Category: prayer

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
 

From prayer and conversation to answers


Het Vredeskerkje (The Little Peace Church) in Bergen aan Zee, NL

 

For those looking for answers on how to be salt and light in the world, here are some wise words from Paul:

 

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

 

 

Prayer

O God, our Master in heaven,
make us fair and just in our dealings with others;
keep us persistent in prayer for them,
alert to their needs,
and constantly thankful;
open doors for us to proclaim the message about the secret of Christ;
help us to speak as we should, to make it clear.
Keep us wise in the way we act towards those who do not believe,
help us always to make good use of every opportunity we have;
let our conversation be attractive and inspiring,
and teach us how to give the right answer to everyone,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 
~ written by Michael Perry, and posted on www.jubilate.co.uk

From the blog
Environmentally water-wise
Small talk
To Emmaus and back
 

In the school of prayer with Eugene Peterson

 

Here are some extracts on the topic of prayer by Eugene Peterson from his book, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer.

 
 

I

What is essential in prayer is not that we learn to express ourselves, but that we learn to answer God. The psalms show us how to answer. (p. 6)

II

The practice of Christians in praying the Psalms is straightforward: simply pray through the Psalms, psalm by psalm, regularly. … That’s it: open our Bibles to the book of Psalms and prayer them – sequentially, regularly, faithfully across a lifetime. This is how most Christians for most of the Christian centuries have matured in prayer. Nothing fancy. Just do it. The praying itself is deliberate and leisurely, letting (as St. Benedict directed) the motions of the heart come into harmony with the movements of the lips. (p. 7)

III

All the psalms are prayers in community: people assembled, attentive before God, participating in a common posture, movement and speech, offering themselves and each other to their Lord. Prayer is not a private exercise, but a family convocation. … the believing community at worship, at regular times and in assigned places, is the base of prayer. All the psalms were prayed in such communities. … The primary use of prayer in not for expressing ourselves, but in becoming ourselves, and we cannot do that alone. (p. 18-19)

IV

Human beings are in trouble most of the time. Those who don’t know they are in trouble are in the worst trouble. Prayer is the language of the people who are in trouble and know it, and who believe or hope that God can get them out. (p. 36)

V

We do better to simply enter the sequence of psalms as they are given to us in the Psalms, go from one to the next, one day to the next, one week to the next, taking what comes, learning to enter into what comes, whatever, practicing a sense of the presence of God, deepening that awareness into colloquy* with God. (p. 108)

 
*  colloquy: dialogue, conversation, heart-to-heart

So I answered

Psalm 40:1-8, The Message (translated by Eugene Peterson)

I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.
 

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Anselm
In the school of prayer with Michael Mayne
In the school of prayer with Ignatius of Loyola
 

Answer the call

A prayer

inspired by Genesis 12:1-7
 

Lord, help us answer your call as readily as our father Abram, that we might extend your blessing throughout our community. Remind us that the places where we find you become altars in our world.  Amen.

 
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 91
 

From the blog
Continually ever-present
Walking the labyrinth
Sabbath rest
 

Open ending


 
 

This final post for 2023 has an intriguing title, something to chew on, and features a prayer of reflection by Tim Watson for the end of a day … or year …

 

Reflection at the end of a day

 
In the silence
we hold before God the day now passing into history
and we give thanks

silence

Lord, for this day
we give you thanks.
Lord, for the moments when we encountered grace and beauty
we give you thanks.
Lord, for conversations that have made an impact on our lives
we give you thanks.
Lord, for the times when we have seen you at work
we give you thanks.
 
In the silence we hold before God the hurts of the past day

silence

Lord, we remember the times
when we have not shown love
through our thoughts, words and actions.
We seek forgiveness.
Lord, we remember the times
when we have been hurt by the words and actions of others.
Help us to forgive.
Lord, we remember the times
when we have been distracted from seeking after you.
Lord, make yourself known to us,
help us to see you
in the midst of the noise and clamour of this world
 
In the silence we hold before God tomorrow
and the opportunities it bears

silence

Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit would guide us
into the ways of righteousness
that you would give us strength for the journey.
Lord, you know the shape of our lives at this time,
you know the delights we enjoy and the pressures we endure.
Guide us and give us wisdom to know your will,
strengthen our resolve to discern your call.
Lord, make yourself known to us in the daily pattern of our lives.
Help us to see the fruit borne out of small actions.
Lord, help us to live faithfully amidst uncertainty.
Fortify us to be followers in your Way.
Lord, help us to not live as autonomous units,
but as fellow travellers on a journey.
Lord, build up the community of which we are part,
and shape it around the cross of your Son Jesus Christ.
Lord, as we sleep tonight,
may we rest in the knowledge of your relentless love.
When we wake tomorrow,
may we be prepared for all that lies ahead.
 

~ written by Tim Watson, posted on Lighting Beacons Liturgy.

From the blog
Pause for breath …
3 Prayers for endings and beginnings
People of the way