Category: prayer

Gift to give


 

A prayer

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
 

Great gift

Pentecost prayer

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

Thy Kingdom Come: join in and join us
 

Love planting

 
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
 

Plant us, root us, grow us

 

As we approach another Pentecost, I commend to you The Gift booklet, a resource that grew out of a 12-part series on the ministry of the Holy Spirit that I posted in 2017.

 

A prayer

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 …
 

No more tears

A prayer

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
 

Weep with those who weep


View from Casa la Salle, Rome

 

“When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad.”

 

 

A prayer

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)
 

Tears on the way

A prayer

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
 

Thank you. For the promise of spring


Tree outside my front door captured in pre-spring array
 

We believe

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
 

Supply and response


 

Before or after a meal

Lord God, Creator of all,
in your wisdom,
you have bound us together so that we must depend on others
for the food we eat,
the resources we use,
the gifts of your creation that bring life, health, and joy.

Creator God, we give thanks.

Holy be the hands that sew our clothes so that we do not have to go naked;
sacred be the hands that build our homes so that we do not have to be cold;
blessed be the hands that work the land so that we do not have to go hungry.

Creator God, we give thanks.

Holy be the feet of all who labor so that we might have rest;
sacred be the feet of all who run swiftly to stand with the oppressed;
blessed be the feet of all whose bodies are too broken or weary to stand.

Creator God, we give thanks.

Holy be the sound of children laughing to take away our sorrow;
sacred be the sound of water falling to take away our thirst;
blessed be the sound of your people singing to heal our troubled hearts.

Creator God, we give thanks.

Holy be the bodies of those who know hunger;
sacred be the bodies of those who are broken;
blessed be the bodies of those who suffer.

In your mercy and grace,
soften our callous hearts and
fill us with gratitude for all the gifts you have given us.
In your love,
break down the walls that separate us
and guide us along your path of peace,
that we might humbly worship you in Spirit and in truth.
Amen.
 

from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 553
 

From the blog
Theme: Part of creation   [prayer sheet]
The Holy Other
Offer your bodies
 

My God will supply


Texel  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 

My God will supply all that you need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus.

 

 

Thanksgiving Litany

Generous God, for the abundance of your blessings to us
day by day and year by year,
We give you our thanks.

For the simple pleasures of life: for garden harvests,
coffee conversation, and familiar surroundings,
For health and strength to appreciate the wonder of life,
For needs met and desires fulfilled,
We give you our thanks.

For foods distributed to nourish body and spirit,
For homes which supply shelter, which nurture
order and beauty, and offer hospitality,
We give you our thanks.

With hearts that forgive as freely as you have forgiven,
With enthusiasm of spirit for the gift of life,
With music which declares your everlasting goodness,
With prayers for mutual understanding and peace,
We worship you with joy.

With creative pursuits which contribute our God-given talents,
With words which honor you as Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit,
With time volunteered and dedicated to service in church and community,
With years committed to extending the love of Jesus Christ,
We worship you with joy.

With gifts of money which reach farther than we can manage ourselves,
With deeds done in service of neighbor and stranger,
With holy days set apart to celebrate your goodness and grace,
With family and friends distant and nearby,
We worship you, God, with grateful hearts and joyful spirit.

Alleluia. Amen.

 
~ written by Rev. Kathy Jo Blaske, posted on www.faithward.org

From the blog
All good gifts
Abide
Sister moon