08.29.08
Prayer of Restoration and Guidance
Lord Jesus
Be the light I see
The path I follow
Shelter me in your shadow
Let me find rest in your wing
Let peace be never far
And love be ever-flowing from me.
Amen.
08.27.08
The Peace Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is error, the truth
Where there is doubt, the faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And 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
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
- St. Francis of Assisi
08.26.08
The Athanasian Creed (part 1 of 3)
Whosoever wishes to be saved
before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith,
which faith, if anyone does not keep it whole and unharmed,
without doubt he will perish everlastingly.
Now, the catholic faith is this,
that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity,
neither confusing the Persons
nor dividing the divine Being.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son,
and another of the Holy Spirit,
but the Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is all one,
their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son
and such is the Holy Spirit:
the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated
and the Holy Spirit uncreated;
the Father infinite, the Son infinite
and the Holy Spirit infinite;
the Father eternal, the Son eternal
and the Holy Spirit eternal;
and yet they are not three Eternals
but one Eternal,
just as they are not three Uncreateds, nor three Infinites,
but one Uncreated and one Infinite.
In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty
and the Holy Spirit almighty;
and yet they are not three Almighties
but one Almighty.
Thus the Father is God, the Son is God
and the Holy Spirit is God;
and yet there are not three Gods
but one God.
Thus the Father is the Lord, the Son is the Lord,
and the Holy Spirit is the Lord;
and yet not three Lords
but one Lord.
08.25.08
Shema
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
08.21.08
Ashanti Prayer for Blessing
O Lord, O God,
creator Of Our land, our earth, the trees,
the animals and humans, all is for your honor
The drums beat it out, and people sing about it,
and they dance with noisy joy that you are the Lord.
You also have pulled the other continents out of the sea.
What a wonderful world you have made out of the wet mud,
and what beautiful men and women!
We thank you for the beauty of this earth.
The grace of your creation is like a cool day between rainy seasons.
We drink in your creation with our eyes.
We listen to the birds’ jubilee with our ears.
How strong and good and sure your earth smells, and everything that grows there.
The sky above us is like a warm, soft Kente cloth, because you are behind it,
else it would be cold and rough and uncomfortable.
We drink in your creation and cannot get enough of it.
But in doing this we forget the evil we have done.
Lord, we call you, we beg you:
tear us away from our sins and our death.
This wonderful world fades away.
And one day our eyes snap shut, and all is over and dead that is not from you.
We are still slaves of the demons and the fetishes of this earth.
When we are not saved by you.
Bless us.
Bless our land and people.
Bless our forests with mahogany, wawa, and cacao.
Bless our fields with cassava and peanuts.
Bless the waters that flow through our land.
Fill them with fish and drive great schools of fish to our seacoast,
so that the fishermen in their unsteady boats do not need to go out too far.
Be with us youth in our countries, and in all Africa, and in the whole world.
Prepare us for the service that we should render.
08.19.08
Confession
Most merciful Father, our Creator and Judge,
we acknowledge and confess
that we have sinned against you
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with all our heart;
and we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We earnestly repent,
and are truly sorry for all our sins.
For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake forgive us,
and strengthen us to serve and obey you
in lives wholly renewed by your Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Loving Father we rejoice that you pardon and forgive all those who truly repent and sincerely believe your holy gospel: grant us true repentance and your holy Spirit; so that we may live godly, righteous and holy lives and that we may come at the last to your eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From the English Prayer book.
08.18.08
Fear the Lord
What does the LORD our God ask of us but to fear the LORD our God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD our God with all our heart and with all our soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that were given for our own good?
To the LORD our God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on our forefathers and loved them, and he chose us, their descendants, above all the nations. We will set apart our hearts, for the LORD our God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And we are to love those who are aliens, for we ourselves have been aliens.
We will fear the LORD our God, serve him, and hold fast to him.
Amen.
based on Deuteronomy 10:12-20
08.13.08
Pauline Prayer
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 1:15-21 and 3:13-21, NLT
08.12.08
A community Psalm
Lord, how much of You is in each day?
More than I could ever be aware of.
Praising You, I come seeking Your face,
You are my Refuge,
Your love drifts around me like air,
And I eagerly drink it in.
Oh Lord, my God, my Love, my Joy,
My Peace, my Provider, my King;
Let my life be a living testimony of Your magnificent love for me!
For You alone have made me whole,
Your grace, Lord, is beyond anything I could imagine.
The Lord of Love my Shepherd is,
I am His and He is mine forever.
You are my still calm waters,
And the fierce water that crashes upon the shore,
You take this frail vessel
And make something beautiful in Your time.
Oh Lord, my God,
Thank you for Your love.
Understanding what you are doing in the struggles and victories of others,
Gives life to my soul,
May I seek this understanding more often.
I was born to serve You, Oh Lord,
May Your love be upon me forever and ever.
You are too near to me for me to see You,
Too close for me to understand.
I am compelled by the colour of your countries,
Your voice is deeper than all roses,
No one, not even the rain, has such small hands.
And when all is said and done,
When the sun dips low and the stars reveal themselves in the heavens,
You write Your special name on my heart,
And claim me as Your own.
I will not forget the wonderful things my God has done for me,
For this, I am forever grateful.
For I am accepted, secure and significant,
Thank you for the Lamb,
Worthy is the Lamb,
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He touches me in my innermost being.
Written during a prayer time at NieuCommunities by the community.
