December 19, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

A Prayer of Remembrance
A prayer composed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
God the compassionate one, whose loving care extends to all the world:

We remember this day your children of many nations and many faiths whose lives were cut short by the fierce flames of anger and hatred.

Console those who continue to suffer and grieve, and give them comfort and hope as they look to the future.

Out of what we have endured give us the grace to examine our relationships with those who perceive us as the enemy, and show our leaders the way to use our power to serve the good of all for the healing of the nations.

This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord who, in reconciling love, was lifted up from the earth that he might draw all things to himself.

Amen.

December 18, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

Amen.

December 17, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Meditation On The Word Guidance
Author unknown
When I meditated on the word 'Guidance',
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remembered that God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music, and
everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle clues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or
by pressing lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and
attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance
and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word 'GUIDANCE'.
When I saw 'G', I thought of God,
followed by 'u' and 'i' and 'dance':
GOD, YOU AND I DANCE.
This statement is what guidance means to me.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing
to let go and let GOD LEAD. Amen!

December 16, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Child Of Light Prayer
by May Rowland
Child of Light, I bless you.

I think of you.
I pray for you.
Not in terms of what I think you need or
what I think you should do or be or express.
I lift up my thoughts about you.

I see you as you truly are:
a holy child of light.

I see you guided and directed
by an inward spirit that leads
you to unerringly into paths
that are just right for you.

I see you strong and whole.
I see you blessed and prospered.
I see you courageous and confident.
I see you capable and successful.
I see you free from all limitations or bondage of any kind.
I see you as the spiritually perfect being you truly are.

Child of Light, I bless you.

December 15, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

A Prayer For Weight Loss By Lynn
Father God, I come to you in the precious name of Jesus that you will perform a miraculous healing in my life concerning my desire to lose weight. Thank you Lord that nothing is impossible with you and that you can help take away my desire to overeat and fill the voids within me that cause me to seek food as a substitute.

Lord, touch my mind right now, help me to see what causes me to overeat, give me a strong desire to want to take care of my body and see it as you do Lord. Help me to make the right food choices and touch my mind with creativity concerning food and what I eat. May I be restored to divine health again.

As I strive to do this Lord, please bless all within me - my cells, and my metabolism - that they will function properly so I can lose the weight. And let me take it one day at a time and not worry about anything else but the cares of the day that I woke up to.

Thank you Father for loving me enough to help me through this.

Amen.

December 14, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Lord, Teach Me The Art Of Patience
By Thomas Fuller
Lord, teach me the art of patience whilst I am well, and give me the use of it when I am sick. In that day either lighten my burden or strengthen my back. Make me, who so often in my health have discovered my weakness presuming on my own strength, to be strong in my sickness when I solely rely on thy assistance. Amen.

December 13, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

O Lord, Give Us More Charity
By Henry Alford
O Lord, give us more charity, more self-denial, more likeness to thee. Teach us to sacrifice our comforts to others, and our likings for the sake of doing good. Make us kindly in thought, gentle in word, generous in deed. Teach us that it is better to give than to receive, better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward, better to minister than to be ministered unto. And to thee, the God of love, be all glory and praise, now and forever.

Amen.

December 12, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Forgiveness
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us.

But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name.

Amen.

December 11, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for the Acceptance of God's Will
By Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow
O Lord, I do not know what to ask of You. You alone know what are my true needs.

You love me more than I myself know how to love.
Help me to see my real needs which are concealed from me.
I do not dare to ask either for a cross or for consolation.
I can only wait on You. My heart is open to You.

Visit and help me, for the sake of Your great mercy.
Strike me and heal me; cast me down and raise me up.
I worship in silence Your holy will and Your unsearchable ways.

I offer myself as a sacrifice to You.
I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will.
Teach me to pray. Pray You Yourself in me.

Amen.

December 10, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer by St. Basil the Great
Almighty God, Lord of angels and all creation, Who dwell on high yet care for the lowly, Who search the heart and know every hidden thing, eternal and unchanging Light, we trust in Your great mercy to hear the prayers offered from our unclean lips.

Forgive the sins we have committed in knowledge or in ignorance, in thought, word, or deed; and cleanse us, body and soul, from every stain. Allow us to pass through the darkness of this present life watchful and alert, always expecting the coming bright day of Your Only-begotten Son, our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. He shall come in glory to judge all people and reward us according to our deeds.

Help us to put away laziness, be full of courage, and be found doing His work ready to enter His glorious kingdom with joy. You are the true light of every creature, and to You all creation sings.

Amen.

December 9, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

The Rule of Prayer
By St. Seraphim of Sarov
Lord, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
You have created me; have mercy on me.
There is no way to measure my sin; have mercy on me.
Lord, forgive the many times I disobey You.
Master, I bow down before Your cross and glorify Your resurrection.
Lord, when I sin in what I say and do, have mercy on me because of Your great compassion.

December 8, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Morning Prayer
By St. Basil the Great
As I rise from sleep, I thank You, Holy Trinity, for Your loving -kindness and patience. You were not angry with me, even though I am lazy and full of sin. You have not destroyed me for the wrongs I have done. Rather, You have shown unchanging love for me. When I was bowed low in dark despair, You raised me up to sing the morning hymn and glorify Your Lordship.

Now give light to the eye of my mind, and open my ears to hear Your words and learn Your commandments. Help me to obey Your will, sing to You with all my heart, and give praise to Your Holy Name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Amen.

December 7, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Morning Prayer of Thanks
How good it is to give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and to sing praises to Thine exalted Name; to declare Thy loving kindness at the break of the day, and Thy faithfulness during the night.

O Lord, hearken to our voice at the dawn of the day, and in the morning let us be found ready by Thee.

O Lord absolve and pardon all our sins. O Holy one, over shadow Thy right hand upon us, and heal all our infirmities for the sake, of Thy eternal Name.

Amen

From Orthodox Prayer Book

December 6, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

O thou full of compassion, I commit and commend myself unto Thee, in whom I am, and live, and know. Be Thou the Goal of my pilgrimage, and my Rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of Thy wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in Thee, O God.

Amen.

December 5, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Light Up The Small Duties Of This Day's Life
By St. Augustine

O Father, light up the small duties of this day's life: may they shine with the beauty of Thy countenance. May we believe that glory may dwell in the commonest task of every day.

Amen.

December 4, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.

Flood our souls with your spirit and life.

Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.

Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come
in contact with may feel your presence in our soul.

Let them look up and see no longer us but only Jesus!

Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine;
so to shine as to be a light to others; the light O Jesus,
will be all from you, none of it will be ours;
it will be you, shining on others through us.

Let us thus praise you in the way you love best by
shining on those around us.

Let us preach you without preaching, not by words
but by our example, by the catching force, the
sympathetic influence of what we do.

The evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.

Amen

December 3, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Home Blessing
By Dolores Curran

Bless our home, and make it fit for Thee, Oh God.
Send your Holy Spirit into each nook and cranny.
Let the walls resound with love and laughter.
Let your birds sing on your trees outside and your lilies flourish in your gardens.
Bless our kitchen and fill it with the warmth of shared bread.
Bless our family room and fill it with loving communication.
Bless our bedrooms and fill them with restful slumber .
Bless each room and each of us, dear God, and make yourself at home with us.

December 2, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

Comfort Prayer
By Thomas Moore

Your rod and your staff-they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish:
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
"Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure."

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

December 1, 2010

Here is today's prayer:

A Prayer
By Ward Patterson

Our Father, I thank you
for the grace and peace you alone can give.

I thank you for the forgiveness,
renewal,
unmerited love,
patience,
loving kindness,
and mercy
that you bestow without measure.

I thank you for reconciling me to you
and quieting the turmoil within me.

I thank you for your assurances,
Your providence,
Your provision.
Help me to trust your will for my life.
Help me to respond faithfully to your call.

I praise you for the comfort you bring
to the distresses of my life.

You are the Father of compassion,
comfort,
salvation,
endurance,
hope,
resurrection,
deliverance,
help,
gracious favor,
and answered prayer.

You lift me up when I am down,
strengthen me when I am weak,
and console me when I am depressed.

You heal my hurts.
You are generous with your comfort.
Whatever is wrong, you make right.

You produce patient endurance in my life, day by day,
by the things I am called upon to endure.
With the shared experience of suffering
comes the shared experience of triumph.

My hope in you never falters.
You are ever near.
You are with me in every circumstance.

When hardships come,
I learn to rely more firmly on you.

When pressure bears down on me
and I feel as if sentenced to death,
I learn that I need you to sustain me.

Help me not to rely on myself but to rely on you.
All power is yours.
Nothing is beyond your strength,
not even death.

You have delivered me from death
and from every other thing that would threaten me.
There is nothing to come that need cause me alarm.
You are my help and my hope.

Deliver me from evil.
Listen to my prayers.
Accept my thanksgiving.
Grant me your favor.
Give heed to the intercessions of your people.

Amen.