International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland
based on ‘Suscipe me’,
a prayer made by a novice on entering a Benedictine Community
Accept me, O Lord,
just as I am,
in my frailty,
my inadequacy,
my contradictions
and my confusions.
Accept me,
with all those discordant currents
that pull me in so many directions.
Accept all of this,
and help me so to live with what I am,
that what I am
may become my way to you.
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #935
based on Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4
O God, you love us like a good parent,
and are present in every aspect of our existence.
May your nature become known and respected by all.
May your joy, peace, wholeness and justice
be the reality for everyone
as we live by the Jesus Way.
Give us all that we really need to live every day for you.
And forgive us our failures as we forgive others for their failures.
Keep us from doing those things which are not of you,
and cause us always to be centred on your love.
For you are the true reality in this our now,
and in all our future.
In the Jesus Way we pray.
~ by D. Sorril, posted on re:worship
From the blog
People of the way
3 Prayers to our Father
Theme: Change my heart, O God [prayer sheet]
Lord, take as your right,
and receive as my gift,
all my freedom, my memory,
my understanding and my will.
Whatever I am and whatever I possess,
you have given to me;
I restore it all to you again,
to be at your disposal,
according to your will.
Give me only a love for you,
and the gift of your grace;
then I am rich enough,
and ask for nothing more.
~ St Ingatius Loyola (1491-1556)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #27
From the blog
In the school of prayer with Ignatius of Loyola
On the threshold of tomorrow
In the quiet of God’s smile
based on Acts 2:1-13
Holy Spirit of God,
great gift of our exalted Lord,
on the day of Pentecost you came to the Church
as he promised, to abide with us for ever.
Come to us in your grace and power today,
to make Jesus real to us,
to teach us more about him,
and to deepen our trust in him;
that we may be changed into his likeness
and be his witnesses in the world,
to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
~ author unknown, posted on re:worship
FROM THE BLOG
The Gift booklet
a 12-part series of readings and prayer poems on the Holy Spirit
A sixth-century Jewish rabbi wrote, “God, from the very beginning of creation, was occupied before all else with planting, as it is written, ‘And first of all, the Eternal God planted a Garden in Eden.’ Therefore occupy yourselves first and foremost with planting.”
Lord, give us humility to remember that we are made from dirt so that we might till the dirt and love it as we love ourselves. Amen.
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 249
From the blog
3 Prayers for refugees
Grace notes
A new nature
You who led Israel through the waters,
plant us by streams of living water.
Root us in your love
and grow us up to bear the fruit of your Spirit:
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Amen
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 222
From the blog
Bloom where you’re planted
Thank you. For fruit-bearing trees
Flowers fall, but …
O God our creator,
whose good earth is entrusted
to our care and delight and tenderness,
we pray:
For all who are in captivity to debt,
whose lives are cramped by fear
from which there is no turning
except through abundant harvest.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
For all who depend on the earth
for their daily food and fuel,
whose forests are destroyed
for the profits of a few.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
For all who labour in poverty,
who are oppressed by unjust laws,
who are banned for speaking the truth,
who long for a harvest of justice.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
For all who are in captivity
to greed and waste and boredom,
whose harvest joy is chocked
with things they do not need.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Turn us again from our captivity
and restore our vision,
that our mouth may be filled with laughter
and our tongue with singing.
by Janet Morley,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #886
From the blog
In the school of prayer with Tish Harrison Warren
Wilderness woes
Man of Sorrows
View from Casa la Salle, Rome
from Papua New Guinea
Lord Jesus Christ,
you told the women of Jerusalem not to weep for you
but to weep for themselves.
Be with women who suffer violence in their homes
as they weep for their sons caught up in the violence.
Be with women and children trapped in prostitution and poverty.
Be with the women who live in domestic violence,
who have learnt not to weep for their own pains,
who have suffered so long they are numb.
Strengthen your Church in its care and support of all who are in pain.
Help us all to be sensitive and caring,
for you are the Lord who suffers and serves.
from A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from Around the World by John Carden, p. 243
From the blog
I hear you
Roadside assistance
Windows on Holy Week (series from 2017)
Sometimes we don’t realize the intensity of the things for which we pray, Lord. Keep us courageously mindful that your way is laden with tears on the way to resurrection. Amen.
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 169
From the blog
Theme: God makes all things new [prayer sheet]
Leaving the desert behind
Burning desire
Tree outside my front door captured in pre-spring array
based on Isaiah 61: 10-11
We believe.
We believe joyfully in the God of love,
with all our being we celebrate our God.
As soil after drought produces green shoots
and as garden seeds spring into new life,
so our God produces justice and praise
to spring up among all nations.
We believe in God
who dresses us in the garments of salvation;
who by the grace of Christ
covers us with the robe of righteousness,
adopts us into the holy family
and promises to make us a crown of beauty,
a royal diadem in the hand of God.
This we believe through Christ Jesus.
May the Holy Spirit strengthen our belief.
— written by Bruce Prewer, posted on www.bruceprewer.com
From the blog
Blossom and flourish
Singing creation’s song
Hear creation singing