11.27.09
Prayer for Welcoming Advent
Lord God, only you can see into my heart and know that under all the busy-ness of my life, there is a deep longing to make this Advent one that welcomes you more deeply into my own life.
My heart desires the warmth of your love and my mind searches for your Light in the midst of the darkness.
Help me to be a peacemaker this Advent and to give special love to those who disagree with me. Give me the strength and courage to forgive those who have hurt me. Help me to free my heart from the prison of my anger and hurt.
Taken from “One Prayer a Day for Advent”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/Daily-prayers.html
11.26.09
Love Through Me
Love through me, love of God,
There is no love in me,
O fire of love, light thou the love
That burns perpetually.
Amy W Carmichael, “Love Through Me” Toward Jerusalem (London: S.P.C.K., 1950)11.24.09
Open my Ears
Holy Spirit
Open my ears to hear what you hear
and change my heart today.
Amen.
11.20.09
Thanksgiving Prayer
Gracious and generous God we give you thanks
For the gift of life for we are made in your image,
We think of all those in whom your divine image is still distorted
We pray for your mercy and love to rest upon them
God in your mercy be with them
Caring and providing God we give you thanks
For our homes that shelter and protect us,
We think of those without shelter and water and protection today
We pray for your provision to be poured out upon them
God in your mercy be with them
Abundant and giving God we give you thanks
For our food that nourishes and strengthens us,
We thing of those without food and nourishment today
We pray that you will feed them with the bread of life
God in your mercy be with them
Loving and compassionate God we give you thanks
For our friends and family who love and comfort us in times of need
We think of those who are alone and feel abandoned
God comfort and surround them that they may sense your presence
God in your mercy be with them
Gracious and generous God
We remember all the gifts you have given us,
We remember how lavishly you have provided,
We remember how lovingly you have cared,
We remember especially that greatest gift of all,
Jesus Christ our Saviour,
And we give you thanks.
Amen
Written by Christine Sine on GodSpace.
For entire Thanksgiving liturgy:
http://godspace.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/a-thanksgiving-prayer/
11.19.09
High King of Heaven
~ Irish hymn, c. 8th century
11.18.09
A Prayer for the Earth
Most gracious God, creator of all good things, we thank you for planet earth and all creatures that share it.
Have mercy on us, Lord. Through ignorance and carelessness we have poisoned clean air and pure water. For monetary gain we have reduced verdant forests to barren wastes. In our craving for more we have plundered your beloved creation and driven many of our fellow creatures to extinction. Only recently have we begun to realize the dangerous future into which our current patterns of consumption and waste are driving us, especially in relation to earth’s climate. Only recently have we begun to see our need to find a wiser and better way of life in the future, before it is too late and our choices are limited by the consequences of inaction.
We who join in prayer today believe the time has come, Lord. Please guide us now, our God, at this critical moment in history, to better fulfill our role as stewards of this fragile planet. Guide the leaders of nations who (will) gather in Copenhagen (on December 6). Give them courage to set noble goals that reach beyond short-range political expediency, short-term economic profit, and short-sighted self-interest. Impress upon their conscience our sacred duty to bequeath to our children and grandchildren a healthy and thriving environment rather than a world in climate crisis.
If our leaders fail, Lord, if they fail to take the necessary action, they will violate both our trust and your calling to use their power for the common good. If they fail, every person will be affected, including generations not yet born. Rouse us all to action for we are all woven together in the fabric of creation.
This is the moment, God, when a great turning of hearts must begin. So through this prayer, we of many traditions who follow Christ — joined by friends and neighbors of many faiths – unite our hearts in a cry for change. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray in the name of Christ, through whom you have given yourself to the whole world in incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Amen.
11.16.09
A prayer for children
Please pray this for all children, and then for the specific ones God Spirit’s brings to mind…
Jesus, may every child know and experience your love today.
Help them each grow into the people you have created them to be.
Protect them from anything that would keep them from you.
Amen.
