Prayers
These are prayers that I have collected across the years which have been meaningful to me … and I commend them to you! Leighton
1. The Prayer of Stillness
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be
2. A Prayer Before Entering into the Ministry of the Day
Lord, here’s my mind, think your thoughts in me.
Be my wisdom, knowledge, and insight.
Here is my voice.
You told me not to worry what to say and how to say it.
Free me to speak with silence or words, whichever is needed.
Give me your timing and tenderness.
Now Lord, here is my body.
Release creative affection in my face, my touch, my embrace.
And Christ, if there is something I am to do by your indwelling presence,
However menial or tough, control my will to do it.
Lord, I am ready now to be your manifest intervention in situations,
To infuse joy, or absorb pain and aching anguish.
I plan to live this day and the rest of my life in the reality of you in me.
Thank you for making it so!
This prayer above of Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie’s I have used for many years as I prepare to preach or begin some other ministry.
3. THE FELGILD COMPLINE
All say together sections in bold type.
*Indicates a change of readers
Each in turn says the lines in italics
Calm me, O Lord, as you stilled the storm.
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, Lord, in Your pieace.
*Father, bless the work that is done
And the work that is to be.
*Father, bless the servant that I am
And the servant that I will be.
Thou Lord and God of power,
Shield and sustain me this night.
I will lie down this night with God,
And God will lie down with me;
I will lie down this night with Christ,
And Christ will lie down with me;
I will lie down this night with the Spirit,
And the Spirit will lie down with me;
God and Christ and the Spirit,
Be lying down with me.
*The peace of God be over me to shelter me
* under me to uphold me
* about me to protect me
* behind me to direct me
* ever with me to save me,
The peace of all peace be mine this night.
In the Name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
4. Morning Prayer (of John Stott)
Good morning, heavenly Father;
good morning, Lord Jesus;
good morning, Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, I worship you
as the creator and sustainer of the universe
Lord Jesus, I worship you,
Savior and Lord of the world.
Holy Spirit, I worship you,
Sanctifier of the people of God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen.
Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence
and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross
and follow you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself
and cause your fruit to ripen in my life:
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity,
three persons in one God,
have mercy upon me.
Amen.
5. A prayer of St. Thomas
O Christ, whom now beneath a veil we see,
May what we thirst for soon our portion be,
To gaze upon thee unveiled, and see thy fade,
The Vision of thy glory and thy grace.
Thomas Aquinas (c.1125-1274 trans. by James Russell Woodford, 1850)
6. A Prayer of Lloyd Ogilvie
Lord, here’s my mind, think your thoughts in me. Be my wisdom, knowledge, and insight.
Here is my voice. You told me not to worry about what I am to say, but that it would
be given me what to say and how to say it.
Free me to speak with silence or with words, whichever is needed.
Give my your timing and tenderness.
Now Lord, here is my body.
Release creative affection in my face, my touch, my embrace.
And Christ, if there is something I am do to by your indwelling presence
however menial or tough, control my will to do it.
Lord, I am ready now to be your manifest intervention in siutations
to infuse joy, affirm growth, or absorb pain and aching anguish.
I plan to live this day and the rest of my life in the reality of you in me.
Thank you for making it so!
7. FIVE PRAYERS
The following are from “Prayer for Beginners”, a presentation offered on BBC television in 1958 by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, a Russian Orthodox bishop. Before becoming a monk he was a physician who worked with the French Resistance before World War II. While in his talks he may have been addressing beginners, the prayers are very good for us who think we are further along the way! (The prayers and comments come from the Epilogue of Metropolitan Bloom’s book Living Prayer, Templegate Press, Springfield IL)
FIRST PRAYER “When it comes to praying our first difficulty is to find which one of our personalities should be put forward to meet God …we are so unaccustomed to be our real self that in all truth we do not know which one that is …”, so we may pray
‘Help me, O God, to put off all pretences and to find my true self.”
SECOND PRAYER Since “if we are to address God, this God must be real” and since the pictures we have of God from earlier years, including childhood, may “prevent us from meeting the real God …” we may pray
‘Help me, O God, to discard all false pictures of thee, whatever the cost to my
comfort.’
THIRD PRAYER Since we may come to God with boredom, fear, despair, as we talk to God it must be genuine talk … so “Let us put all our worries to God … and then drop these concerns,” and so we may pray
‘Help me, O God, to let go all of my problems, and fix my mind on thee.”
FOURTH PRAYER Since we stand before God as “the stripped, reduced-to-bone person which we are when we remain just alone,” and since “we are also in the image of God” … “I suggest a period of silence – three or four minutes – which we shall end with a prayer:
‘Help me, O God, to see my own sins, never to judge my neighbor, and may the glory all be thine!”
FIFTH PRAYER “When we pray to God from all our heart … and yet there is nothing but silence …I only want you to remember that we should always keep our faith intact, both in the love of God and in our honest, truthful faith …let us say this prayer, which is made of two sentences pronounced by Jesus Christ himself:
‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit, Thy Will, not mine, be done.’
(You may find it helpful to make each of these a prayer for one week, before moving on to the next.)
8. A prayer of Catherine of Siena
SEA, LIGHT, FIRE
Eternal Trinity, you are like a deep sea, in which the more I seek, the more I find; and the more I find, the more eagerly I seek. You fill the soul, yet never fully satisfy it; the soul continues to hunger and thirst for you, longing to see you who are the source of all light.
In your light, eternal Trinity, I have seen into the deep ocean of your love, and have rejoiced in the beauty of your creation. Then looking at myself in you, I have recognized that you have made me in your image. This is the most precious gift which I receive from you in your power and in your wisdom.
Eternal Trinity, you are the creator and I the creature. I have come to know you because you have created me anew in your Son Jesus Christ. You are in love with me out of your love for him. You have given yourself to me. What more could I ask?
You are a fire, ever burning and never consumed. You consume in your heart all the self-love within my soul, taking away all coldness. You are a light, ever shining and never fading. You drive away all the darkness within my heart, enabling me to see your glorious truth.
You are goodness beyond all goodness, beauty beyond all beauty, wisdom beyond all wisdom.
You are the garment that covers all nakedness. You are the food that satisfies all hunger.
Catherine of Siena
9. A prayer by John Keble, etched on a rock over Lake Windermere
Thou who hast given me eyes to see
And love this sight so far
Give me a heart to find out Thee
and read Thee everywhere
10. A prayer by W. Paul Jones
Lord, be within me to empower me,
be without me so that I can endure,
over me as a shelter,
beneath me as a support,
before me as my light,
behind me to call me back,
and throughout,
enfold me as my Lover.
11. The Prayer of ‘Aunt Ida’ Dr. Ida Scudder, founder of Vellore Christian Medical College
Father, whose love is within me and whose love is ever about me,
grant that Thy life may be maintained in my life today and everyday;
that with gladness of heart, without haste or confusion of thought,
I may go about my daily tasks
conscious of ability to meet every rightful demand,
seeing the larger meaning of little things,
and finding beauty and love everywhere
and in the sense of Thy presence may I walk through the hours
breathing the atmosphere of love rather than anxious striving
12. A Prayer of George Herbert
But thou wilt sin and grief destroy;
That so the broken bones may joy,
And tuned together in a well-set song
Full of his praises
Who dead men raises
Fractures well cured make us more strong
13. A Prayer of Fred Pratt Green
Of all my prayers
may this be chief:
Till faith is fully grown
Lord, disbelieve my unbelief
And claim me as Your own
O Savior in the Quiet Place
14. This is another day, Lord
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. (From the Book of Common Prayer)
15. A Prayer of G.K. Chesterton
You say grace before meals.
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and the pantomine,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
Quoted by Frederick Buechner in Speak What We Feel, p. 119
16. I bind unto myself today
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God, to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
ancient Celtic prayer (probably from Celtic Night Prayer)
17. A PRAYER OF JOHN NEWMAN
GOD HAS CREATED ME
TO DO HIM some definite service
He has committed some work to me
which he has not committed to another
I HAVE MY MISSION
I may never know it in this life
but I shall be told it in the next
I AM A LINK IN A CHAIN
a bond of connection between persons
He has not created me for naught
I shall do good – I shall do HIS work
I shall be an angel of peace
a preacher of truth in my own place
while not intending it
if I do but keep His commandments
THEREFORE I WILL TRUST HIM
whatever I am,
I can never be thrown away
If I am in sickness,
my sickness may serve Him
in perplexity, my perplexity
may serve Him
If I am in sorrow,
my sorrow may serve Him
HE DOES NOTHING IN VAIN
He knows what HE is about
He may take away my friends
He may throw me among strangers
He may make me feel desolate
make my spirits sink
hide my future from me – still
HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS ABOUT
Cardinal Newman
18. A PRAYER FOR US AND OUR MISSION
Lord, you are leading us in your Triumph … you are sending us on your mission:
So give us a humble confidence, and show us your plans!
Lord, you are transforming us into Reflecting Mirrors
So make us into transparent evangelists so that others may know
we have been with you
Lord, you have put your Treasure in our Jars of Clay
So keep us faithful to proclaim your good news, and do not let us lose heart!
Lord, you have sent us as your Ambassadors
So make us a people of embrace, give us boldness without brashness,
urgency without coercion, and may we make many friends for you!
And let all God’s evangelists say
AMEN!
19. A Preacher’s Prayer
Lord.
Please give me
an instructed tongue
to know the word to sustain the weary
a wakened ear
to listen
and an open ear
not to draw back
an offered back
and cheeks
to those who beat and plucked
a face set like flint*
not ashamed
and to go face to face
with those who bring charges
(*set, but not hard)
“He wakens me morning by morning
wakens my ear to listen
like one being taught”
4/11/01 Purple journal p.75
20. Lullaby for a Christian
Sleep sweetly, child
The arms of Love
Enfold you.
Rest now,
Be still,
Relax and let Him hold you.
The day was His
And now His is the night.
And you,
Entirely His;
All will come right.
Entrust yourself to Him
Whose love
Has bound you.
Sleep sweetly, child,
And let his love
Surround you.
– Elizabeth Rooney
21. Prayer
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will,
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this,
O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul
I offer it to you with all the
love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your
hands, without reserve
and with boundless confidence.
For you are my father.
Charles de Foucauld
22. A Prayer of Commitment
I take God the Father to be my God.
I take God the Son to be my Saviour.
I take God the Holy Spirit to be my Sanctifier.
I take the Word of God to be the rule of my life.
I take the people of God to be my people.
And I now commit myself – mind, body, and spirit –
To my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
And I do this freely, fully and forever.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
23. A Morning Act of Faith
I believe on the Son of God – therefore I am in Him.
Having redemption through HIs blood and life by His
Spirit – He is in me.
And all fullness is in Him.
To HIm I belong by creation, purchase, conquest, and
self surrender: To me He belongs for all my
hourly need.
There is no cloud between my Lord and me. There is no
difficulty inward or outward which He is not
ready to meet in my today.
I believe I have received not the spirit of fearfulness, but
of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The Lord is my keeper.
Amen.
H. C. G. Moule (Bishop of Durham)
24. Daily Prayer
Give me, O Lord,
a steadfast heart
which no unworthy affection
may drag downwards.
Give m
an unconquered heart
which no tribulation
can wear out.
Give me
an upright heart
which no unworthy purpose
may tempt aside.
Bestow on me also, O Lord my God
understanding to know you
diligence to seek you
wisdom to find you
and a faithfulness
that may finally embrace you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
25. Take Time
In the name of Jesus Christ
who was never in a hurry, we
pray, O God, that Thou wilt
slow us down, for we know
that we live too fast.
With all of eternity before us,
make us take time to live –
time to get acquainted witih
Thee, time to enjoy Thy
blessings, and time to know
each other. Amen.
Peter Marshall
26. A Lenten Prayer: to the Gardener of our Souls
Great Gardener
take these traits of my life
and by your grace help me to
see them
accept them
surrender them
and may they be transformed
into the humus and humility
of being fully human
and fully the seed bed of
Your Spirit
Leighton Ford
Lent 2001
