Category: prayer

Go where it is deeper

 
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

 

Prayer to the Spirit

Spirit of life
Fill our emptiness with your fullness

Spirit of power
Stir our hearts afresh

Spirit of love
Touch us, and through us, our neighbour

Spirit of creativity
Enable and empower the gifts you have given

Spirit of eternity
Draw us ever deeper into your Kingdom

 
— by John Birch, posted on re:worship

From the blog
The empty cup
Mightier than the crashing waves
In the school of prayer with Tish Harrison Warren
 

Deep calls to deep


Caution: Wet floor   (Verbeke Foundation, Belgium)
 

In my local congregation in Rotterdam we’re doing a sermon series called “Deep calls to deep”, starting on Lent 2 and running through to Good Friday and Easter.

The series includes Psalm 42, Hannah “deeply troubled” (1 Samuel 1:1-20), “deep darkness” from Isaiah 59, Jonah’s prayer “from deep in the realm of the dead” (Jonah 2:1-10), Jesus “deeply distressed” in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42), Peter’s advice to “love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:7-11) and Paul commending the Thessalonians for their “deep conviction” (1 Thess 1:1-10).

What deep treasures will you discover this Lent?

Ash Wednesday prayer

Our ancestors in the faith
used ashes as a sign of our repentance,
a symbol of the uncertainty and fragility
of human life.
Like them,
we have tasted the ashes of hopelessness;
we have walked through the ashes
of our loss and pain;
we have stood knee-deep
in the ashes of our brokenness.

God of our lives,
out of the dust of creation
you have formed us and given us life.
May these ashes not only be a sign
of our repentance and death,
but reminders that by your gift of grace
in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer,
we are granted life forever with you.
Amen.

(A period of silence will follow. Those who wish to do so, may come forward to have the sign of the cross placed on their foreheads or hands. The ashes are from palm branches used at Palm Sunday services in the past, mixed with oil).

~ written by Thom Shuman, posted on re:worship
 

Trees of healing


 

I saw a tree that was growing on each side of the river. It is the tree that gives people true life. It has 12 different kinds of fruit, a new fruit every month. The tree’s leaves are like medicine. They make people of every nation well again.

A prayer for wholeness

We grieve and confess
that we hurt and have been hurt,
to the third and fourth generations,
that we are so afraid of pain
that we shield ourselves from being vulnerable to others,
and refuse to be open and trusting as a child …

O God of Wholeness, we rest in you …
You listen with us to the sound of running water,
you sit with us under the shade of the trees of our healing,
you walk once more with us in the garden in the cool of the day,
the oil of your anointing penetrates the cells of our being,
the warmth of your hands steadies us and gives us courage.
O God of Wholeness, we rest in you …

 
by Jim Cotter
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #349

From the blog
Settle yourself into the quiet
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
Theme: He heals the brokenhearted  [prayer sheet]
 

To love as Jesus loved


 

Opening prayer

O God,
you broke down the barriers when you crept in beside us.
In Jesus, your hands touched all, and touched us.
You opened our eyes
to see how the hands of the rich were empty,
and the hearts of the poor were full.
You took the widow’s mite and the child’s loaves
and used them to show us the Kingdom.

Here in the company of the neighbour whom we know
and the stranger in our midst,
and the self from whom we turn,
we ask to love as Jesus loved.

Make this the place and time, good Lord,
when heaven and earth become one,
and we in word and flesh
know ourselves beloved.
Amen.

 
~ from the website of Old South Church in Boston, posted on re:worship

From the blog
3 prayers for the New Year
Table grace
Germinate and grow
 

Deeply loved

 

Litany

(inspired by 1 John 4:19, John 15:12)

How deeply you have loved us, Jesus;
how willingly you stepped into our experience,
how completely you empathised with all that we endure.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

How sacrificially you have loved us, Jesus;
how completely you gave yourself for us,
how courageously you suffered for our sakes.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

How restoratively you have loved us, Jesus;
how generously you share your life,
how extravagantly you make yourself available to us.
Teach us to love as you have loved us.

We praise you for your love
which is given so freely and so unconditionally.
And we thank you for believing
that we could learn to offer such love
to each other.
Amen.
 

— written by John van de Laar, posted on Sacredise

From the blog
All my days and forever
In small ways
Theme: Good shepherd  [prayer sheet]
 

A taste of autumn


 

A generous harvest

inspired by 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

God, source of all life,
the northern autumn is all around us now, beautiful
in scarlet and gold.
We have heard the Spirit of God in the rustling
leaves and the rush of water,
and we are so grateful for a generous harvest,
for seeds of many kinds, sown and multiplied,
for the sufficiency we enjoy.

Sung (Taizé):
Bless the Lord, my soul
and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
who leads us into life.

Creator God,
we are so grateful for the creation which nourishes
and sustains all that lives.
Renew in us the sense of its value
that we may not squander its riches,
or so bend it to our will that we find we have
destroyed it.

Bless the Lord …

Transforming God,
we cannot sow our seed with clenched fists.
Help us to open our hands, to let go of grasping,
that we too may scatter with hope and generosity
our seeds of justice, peace and joy.
So may the fruits of our harvest
be for the sharing of the earth
and the blessing of your love.
Amen

 
— written by Peggy M De Cuehlo, posted on re:worship

COMING VERY SOON

“Hope for today: Daily reflections for Advent”
A collaboration between Irene, Rev. Graham Austin and Irma Gevers of Scots International Church Rotterdam, with daily posts from 1 to 24 December.
 

Thank you. For taste buds

 
In Hidden Art, Edith Schaeffer writes,

“God could have created all food as a bland mixture of proper nutrients: something like wheat-germ, yoghurt and honey in a cake form, or some sort of fruit that would have contained everything necessary to good health. However pleasant the mild flavour might be, we cannot imagine eating just one single flavour all the time, the reason being that we have been created with taste buds, a delicate sense of smell, and a sensitive appreciation of and response to texture and colour.”  (p. 114-115)
 

Invitation to the Banquet

based on Psalm 23 and Matthew 22:1-14

Gracious God,
in love You open wide the doors
and welcome us into Your presence —
saints and sinners alike.
You spread a table before us,
filled with the richest fare —
a feast of love and mercy
for the body and soul.

We come with joy to meet You here,
to eat and drink at Your table,
to taste and see Your goodness,
to celebrate Your grace and mercy in our lives.

May Your Spirit inspire our praise and thanksgiving,
our prayers and petitions
as we worship together in Your presence.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our host and Lord, Amen.

from re:worship

From the blog
A new nature
Winter = long nights
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi
 

Taste the goodness

 

Litany

based on Psalm 34:1-10

Living Rock of Abundant Life,
the poor cried out;
you heard, and saved them from all their troubles.

To those who have nothing,
your promise is this:
whatever is needed will be given.

Your eyes are on those who do justice,
and your ears are open to their voice.

To those who yearn for peace,
your promise is this:
whatever is needed will be given.

Your arms enfold the brokenhearted,
and rescue those whose spirits are crushed.

To those who fear the future,
your promise is this:
whatever is needed will be given.

ALL:
O taste and see how good God is!
Happy are those who take refuge in the Living Rock.

 
— from Stone Soup, a liturgy on the Seekers Church website.

COMING SOON

“Hope for today: Daily reflections for Advent”
A collaboration between Irene, Rev. Graham Austin and Irma Gevers of Scots International Church Rotterdam, with daily posts from 1 to 24 December.
 

A taste for beauty


Powerpoint and natural light  (Photo: Irene Bom)

Prayer of Thanksgiving

O God,
We thank you for this earth, our home;
for the wide sky and the blessed sun,
for the ocean and streams,
for the towering hills and the whispering wind,
for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses
by which we hear the songs of birds,
and see the splendour of fields of golden wheat,
and taste autumn’s fruit,
rejoice in the feel of snow,
and smell the breath of spring flowers.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty;
and save us from being so blind
that we pass unseeing
when even the common thorn bush
is aflame with your glory.

For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities
for new beginnings and new discoveries.
Life is constantly changing and renewing itself.

In this new day of new beginnings with God,
all things are possible.
We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening
to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.
Amen.

 
~ written by Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918),
posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Theme: Spurred on by prayer  [prayer sheet]
Prayer poem: Sweet words
Grace notes
 

3 Prayers for a fruitful life

 

The Holy Spirit produces a different kind of fruit: unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You won’t find any law opposed to fruit like this.

Gal 5:22-23

 
 

Let us pray for fruit like this in our lives …

#1 | inspired by Isaiah 5:1-7

Let us pray the Lord to keep surrounding us
with his care, till we bear rich fruit.

Pause

Lord God, our Father,
you ask of us today:
“My people, answer me:
What more could I have done for you?”

Teach and help us to respond with our whole being
to your daily forgiveness and patience,
to the riches of life brought us by Jesus,
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
that we may be a people that bears lasting fruits.
May we bring to all a justice animated by love,
may we learn to share as you do with us.
Show us your mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
 
~ from Liturgy Alive
 

#2 | inspired by John 12:20-33

God of thundering glory and wondrous love,
you lifted up Jesus Christ from the earth
to draw all people to your holy name.
Like grains of wheat that fall to the dust,
teach us to die — and so to bear much fruit,
giving our lives for the sake of the gospel,
following and serving Christ Jesus forever.
 
— from the Presbyterian Church USA website,
posted on re:Worship
 

#3 | inspired by Colossians 1:10-14

Gracious God,
Give us spiritual insight and understanding,
so that we would be able to see things from your point of view.

May our words and actions bring credit to Your name
and joy to Your heart;
may all that we do bear fruit for Your kingdom,
and may we come to know and love You more each day.

Strengthen us with Your power
so that we would be able to joyfully endure whatever comes our way,
and give thanks to You even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Thank You for rescuing us from the power of darkness,
and bringing us into the glorious light of Your kingdom.

All praise to Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in whom we have found redemption and forgiveness.
Amen.
 
~ posted on re:Worship
 

From the blog
Check out the Index for more posts in the 3 Prayers series.