachers have the patience and knowledge to teach well.

Help them as they learn life’s lessons of dealing with other people around them.

Help us as we guide them through those lessons.

 We ask for your wisdom to discern your ways and path for our own lives.

We ask for your wisdom to discern how to deal with others we meet , live with, work with, shop with, drive our roads, with, wait in line with, eat with and be with daily.

We ask for your wisdom in the difficult situations we may have to deal with as we go through life.

We ask for your wisdom when voting in the upcoming elections.

We ask for your wisdom in dealing with injustices in our world.

 We ask for wisdom for our leaders in our world, our countries, our states, and our communities.

We ask for wisdom for our church leaders worldwide and local .

We ask for wisdom for our Pastors as they preach your word, inspire, lead and grow us as disciples.

We ask for your wisdom as we reach out to those in need in our communities and in our world.

We ask for wisdom as we minister to those who are homebound and in nursing homes.

We ask for your wisdom as we minister to those in hospitals, in recovery and rehab.

We ask for your wisdom that not only enlightens us but transforms us and guides us in our daily walk with you.

Amen

 cross posted at revgalblogpals

A Little Piece of Bread

This prayer is based on the story of the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30. I think it is a helpful prayer for times of grief and difficulty because it acknowledges that, if we dare to be honest, sometime we just feel angry at what seems to be God’s response to our situation.

O Most-Nourishing-One, if I asked you for bread,
would you hand me a stone?
I’d believe in the stone,
if it came from you!

Oh, God, where is the bread?
I’ve sat with open hands for hours.
Is my heart as open as my hands?
Or is this just an empty symbol,
devoid of meaning
devoid of reality?
Is my closed heart laughing at my open hands?

I hear the songs they sing in churches:
You satisfy the hungry with gift of finest wheat…
And I wonder, where is this gift of finest wheat?
Have I become the Canaanite woman to you, Lord?
Are you afraid to throw your bread to dogs,
to the unworthy
the blind
the outsiders?

Well then, I’ll put on her mind instead of yours.
I’ll wear her faith instead of your arrogance.
Even the dogs get the crumbs, Lord.
God, you cannot hide from me.
You cannot scare me with your face of absence.
I scare myself with this hunger for your presence.

I will break all rules to possess you.
To be nourished by you,
I would go to every table in the world.
I would leave no stone unturned to find you
lest when I turn it over
it be changed to bread.

I come looking for bread,
But if you’re saving it for your children,
don’t worry.
I’ll gather up the crumbs if you insist.
I’ll make a meal on leftovers
and rejoice that I have been so blessed.

O Most-Powerful-One
I feel so powerless
so little and so poor
so vulnerable
so terribly wide open
so seen.

It hurts to be so hungry
so dependent on your bits of grace.
Even the dogs get the crumbs, Lord
I’ll gather up the crumbs
and live.

- Macrina Wiederkehr

Let Our Lives Sing Your Praise

God of the living and the dead,
let our lives sing your praise.  
Make us the fragrance of your love.  
Rise in us, and awaken us from our slumber,
that we might live in your light.  
Amen. 

-Common Prayer

Thursday Prayer

In the Beginning was God,

Today is God,

Tomorrow will be God.

Who can make an image of God?

He has no body.

He is the word which comes out of your mouth.

That word! It is no more,

It is past, and still it lives!

So is God.

~~Pygmy

Tutu, Desmond. An African Prayer Book. NY: Doubleday, 1995. 8.

Tuesday Prayer....

...first, if you haven't watched the video prayer from yesterday, go there. It's all of 57 seconds of beautiful sweet blessing.

a prayer for today...

Today,
I pray to breathe through my movements and interactions,
to remember that all who cross my path
are beloved children of God (even the ones who don't care if they are).
I pray to breathe through my thoughts and internal musings,
remembering that I, too, am a beloved child of God,
and therefore, I don't need to be so hard on myself, all of the time.

I pray for sweetness in my heart,
for grace in my step,
for hope in my vision.

Amen.

Monday Prayer: Go, My Children

Go, My children, with My blessing, Never alone.
Waking, sleeping, I am with you; You are My own.
In My love's baptismal river I have made you Mine forever.
Go, My children, with My blessing, You are My own.

Go, My children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.
Here you learned how much I love you, What I can cure.
Here you heard My dear Son's story
Here you touched Him, saw His glory.
Go, My children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.

Go, My children, fed and nourished, Closer to Me
Grow in love and love by serving, Joyful and free.
Here My Spirit's power filled you; Here His tender comfort stilled you.
Go, My children, fed and nourished, Joyful and free.

I the Lord will bless and keep you And give you peace
I the Lord will smile upon you and give you peace
I the Lord will be your Father, Savior, Comforter, and Brother.
Go, My Children, I will keep you and give you peace.

- Jaroslav J. Vajda




A not solemn, but soul-brightening version of this song: 

Prayer for Proper 14B/Ordinary 19B/Pentecost 11

God,

You sent your son to be bread for the world.

To feed the hungry.

Feed their minds with your word.

Feed their hearts with your love.

Feed their souls with everlasting life.

Lord,

We too are hungry today for the bread of life that your son is.

There are so many hungry people  in the world, in our very own communities,

 that it is overwhelming to even think about it.

It is especially painful for us when we realize that it is mainly the children being affected.

But Lord what can one person do?

Teach us how to bring the bread of life to the physically hungry in this world.

Our minds are hungry for your word. There are so many words being said, written and spoken, that sometimes it seems our brains circuitry is overloaded with all the words. So Lord teach us how to quieten ourselves to be fed by your word.

Our hearts are hungry for your love, your grace, your joy, your peace.  Hearts are broken. Hearts are heavy . Hearts have had heartattacks. Hearts are lonely. Hearts are anxious.

Lord heal our hearts and teach us how to feed the bread of life to others in need.

Lord our souls long for everlasting life.

Our souls long to partake of the bread of life. Others in the world are hungry for your everlasting life.

Lord may we pass the bread of life onto those whose souls need feeling.

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for those Caught-In Between

I read Rachel Held Evans' latest blog post this morning. The link is below. And I am struggling to find words for prayer.

Liberal Christianity, Conservative Christianity, and the Caught-In-Between

Lord of the Church, I can hardly find words to pray.  Thank you that the words themselves don't really matter in the end--nor whether they are beautiful and articulate or stumbling. 

Thank you, God, that you know the deepest longings, fears, hopes and joys of my heart and of others' hearts too.  Especially when it comes to our various church denominations, local churches....individuals.

I  am crying today, as I try to type a prayer. 

I am thinking of my colleague who had to leave our denomination because she acknowledged she is a lesbian. 

I am thinking of my sweet young friend who is being berated for reading a book that isn't quiet theologically "in line" with the extremely fundamentalist church in which she was formed. 

I am thinking of my friend who left my former church when I resigned the pastorate there and four years later is still struggling with what he believes and where he might fit in.

I am thinking of my friends who would be appalled and would want to argue if they knew I probably will not be voting for the Republican candidate.

I am thinking of the long-time friend who doesn't want to talk to my anymore because he is so appalled that I don't think my husband gets to make every single decision about our lives.

And I am thinking of the pastor from a mainline denomination who made completely false assumptions about me because of what church body ordained me.

And the fellow woman pastor who admitted she "doesn't like God, and doesn't want to ever open a Bible," and can function quite well in her large congregation in spite of that fact.

And the phone conversation I had with someone who said, "I just can't continue in my church. I love the people...but I feel like I am starving to death.  I know there is more, somehow."
 
And I am realizing just how long it has been since I did not feel caught in the middle.  Perhaps that is where I am supposed to be?

Forgive us, dear Jesus, for our pride and our foolishness and our silly bickering.  Forgive us for the times we have refused to allow the Spirit inside our church services.  And for the times others of us have called every foolish thing possible a "work of the Spirit."Forgive us for the people we have, both knowing and not knowing, turned away from your love. Forgive us for our fear of genuine holiness, of power, of redemption.  Forgive us for valuing education too much or too little.  For secretly rejoicing when someone from one of "those churches" messes up.  Forgive us for our stereotyping, for our unwillingness to remember who we are.    Forgive us.  Help us.  Break our hearts, heal our hearts, love us, correct us....

May you, Lord Jesus, be Lord of the Church.  May we, together in person or only in our thoughts, approach your cross together.

Lord, have mercy!

Amen

Thanking God for my Rev Gal colleagues.

Thursday Hope

I have a small grain of hope--
one small crystal that gleams
clear colors out of transparency.

I need more.

I break off a fragment
to send you.

Please take
this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won't shrink.

Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.

Only so, by division,
will hope increase,

like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source--
clumsy and earth-covered--
of grace.

~~Denise Levertov

Levertov, Denise. Making Peace. Ed. Peggy Rosenthal.NY: New Directions, 1999. 53.

Wednesday Prayer: All you Big Things

All you big things, bless the Lord
Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria
The Rift Valley and the Serengeti Plain
Fat baobabs and shady mango trees
All eucalyptus and tamarind trees
Bless the Lord
Praise and extol the Lord for ever and ever. 

All you tiny things, bless the Lord
Busy black ants and hopping fleas
Wriggling tadpoles and mosquito larvae
Flying locusts and water drops
Pollen dust and tsetse flies
Millet seeds and dried dagaa
Bless the Lord
Praise and extol the Lord for ever and ever.

African Canticle in Earth Prayers

Tuesday Prayer

O Sorrowful One,
lament with us the shadow cast by our special gifts.
The strength of identity that becomes unlistening;
the passion of faith that becomes certain;
the tolerance that become intolerant;
the power that becomes corrupt;
the history that becomes a battlefield.
I think of places of conflict and grief this day...

Grant us a peace that is wise and sustaining
and values our different stories.

-Tess Ward, The Celtic Wheel of the Year: Celtic and Seasonal Prayers

Monday Prayer: Give us confidence

Holy Spirit, you have breathed over all things since the beginning


Breathe the confidence that comes from your knowledge over us


And into us.


Inspire our faith in what you have seen to be true,


What is even beyond our imagination.


Spirit of Love, flow through us and grant us


Confidence


That nothing can separate us from from the love of God.


Amen.

Prayer for Proper 13B/Ordinary 18B/Pentecost 10

Lord,

We are hungry for something greater than ourselves.

Rain down your bread for us.

We seek to care about those who are starving.

Rain down your bread for them.

The children in all parts of the world who live with much less to eat than you and I.

Rain down your bread for them.

Lord, there are those of us who hunger for the comfort you give.

Pour your comfort on  us.

There are being who don’t know what your comfort and care look like.

Pour your comfort on them.

There are those who need your comfort in the midst of their sorrow.

Pour your comfort down on them.

There are those who are seeking to know you in their lives.

Use us as your hands and feet to go tell the good news.

There are those who live in hopelessness and despair

Use us as your hands and feet to bring the good news of the hope your offer.

There are those living lonely isolated lives.

Use us to be your hands and feet to bring the good news.

Amen

reflection

Happy is the person
who clings with all their heart to our Lord
and shares in God's sacred banquet.

God is the one whose beauty is praised by heaven's
indefatigable angels.
God is the one whose kindness electrifies,
whose contemplation refreshes,
whose love satisfies,
whose joy replenishes,
whose celebration illuminates the world,
whose fragrance resurrects the dead,
whose splendid vision blesses,
whose eternal glory shines,
whose everlasting light burns brightest,
whose mirror reflects all things flawlessly.

Look in that Mirror each and every day.
Study your face in it forever.
Then you can put on the most beautiful clothes
and wear them and every one of virtue's flowers
because happy poverty, holy humility, and indescribable kindness
are reflected in that Mirror
as you contemplate them there.

~Clare of Assisi, Letters~

Thursday Prayer

Father in Heaven! When the thought of Thee wakes in our hearts let it not awaken like a frightened bird that flies about in dismay, but like a child waking from its sleep with a heavenly smile. Amen.

Kierkegaard, Soren. The Prayers of Kierkegaard. Ed. Perry D. Lefevre.Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963. 38.

SO MUCH EXPECTATION

Lord, you are coming in glory to bring the fullness of peace, healing, and justice.  Teach us to wait when you would have us wait.  And teach us to act when you would have us act.  Fill us up with SO MUCH EXPECTATION for your coming kingdom that we cannot help but enact it now.  Amen. 

Common Prayer, August 1

(emphasis...mine.)