Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category

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Pursuing Peace

April 26, 2009

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Ps. 34:14

Lord, help us create more peace in our world — peace abroad, peace in our country, peace in our cities, peace in our families, peace within.

Help us to focus less on our individual rights and desires and more on our responsibilities to each other.

Help us to understand the complex systems that shape our lives, so that we might fight injustice at its roots, and not just fight over its effects.

Help us to be open to the pain and suffering around us, so that we might seek the common good as we move into the future.

Help us to forgive ourselves and others for both what was done and left undone in the past, while keeping in mind that those who do not remember or who refuse to consider the past are condemned to repeat it.

Help us to recognize and be grateful for the many gifts you have given, and to see the reflection of your image in those around us.

Help us to sort through the waves of information, emotion, and demands that sap our time and energy, so that we might focus on the path you would have us follow.

Help us to trust in you, and respond, when we hear your call to love others as you have loved us. (John 15:20)

Help us to find within ourselves, and share, the gift of peace you have given. (John 14:27).

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

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Resurrection and Redemption

April 19, 2009

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Ph.3:10-11

This week’s prayer borrows from the contemporary collects for Easter week in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification:

Open the eyes of our faith that we may behold him in all his redeeming work;

Grant that we may show forth in our lives what we profess in our faith;

Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; and

Recall us to life, that your light may shine in us, and through us.

We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen

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The Day of Resurrection

April 12, 2009

“. . .  just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4

Lord, as we celebrate your resurrection, help us to live a new life.

Resurrect in us a spirit of thrift, that we may be better stewards of the resources you have entrusted to us;

Resurrect in us a spirit of service, that we may share your love with others;

Resurrect in us a spirit of compassion, so that as we make spending decisions, we work to care for those whose suffering is great;

Resurrect in us a spirit of forgiveness and respect for others so that by listening to each other we might better discern your will;

Resurrect in us a spirit of responsibility, so that we might live lives worthy of the calling we have received;

Resurrect in us a respect for the rule of law and the institutions of government that were designed by our founders to preserve domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to us and all our posterity; and

Resurrect in us a spirit of hope, the hope that we might still become one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Amen.

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Trusting In God

April 4, 2009

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Lord, forgive us our desire to control our future, and help us to put our trust in you.  Help us to put aside hurt, anger and fear, and accept your love and discipline (Pr. 3:12).  Help us move beyond past choices and mistakes and move forward, supported by your forgiveness.  Help us to help one another.   And as we struggle to find the way forward, both individually and collectively, help us to pray as our Savior taught us: “yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).  Be our strength and shield, and guide us O Lord.

Amen

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Giving Thanks, Sharing With Others

March 29, 2009

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever. Ps. 136:1

Lord, in this season of March Madness and spring breaks we give you thanks.
We thank you for talented young athletes and the enjoyment that their competition brings.  We thank you for opportunities to gather with family and friends.  We thank you for the freedom to travel, for museums and movies, and for parks and other natural spaces.  We thank you for rest and renewal.

As we watch those who have been given opportunities to develop their talents and to overcome adversity, help us to care for all of our nation’s youth, and not just those with the power to entertain.  Help us to recognize and return the love and support of those you have put in our lives to guide and care for us, and to share that love with others.  Help us know that you are with us always, and strengthened by that knowledge, to share your message of hope and renewal.

Amen

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Harden Not Our Hearts

March 21, 2009

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Isaiah 58:9-10

Lord, we have allowed market forces to create a deep divide between rich and poor, and many struggle for food and housing, and basic medical and dental care. Although you have commanded us to be openhanded toward our brothers and sisters, the poor and needy in the land (Dt. 15:11), funds for housing, mental health, services for the aging, education and food are threatened with cuts in states that would turn away federal aid that could help the least among us. We talk of values yet fail to heed your call to compassion, to kindness, to generosity, and to faith. We quarrel, and threaten one another, and fail to seek the knowledge that could help us fill our common need. We pray for relief yet fail to recognize your promise to restore those who keep your word. Today, Lord, help us hear your voice; harden not our hearts. (Heb. 3:8)  Help us move forward, towards justice, and with real concern and caring for one another, and especially for those who are most in need.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

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Wisdom Calls Us

March 15, 2009

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. . . . If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. Proverbs 9:10,12

Lord, bless our president.  Give him wisdom, strength, and the courage to persevere as he seeks to move the country forward.   Give him discerning advisors to work with who keep wisdom in view and care for all people foremost in mind. (Pr. 17:24). Help all of our leaders walk in the way of righteousness, and along paths of justice. (Pr. 8:20)  Help us Lord, as a people, to walk in the ways of understanding and seek learning and insight. (Pr. 2:3, 9:6). You have told us O Lord to drive out the mockers, “and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.” (Pr. 22:10)  Save us from the mockers, and all those who hate knowledge and seek to confuse and mislead rather than to help and inform.  You have told us O Lord that “[t]here is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Pr. 14:12).  Save us from simplistic solutions and the complacency of the foolish. Let us not be misled by those who have no interest in our common future, who are unmoved by the suffering of the people they lead, and who seek partisan gain rather than progress in resolving the issues that hold us back.

Provide us with wise leaders, and help us be a wiser people. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.

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Accepting Change, Trusting in God

March 8, 2009

The race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, nor does the food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

Lord, help us find hope in the midst of change.  Save us from despair as jobs are lost, talents and effort go unrewarded, and past knowledge is challenged.  Give us the courage to learn new ways and to try new paths.  Help us not to judge, but to reach out to one another with compassion and with a generous spirit. Help us to ask hard questions and learn from the past so we might become a wiser and better people.  Guide our leaders that they might be good stewards of the law and of the common good.  Let us know the comfort of your presence, and let your peace, which transcends all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, as we trust in you.

Amen

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Counting Our Blessings

February 27, 2009

“I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live, That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Lord, it is in times of trial that we are reminded of what matters most in our lives: the love of our families, the comfort of friends who listen to our hopes and our fears, and the strength that comes from your sustaining presence.    We thank you for the opportunity to seek help and to help others as we rebuild our lives. We thank you for food enjoyed and shared in the company of those we love.  We thank you for those who teach us new skills and those who help us heal.  We thank you for new births among us.  As we care for the sick, the aging, and those near death, we thank you for their lives, and for the bonds of affection and knowledge and shared experience that shape our world.  As we enter the spring season, we thank you for the warmth of the sun, the song of birds, and all of the beauty of the natural world which reflects your love and care for us.  We thank you for your promise of eternal life – a promise that helps us to face the unknown.

Lord, help us to see and accept your many gracious gifts, and walk in your ways.

Amen.

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Encouraging One Another

February 22, 2009

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. . . Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. Ephesians 4:29, 31-32.

Lord, in these hard times help us to speak to each other words of hope, optimism and faith–faith that we can and will overcome economic disaster and personal loss.  Help us to speak to each other the words of encouragement that can help us persevere.  Let us speak words of praise when deserved, ask questions that open the path to new ideas, and share the comfort of your word.  Help us to speak to each other with honest words, including words of pain, sorrow, and accountability.   Let us move away from words of blame, shame, hatred, and distrust, and find instead words of sharing, caring, and forgiveness.  Help us O Lord find words that can build bridges —  bridges between rich and poor, black and white, old and young, east and west, and between the other differences that divide.  Help us move forward together, O Lord, as one country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Amen.

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