Tune in to God’s voice

 

3 prayers by Angela Ashwin to tune your heart to God’s voice – in the day-to-day, in the Scriptures and in the stillness.

Prayer for guidance and discernment

Jesus my Teacher,
guide me along your way,
and help me to piece together
    the jigsaw of life in your kingdom.
When I make decisions,
lead me to the heart of the matter,
and when I face conflict,
do not let my own panic drown out
    the still, small voice of your wisdom.

by Angela Ashwin, from The Book of a Thousand Prayers, #143

 

Using the Bible/Jesus the Word

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Scriptures.
As I reflect on the Bible,
make me open to your wisdom,
receptive to your will
and courageous in my response;
in the love of Jesus,
Rabbi, Teacher, Friend.

by Angela Ashwin, The Book of a Thousand Prayers, #168

 

Prayer in quietness

Lord, make us people of stillness.
Help us to be empty before you,
that we may be filled with your peace;
teach us to be quiet in your presence,
that we may listen to your words;
and give us confidence to expose our whole being to you,
and meet you in the silence.

by Angela Ashwin, The Book of a Thousand Prayers, #627

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Michael Mayne
Before history and forever
To keep our hearts in tune
 

Voice training


 

Jan Richardson writes,

“There is ground that becomes holy only when we remain long enough to see the blessing that can emerge from struggle, that shimmers through only after the dust the struggle kicks up finally begins to settle.”

 

A prayer

Lord, train us to hear your voice. When it is time to grieve, help us to grieve. When it is time to rejoice, help us to rejoice. When we grow weary, be the strength in our weakness. May your most beautiful and perfect will, not ours, be done. Amen.

from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 393

From the blog
Precious dust
Singing creation’s song
Quiet my heart
 

Sweet voice

 

“ … the best in us lies deeper than our words.”

(Pico Iyer)

 
from Silence, Solitude, and the Art of Surrender: Pico Iyer on Finding the World in a Benedictine Monastery  (www.themarginalian.org)

A prayer

after hearing or reading Scripture

Good Jesus, as you have graciously allowed me here to drink in the sweetness of your Word, so at the last, I pray, You will bring me into your presence, that I may listen to your voice which is the source of all wisdom, and watch your face forever.

 
~ written by The Venerable Bede (673/3 – 735),
from 2000 Years of Prayer compiled by Michael Counsell, p. 87
 

From the blog
Ever blooming
Open time for pause and restoration
Theme: Still small voice  [prayer sheet]
 

Safe circle


 

This week I feature a prayer poem inspired by Psalm 32:7, written by Christine Colliar as part of our Presbytery project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026.

 

You Surround Me

by Christine Colliar

You are my hiding-place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.
 
 
You are my escape room.
When I crawl into myself,
find a nook ready –
chair, hearth, book, tea –
you are there already.
I can wear myself,
    no pretence
    no brave face
    you see me
        know me.

I can sit
    on the floor if I want
and there you are
    to talk to
    or just sit with me,
door closed,
    until I’m ready
    to go back
    to the world
    emptied,
    filled.

And when I can cope
with more than silence,
you cover me with song
round and over and through me –
so I see,
    I feel,
        I taste
your music,
thrill
    and complete
        and mend.

Words that join – a daisy chain,
fragile and true,
    full
        and wide –
words that encompass,
    encircle
that hold together
    a fragility
    deep within,
and keep me
whole.

 
~ written as part of the Presbytery Project, Prayer Poems for Lent 2026

 

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Pádraig Ó Tuama
One body, different gifts
Change … like little children
 

The perfect circle

Blessing in the Round

For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake,
and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.   Mark 8:35

 
This blessing
cannot help it;
it’s the way
it was designed.

Lay it down
and it rises again.

Release it
and it returns.

Give it away
and it makes a path
back to you.

There is no explaining
how it delights
in reappearing
when you have ceased
to hold it,
no hiding the sly smile
it wears
when it shows up
at your door,
no mistaking the wonder
when it circles back around
just at the moment
you thought you had
spent it completely,
had poured it out
with abandon
where you saw
the deepest thirst for it,
had put it entirely
in the hands
of those desperate
in their hunger.

But here it is,
the perfect circle of it
pressing into your hand
that curls around it
and then lets go,
receiving
and releasing
and receiving again
like the breath
that does not belong to us
but sets us in motion.

 
~ written by Jan L. Richardson, and posted on The Painted Prayerbook.

Prayer

It is too easy, God,
for faith to become an escape
    — a way to avoid the pain of being human and alive;
or a path to success
    — a way to persuade the universe to give us the things we want;
or a system of control
    — a way to bend others to our will

But the faith you offer is different, Jesus,
    more dangerous and compelling;

It’s the faith that carries the cross,
    that embraces death
        and lays itself down for the sake of others;

It’s the only faith that can lead us to resurrection
    to life renewed and overflowing.

We praise you for this faith, God,
    and open our hearts to receive it.

Amen.

 
— written by John van de Laar, posted on Sacredise

From the blog
To Emmaus and back
May we know the hope – here, now
Theme: Change my heart, O God  [prayer sheet]
 

Open circle


 

Opening prayer

inspired by Matt 15:21-28, Rom 11:1-2, 29-32, and Is 56:1, 6-8

With open arms You welcome all who call on Your name —
      who acknowledge You as Lord, and look to You in faith.
No one stands outside the circle of Your mercy and love.
And so we come to offer You our worship —
      to declare that You are our God,
      and that we are Your people,
      called and chosen by You from the very beginning.
Through the presence of Your Holy Spirit
      open our eyes to see You here;
      open our minds to receive Your truth,
      and our mouths to speak and sing Your praise.
For You alone are God —
      worthy of all praise and worship,
      now and to the end of time.
Amen.

 
from re:Worship

From the blog
Wonder-full psalm
Life that gives life
Taste the goodness
 

Jesus’ circle goes deep and wide


 

“Then Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.”

A prayer

Jesus of the table,
You gathered unexpected people around
hearths of hospitality.
You stretched out your hand
for grapes and bread, for wine and welcome.
May we populate our tables
with all kinds of people.
Because at the table
our hearts can be glad
for a while.
Amen.
 

To ponder

“Jesus traces his circle wide, calling us all to be kinfolk to him by doing what God desires us to do. And if kinfolk to him, then kinfolk to one another, with all the delights and aches that come in learning to be a family.”

~ from a blog post by Jan Richardson
 

God with me lying down


 

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
      for you alone, Lord,
      make me dwell in safety.

 

Evening prayer

God with me lying down,
God with me rising up,
God with me in each ray of light,
Not I a ray of joy without Him,
      Nor one ray without Him.

Christ with me sleeping,
Christ with me waking,
Christ with me watching,
Every day and night,
      Each day and night.

God with me protecting,
The Lord with me directing,
The Spirit with me strengthening,
For ever and for evermore,
      Ever and evermore, Amen.
            Chiefs of chiefs, Amen
 

from Carmina Gadelica, Vol 1, p. 5,
included in The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #660

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Pádraig Ó Tuama
“A Good Night’s Sleep” inspirations
Up to us
 

Settle down

 
Jeremiah starts his letter to the exiles in Babylon with these words: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: … settle down.” (Jeremiah 29:4-5)

In the same chapter we read: “I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (v. 11-13)

 
“Settle down” was an integral part of God’s plan to minister to his wayward people and recalibrate their relationship with him, a relationship based not on law but on promise.
 

Act of Confession

(based on the Psalms)

Search us, O God, and know our hearts.
Test us and know our anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in us that offends You,
and guide us on the road to life. (Ps 139:23-24)

[ Time of silence, or appropriate song ]

O Lord, You have examined our hearts
and know everything about us.
You know when we sit down or stand up.
You know our thoughts from afar.
You see when we walk or lie down,
You know every detail of our conduct.
You even know what we are going to say before we say it.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for us,
too great for us to understand. (Ps. 139:1-3, 6)

Cleanse us from hidden faults.
Keep us from deliberate sins.
Don’t let them control us.
Then we will be free of guilt,
and innocent of serious wrong-doing. (Ps 19:12-14)

Listen to the promise of God:
Those who love Me, I will deliver.
I will protect those who know My name.
When they call to Me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them,
and show them my saving power. (Ps 91:14-15)

Lord, we trust in Your unfailing love!
We rejoice, because You have rescued us!

Sing praise to God,
because He has been so good to us! (Ps 13:5-6)

[ Song of thanksgiving and praise ]

 
~ from re:worship

From the blog
A new nature
Yield as sacrifice
Change from the inside out
 

Look down and see


Artwork by Irene Bom
 

My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.

 

Prayer of intercession

The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14)

God of love
hear the cry of those who yearn for love;
fractured families, broken homes
neglected, unwanted, alone.
God of love
hear our prayer

God of justice
hear the cry of those who yearn for justice;
persecuted and oppressed,
exploited, ill-treated, broken.
God of justice
hear our prayer

God of peace
hear the cry of those who yearn for peace;
in battle zones and broken states,
frightened, fearful, anxious
God of peace
hear our prayer

God of healing
hear the cry of those who yearn for healing;
physical and spiritual
hurting, weakened, depressed
God of healing
hear our prayer

God of mercy
Hear the cry of those who yearn for mercy;
convicted, in need of your Grace,
contrite, humble, bowed down,
God of mercy
hear our prayer

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

May you know
The peace of God
The love of God
The justice of God
The healing and mercy of God
This day and all days
Amen
 

~ written by John Birch, posted on www.faithandworship.com

From the blog
Blessed assurance
Go where it is deeper
Broken spirit sacrifice