Category: prayer

Pilgrims together


Members of Pilgrims rehearsing a dance to “Jehovah Jireh” in the late 1990s.

 
I am a founding member of Pilgrims, a mid-week Bible Study group connected to the Scots International Church Rotterdam, on and off, since the mid-1990s.

The latest hiatus was due to Covid, but we’re starting up again. I’m so looking forward to spending time as pilgrims together, studying the Bible and deepening our relationships with one another and with the Living God.

May you too find joy and encouragement in the company of pilgrims where you are.
 

P.S.
It appears I’ve chosen “Together” as theme of the month before – in October 2017, exactly five years ago. Well, why not? It’s a good theme, worth a revisit.
 

A prayer

Lord God, we thank you
for calling us into the company
of those who trust in Christ
and seek to obey his will.
May your Spirit guide and strengthen us
in mission and service to your world,
for we are strangers no longer
but pilgrims together on the way to your Kingdom.

Prayer of the Inter-Church Process (The Swanwick Declaration)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #529
 

From the blog
Grow to maturity
History matters
How good, how pleasant
 

Thank you. For making me me


Mural by Joy Yamusangie (Artist in residence), London St Pancras

 

A follow-up to yesterday’s post …

 

Litany

(inspired by Genesis 1)

In the beginning God created all things
and God saw that they were good.

At our beginning, God created us
unique and irreplaceable
loved by God and wanted by God
known to God and treasured by God
even before he created us.

In all our new beginnings, God creates something new.
So we will seek God
in the freshness of morning
in the laughter of friends
in the colours of creation
and in the warmth of spring-time sunshine.

Lord God, King of Creation,
open our eyes to see your presence
our souls to sense your presence
and our hearts to love your presence
ever here in your creation
and ever beyond it in eternity.
Amen

 
source: wellsprings.org.uk
 

Thank you. For making me

As I was working on this post I discovered that a webpage featuring the lyrics to my song, “Thank you, thank you”, had some curious typos. Also, the verse I wanted to spotlight (“Thank you, Lord, for making me”) isn’t included in the recording.

Please overlook the oversight, and join in this simple song of thanks to the God who made us, loves us, saved us and blesses us in countless ways. Perhaps make it personal and add some verses of your own.
 

A prayer

O my God teach my heart where and how to seek you,
where and how to find you …

You are my God and you are my All
and I have never seen you.

You have made me and remade me,
You have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,
Still I do not know you …

I have not yet done that for which I was made …
Teach me to seek you …

I cannot seek you unless you teach me
or find you unless you show yourself to me.

Let me seek you in my desire,
let me desire you in my seeking.
Let me find you by loving you,
let me love you when I find you.

 
~ written by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Theme: God makes all things new  [prayer sheet]
First steps
I hear you
 

Maker of heaven and earth


Hopscotch between heaven and earth (hemel en aarde)
 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains –
      where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
      the Maker of heaven and earth.

(Psalm 121:1-2)
 
 
A big thank you to the Scots Kirk Lausanne who summoned me to the mountains last weekend to conduct a workshop on the Psalms: Prayer book, Songbook and God’s Word, with a special focus on Psalm 121.
 
Wherever you are – whether there are mountains in sight or not – may you experience the Lord’s nearness; know that “the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore”. (Psalm 121:8)
 

Prayer: Thanks Be to the Lord

(inspired by Psalm 121)

For those who have watched over me,
for those that have protected me,
for those that have shielded me,
thanks be to the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.

For the roof that shades me from the sun,
for the walls that shield me from the storm,
for the bed that warms me in the night,
thanks be to the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.

To the one who keeps me from evil,
to the one who preserves my life,
to the one who watches over my coming and going,
thanks be to the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.

~ originally from the Christian Aid website, sourced from re:worship
 

We know … we know not …


 

Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
Psalm 139:14, The Voice

 

Call to Worship

(based on Psalm 126)

Let us begin this day by rejoicing!
The Lord has done such wonderful things for us.
Let us be glad!
The day before us is uncertain.
We know not what we will encounter on our way.
Wherever we go, we go forth as people of the living God,
and we go forth to touch the lives of all with his healing touch.
Let us begin this day with rejoicing!
and return to our homes with gladness!

~ from re:worship
 

From the blog
Yield as sacrifice
Beyond
In the school of prayer with Ann Lewin
 

Desire and transformation


 
 
Jan Richardson writes,

Loving is always risky, because we cannot enter into it without being changed. Altered. Transformed. In the face of this, we might well ask, Do I really want this? Do we really desire to be so undone?
 
Loving is never just about opening our heart. It is about being willing to have our heart become larger as we make room for people and stories and experiences we never imagined holding. It is about being willing to have our heart become deeper as we move beyond the surface layers of our assumptions, prejudices, and habits in order to truly see and receive what—and who—is before us. It is about being willing to have our heart continually shattered and remade as we take in not only the brokenness of the world but also the beauty of it, the astounding wonder that will not allow us to remain the same.

 

~ from the paintedprayerbook.com archives
 

A prayer

O Lord, I do not know what to ask of you. You alone know what are my true needs. You love me more than I myself know how to love. Help me to see my real needs, which are concealed from me. I dare not ask for either a cross or a consolation; I can only wait on you. My heart is open to you. Come to me and help me, for your great mercy’s sake … I put all my trust in you. I have no other desire than to fulfil your will. Teach me how to pray; pray yourself in me.

~ written by Metropolitan Theodore Philaret of Moscow (1553-1633)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #80
 

The desire of the humble


 

Litany of Humility

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus … (Philippians 2:5)

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

 
written by Rafael Cardinal Memy de Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State to Pope Pius X
posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Walk the walk
Reminder: Love is …
The last may be first
 

Energy of desire


photo taken during Vincent Meets Rembrandt: The Untold Story in Amsterdam

 
Spirit of Christ, sanctify me.
Accept and transform
my small energy of desire,
that it may become
part of your great energy of desire
for the redemption of the world.
Your will be done!

 
written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #401
 

From the blog | More by Evelyn Underhill
Yield as sacrifice
 

Burning desire


 

A prayer with a candle

My Lord and my God –
thank you for drawing me to Yourself …
Keep the burning of my desire for you
as clear and steady as the flame of this candle
– a single, undivided focus of attention,
a steady offering of the will.
Let my whole being be filled with Your light
so that others may be drawn to You.
Let my whole being be cleansed by the flame of Your love
from all that is contrary to Your will for me …
– my Lord and my God.

 
~ by Margaret Dewey (abbreviated), from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #34
 

From the blog
All my longings
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi
Theme: Sharing in Jesus’ ministry  [prayer sheet]
 

Come Spirit like fire

Come, Holy Spirit

Come Spirit like rain, refresh, renew, revitalise.
Come Spirit like fire, embolden, enlighten, enable.
Come Spirit like a mighty wind, move, challenge, enkindle.
Come Spirit like wave, move, tear down, lift up.
Come Spirit, come Breath, draw us close, make song, bring intimacy.
Come Spirit, come Love, make one, make justice, make peace.
Come Spirit, come Kingdom, come Love.

— written by Martin Brown, and posted on the CAFOD website.

For further study

Key symbols of the Holy Spirit

Fire: Matt 3:11, Acts 2:3-4
Oil: Ex 29:7. Lev 8, Ex 27:20, Mark 6:13; James 5:14
Wind: John 3:8, Acts 2:1-4
Water: John 7:37-39, Is 44:3, Joel 2:28-29
 

From the blog
Newness of life
3 Prayers for summer
Guest post #1 : Fire reflections