Here are 3 prayers inspired by Psalm 51:10: “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me”. I’ve also included a link to Keith Green’s song, Create in me a clean heart, also a classic in my view.
#1
Merciful God,
have mercy on our souls,
according to your unwavering love;
according to your abundant mercy
wipe away our sins and the guilt we have carried for so long.
Instead write on our hearts your love,
your boundaries for our lives,
your salvation that sets us free from our sins
to live the abundant life you have for each of us.
Lord we would see Jesus;
we would love Jesus;
we would follow Jesus;
we would serve Jesus.
Lord,
create in us clean hearts;
renew your spirit within us.
Do not turn us away from your presence,
do not take your Holy Spirit from us.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in us a willing spirit.
Write on our hearts, your love O God,
Amen.
God of our Hearts,
not of our outer garments,
nor our church structures,
nor our programs and human plans,
you are the only one who can make us pure.
You are the only one who can wash us clean of all our sin and guilt.
You alone can save us from the terrible Day of the Lord.
You are the merciful and just God.
If we turn, we see you.
Help us to turn, O God of all hearts,
and find you here with us:
Emmanuel – the Christ-heart within us all.
We light our fires for you, to reflect your shining.
~ from Heart of the Matter: Service for Ash Wednesday, written by Rev. Marilyn K. Levine. Posted on the United Church of Christ website
#3 / a blessing
May God create in you a clean heart,
a transformed heart,
a heart that knows and seeks and loves
the justice and mercy of the Lord.
May you accept the gift of salvation –
not your personal possession to be coveted,
but His work, accomplished in the destruction of sin
on the cross of Jesus Christ.
And may you humble yourself before the Lord,
coming before Him with a broken spirit,
a contrite heart,
receiving from His hand
great compassion
and unfailing love.
“I cannot forget him out of my mind,” an Afghani student said in a BBC World Service news report recently. The mix-up of ‘get’ and ‘forget’ means now I can’t forget this young man out of my mind.
In Isaiah 49:15-16 God says to his people who feel forsaken, forgotten:
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Here is a video by the Bible Project on the character of God, focussing in particular on his COMPASSION. Parental love is a recurring image throughout the video.
Great Caregiver Prayer
When we entered this world as tiny babies,
you gave us caregivers,
who watched and waited on us,
who fed and clothed us,
who taught us how to live.
We pause in this moment of silence to give our own thanks
for one special person who has changed our life:
For their work, and their love which has shaped us,
we give you thanks!
We pray today for caregivers;
mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers,
aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins,
neighbours and family friends,
all who care for children.
Give us the wisdom we need to do this work!
Open our ears and eyes to the real needs of those in our charge;
open our hearts and hands to meet these needs.
Give us endurance, and patience and hope,
and above all compassion,
treating each child as we would want to be treated.
You know us, God;
you know that there are places where we have failed as caregivers;
we also need your help to mend broken or strained relationships,
we need forgiveness, we need closure.
Grant us peace in our relationships.
Our prayers are also directed today for caregivers
around the world who face special challenges;
for those many caregivers
who are caring for orphans from the tragedy of AIDS;
for caregivers who are without food,
walking long distances with children in their arms;
for caregivers in war-torn countries who are trying desperately
to protect their children from bombs and guns.
So many dangers in this world, Lord,
and you know them all.
Bring peace to our troubled times,
justice for those who are oppressed,
hope to those who are hopeless.
God, you love us with a father’s love,
you care for us more tenderly than any mother,
you are the Great Caregiver.
Help us this week to be aware of your love,
your gaze upon us,
encouraging us, sustaining us,
directing us.
Amen.
This is an embodied prayer based on St Patrick’s Breastplate – a prayer of protection from the 5th century. It’s adapted from the kneeling version featured in Sue Wallace’s book, Multi-Sensory Prayer.
I commend it as a spiritual practice, especially when you feel overwhelmed.
St Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ within me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right side
Christ on my left side
Christ in quiet
Christ in danger
Christ in the mouth
of a friend or a stranger
Did you know? Cecil Frances Alexander’s hymn, “All things bright and beautiful” (published in 1848), was inspired by the words, Maker of heaven and earth, from the Apostle’s Creed. I’ve included the lyrics and a video below.
But first, an intergenerational story of creation (Genesis 1-2) from the Kairos Canada website told in gestures and words. May it brighten up your day.
The Story of Creation
In the beginning, the world was dark, and there was no shape. (Put hands over eyes and shake head “no.”)
God moved over the water. (Move arms left to right in front of body.)
Then God spoke and said, “Let there be light.” (Cup hands around mouth.)
And there was light! (Arch hands over head like you are making a big sun.)
And God said, “This is good!” (Make a “thumbs up” sign.)
God separated the day from the night. (Push arms away from sides of body.)
God separated the heavens from the earth. (Push one arm up and one arm down vertically away from body.)
God separated the water from the land. (Push arms away from front of body as if pushing something away from you.)
And God said, “This is good!” (Make “thumbs up” sign.)
God made plants to grow. (Squat down, put hands and arms together over your head, and slowly stand upward and reach high.)
God made the stars at night. (While hands are still high over head, open hands and fingers wide, and wiggle fingers.)
And God said, “This is good!” (Make “thumbs up” sign.)
God made the fish in the sea, and the birds in the air. (Put hands together, fingers closed, and move them like a fish tail swimming; then put arms out at sides and flap like a bird.)
And God said, “This is good!” (Make “thumbs up” sign.)
God made animals on the land. (Let children imitate different animals they know–bunnies hopping, dogs barking, etc.)
And God said, “This is good!” (Make “thumbs up” sign.)
Then God made people in God’s own image. (Smile and point to self, then look to heavens.)
God said to the people, “Take good care of my world!” (Point finger and shake it in front, as if shaking it at someone.)
And God said, “This world is good!” (Make “thumbs up” sign and have all say “This is Good!”)
St Francis of Assisi (1181?–1226): Who better to help us explore the joyful in life and prayer?
First, some notes on Franciscan-style prayer, based on an article by Stefan Walser.
Next, 3 prayers written by St Francis (or connected with him) for you to try on and adapt. Indoors or outdoors. Alone or together.
Finally, a ‘Digging deeper’ section with a video and some links.
Enjoy.
Characteristics of Franciscan prayer
1. Individual. Francis of Assisi developed a personal and individual way of praying, based on his unique personality and life story, and he encourages us to do the same.
2. Responsorial. Prayer is always a dialogue, a response, a ‘re-action’. Bringing one’s life to God, one gives back what one received from God. Therefore, Franciscan prayer always includes thanksgiving.
3. Affirmative. In affirming the gift of life and God as the Creator of life, we develop an affirmative attitude in general.
4. Universal. There is nothing that does not relate to God, and so there is nothing that cannot be part of prayer.
5. Connected to actions and work. Francis prays, even in the most seclusive moments of his life, that his prayers might have some “output” and that he may fulfil “God’s commands”.
6. Integral part of communal life. By centring communal life around prayer, a certain “contemplative” attitude in all things is maintained.
Most High, all-powerful sweet Lord,
yours is the praise, the glory,
and the honour & every blessing.
Be praised, My Lord, for all your creatures,
and first for brother sun,
who makes the day bright and luminous.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour.
He is the image of you, Most High.
Be praised, My Lord, for sister moon
and the stars, in the sky.
You have made them brilliant & precious & beautiful.
Be praised, My Lord, for brother wind
and for the air both cloudy and serene
and every kind of weather,
through which you give nourishment to your creatures.
Be praised, My Lord, for sister water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Be praised, My Lord, for brother fire,
through whom you illuminate the night.
And he is beautiful and joyous and robust and strong.
Be praised, My Lord, for our sister, mother earth,
who nourishes us and watches over us
and brings forth various fruits with coloured flowers & herbs.
Be praised, My Lord,
for those who forgive through your love,
and bear sickness & tribulation;
blessed are those who endure in peace,
for they will be crowned by you, Most High.
Be praised, My Lord, for our sister, bodily death,
from whom no living thing can escape.
Blessed are those whom she finds
doing your most holy will,
for the second death cannot harm them.
Praise and bless My Lord
and give thanks to him
and serve him with great humility.
O our most holy Father:
Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler, and Savior,
You are in heaven:
And in the angels and saints,
Inflaming us to love, because You, Lord, are love,
And filling us with happiness as our Supreme and Eternal Good.
Glorious is Your name:
May our knowledge of You become ever clearer
That we may know Your blessings and Your majesty.
Your Kingdom come:
Give us unclouded vision to let you rule in us through Your grace,
And so we enjoy a blessed companionship with You forever.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven:
That we may love You with our whole heart,
Desire You with our whole soul,
Always think of You with affection,
Spend all our energies in serving You,
And that we may love our neighbours with Your love.
Give us this day our daily Bread:
Which is our Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And forgive us our trespasses:
Through Your indescribable mercy to us in Christ,
Which we see in the faith and prayers of the blessed virgin Mary.
Help us to forgive those who trespass against us:
You, Lord, enable us to forgive to the full
So that we may truly love our enemies and intercede for them.
Lead us not into temptation:
Keep us from all sin, hidden or obvious.
Deliver us from evil:
Keep us from all that’s bad in the past, present, and to come.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, it is now, and will be forever.
Amen.
First printed in France in 1912, this much-loved prayer may not have been written by St Francis, but it certainly embodies what he stood for.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console,
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
In light of the resurrection, here’s a different take on the word, “dust”.
A poem: Dusting
by Marilyn Nelson, 1946
Thank you for these tiny
particles of ocean salt,
pearl-necklace viruses,
winged protozoans:
for the infinite,
intricate shapes
of submicroscopic
living things.
For algae spores
and fungus spores,
bonded by vital
mutual genetic cooperation,
spreading their
inseparable lives
from equator to pole.
My hand, my arm,
make sweeping circles.
Dust climbs the ladder of light.
For this infernal, endless chore,
for these eternal seeds of rain:
Thank you. For dust.
