Tag: praying

Here is a prayer of John Baillie, to reflect on, to meditate on, to pray and make it your own this week. See some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

 

O God, immortal, eternal, invisible, I remember with gladness and thanksgiving all that thou hast been to this world of men:
Companion of the brave:
Upholder of the loyal:
Light of the wanderer:
Joy of the pilgrim:
Guide of the pioneer:
Helper of labouring men:
Refuge of the broken-hearted:
Deliverer of the oppressed:
Succour of the tempted:
Strength of the victorious:
Ruler of rulers:
Friend of the poor:
Rescuer of the perishing:
Hope of the dying.

Give me faith now to believe that thou canst be all in all to me, according to my need, if only I renounce all proud self-dependence and put my trust in thee.

Forbid it, O Father, that the difficulty of living well should ever tempt me to fall into any kind of heedlessness or despair. May I keep it ever in mind that this human life was once divinely lived and this world once nobly overcome and this body of flesh, that now so sorely tries me, once made into thy perfect dwelling-place.

Show thy lovingkindness to-night, O Lord, to all who stand in need of thy help. Be with the weak to make them strong and with the strong to make them gentle. Cheer the lonely with thy company and the distracted with thy solitude. Prosper thy Church in the fulfilment of her mighty task, and grant thy blessing to all who have toiled to-day in Christ’s name. Amen.

~From A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie

Reflection:

• Behold — Where are the eyes of your heart drawn into this prayer?
• Believe — How is your faith strengthened in this prayer?
• Belong — Who are you recalling as you pray this prayer?
• Become — What is God inviting you to receive and thereby become as you pray this prayer?

Here is a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, to reflect on, to meditate on, to pray and make it your own this week. See some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

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;
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.

~St. Francis of Assisi

Reflection:

• Behold — Where are the eyes of your heart drawn into this prayer?
• Believe — How is your faith strengthened in this prayer?
• Belong — Who are you recalling as you pray this prayer?
• Become — What is God inviting you to receive and thereby become as you pray this prayer?

Here is a prayer of Thomas à Kempis, to reflect on, to meditate on, to pray and make it your own this week.
See some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know,
to love what I ought to love,
to praise what delights thee most,
to value what is precious in thy sight,
to hate what is offensive to thee.
Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight
of my eyes,
nor to pass sentence according to the hearing
of the ears of ignorant men;
but to discern with a true judgment between things
visible and spiritual,
and above all, always to inquire what is the good
pleasure of thy will.

~Thomas à Kempis

Reflection:

• Behold — Where are the eyes of your heart drawn into this prayer?
• Believe — How is your faith strengthened in this prayer?
• Belong — Who are you recalling as you pray this prayer?
• Become — What is God inviting you to receive and thereby become as you pray this prayer?

Here is a prayer, from the Beech Grove Benedictine Community, to reflect on, to meditate on, to pray and make it your own this week. See some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

O Lord,
you know me.
You know when I sit
and when I stand.
You have me always present
in your mind.
For this, Lord, I thank you.
You know the path for my life
and what is best for me.
Lord, reveal to me the path
I am to walk.
Bless me and guide me
and be Lord to me
so that whichever road I take
I may do all for your glory.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

~“Vocation Prayer” from the Beech Grove Benedictine Community

Reflection:

• Behold — Where are the eyes of your heart drawn into this prayer?
• Believe — How is your faith strengthened in this prayer?
• Belong — Who are you recalling as you pray this prayer?
• Become — What is God inviting you to receive and thereby become as you pray this prayer?

 

 

Here is a prayer, by Ignatius of Loyola, to reflect on, to meditate on, to pray and make it your own this week. See some reflection questions at the bottom of this post.

 

Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve;

To give and not to count the cost,

To fight and not to heed the wounds

To toil and not to seek for rest,

To labour and not to ask for reward,

Save that of knowing that I do your will.

 

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Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

My memory, my understanding

And my entire will,

 

All I have and call my own

You have given to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

 

Everything is yours;

Do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace.

That is enough for me.

 

~Ignatius of Loyola

 

Reflection:

• Behold — Where are the eyes of your heart drawn into this prayer?
• Believe — How is your faith strengthened in this prayer?
• Belong — Who are you recalling as you pray this prayer?
• Become — What is God inviting you to receive and thereby become as you pray this prayer?

 

When Jesus was headed to the cross, He told His disciples to not let their hearts be troubled. The solution for their anxiousness about the future was for them to believe in Him just like they had believed in the Father. Pray that our belief in the Person, words, and teachings of Jesus will rise to new heights and that we will walk with Him and not have anxious hearts.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1

“Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus” is a truth that greatly helps us to not lose heart during these difficult days (2 Corinthians 4:14). Pray that Christians everywhere will learn to keep our eyes focused on the resurrected Jesus.

Within the context of what has come to be known as the First Great Commandment, we are exhorted to love the Lord with all our heart . Let’s pray today that as God’s people, individually and as the church we will fall in love with Jesus again and that our love for Him will fill and consume our hearts.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

Jesus was often grieved at the hardness he saw in the hearts of the Pharisees. Pray that God will soften the hearts of those who have become hardened to His Word and to the authentic movements of His Spirit.

Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

Since “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,” pray for parents to have wisdom in knowing how to discipline their children. Let’s pray, as well, that the children of this generation will have their hearts set free from the foolish things of the world.

Young people are prone to foolishness and fads; the cure comes through tough-minded discipline. Proverbs 22:15