My Prayer Book Blog

'Awaken us by your insistent grace'

2009-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Michael Lindvall:

Save us, O God, from the temptation to sleep life away. Awaken us by your
insistent grace. Shine in the morning when the way is dim and show us where to
place our feet on the way to abundant life. Shape the shadows and save us from
fear. And now, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be
acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen

Eucharistic prayer from Iona

2009-01-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

from TWS (orig. WWB)

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right for us to give thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, for you made us,
and before us you made the world we inhabit,
and before the world you made the eternal home
in which, through Christ, we have a place.
All that is spectacular and all that is plain
have their origin in you;
all that is lovely and all who are loving
point to you as their fulfillment.
And grateful as we are for the world we know
and the universe beyond our knowing,
we particularly praise you, whom eternity cannot contain,
for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus.
For his life, which informs our living,
for his compassion, which changes our hearts,
for his clear speaking, which contradicts our generalities,
for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying,
his rising to life and breathing forgiveness, we praise you and worship him.

Here too our gratitude rises for the promise of the Holy Spirit,
who even yet, even now, confronts us with your claims
and attracts us to your goodness.
Therefore we gladly join our voices
to the song of the church on earth and in heaven:
[sung or spoken]
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
And now, lest we believe
that our praise alone fulfills your purpose,
we fall silent and remember him who came
because words weren’t enough.
Setting our wisdom, our will, our words aside,
emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands,
we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting,
the forgiving that Christ alone can offer.
[Silence]
Merciful God, send now, in kindness,
your Holy Spirit to make our sharing in this bread and cup
a sharing in Christ’s body and blood.
And let that same Spirit rest on us,
converting us from the patterns of this passing world,
until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share. Amen.

'Give us dilligence to seek you'

2009-01-07T06:01:00.001-08:00

from TWS (attributed to Benedict of Nursia, 6th cent.):

O gracious and holy God,
give us dilligence to seek you,
wisdom to perceive you,
and patience to wait for you.
Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you,
eyes to behold you,
ears to listen for your Word,
a heart to love you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

-Opening Prayer at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, 6/18/06

Prayer for the New Year - Arthur Bennett

2009-01-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Arthur Bennett, from 'The Valley of Vision': (qtd at wqotw.org)

O LORD,
Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed
in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains,
sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbor,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

'Help us to magnify your name'

2009-01-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Scott Hoezee (TWS p.193):

O great God, glorify yourself in all the earth.
Be glorified in creation, be glorified in your church,
be glorified in our worship here this very morning.
Though we are so small and you are so grand,
help us nevertheless to magnify your name.
Help us to make your name and the nature of your grace
larger and easier for people to see.
Help us to live and to worship in such a way
that we become like magnifying glasses
through which our neighbors and coworkers and children and friends
can see you come into focus in ways they may not have seen before.
When people ask for an explanation of the hope we have,
give us the words to answer thoughtfully and well.
When people wonder out loud who Jesus is and why he matters,
help us to reply in words that will echo the sweetness of your gospel.
Help us to magnify your name, O Lord,
so that you may be glorified in all the earth.

'Creator above us, Spirit within us'

2009-01-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Lewis Smedes (TWS p.190):

O Lord God,
Creator above us,
Spirit within us,
Lord ahead of us,
open us to yourself,
that we may become transparent to ourselves.
Make us masters of ourselves,
that we may be the servants of others.

'give us a joy that outlasts our sorrows'

2008-12-04T06:08:00.000-08:00

From POTP, p.29:

O Spirit of Christ,
give us a joy that outlasts our sorrows,
give us a hope stronger than the despair of our discouragement,
and give us a new belief that we have reason to rejoice—
to be glad for who we are because you made us and gave us life,
and all we have is a gift from you.
In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

Prayer of the People 11.23.08 at Eastern Ave CRC

2008-11-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

my prayer of the people yesterday at Eastern Ave CRC:

Blessed are you, O Lord, King of the universe,
in the beginning you created, and day by day you sustain, the whole cosmos.
Great is your faithfulness;
Your mercies are new every morning.

O mighty God, like Job we tremble before you, like Job we sometimes raise our fists at you, like Job, we both tremble and raise our fists in the same faith journey, sometimes in the same hour.
Give us the courage of Job to know that lament, too, is a form of praise, as we pour out our tears before your throne, and submit our deepest doubts, secrets, and sores, to the one who is most worthy to know them and hear them, and soothe them.
And so, with your apostles, we pray, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? Yours is the way of eternal life.'

Give us Job's humility and eagerness to acknowledge his smallness in your vast universe.
And God, give us Job's unconditional devotion, a fierce faith that stays strong through the storms, and doesn't depend on the state of the stock market and abundance of material comforts.
And so, Lord, as we turn our hearts to you in Thanksgiving this week,
don't let us be content to merely list our possessions and relationships, but drive us to deeper awe and gratitude for your power and love, for what you have done for us, for the kingdom you are building in the midst of a fallen world, for the triumphant return of Christ that you promise.

Remind us, Lord, that no matter how bad the economic news sounds, we remain an abundantly, often indulgently wealthy nation in the midst of a world full of desperate poverty. And yet, Lord, recent economic events put a very real strain on us, our lives at work, our relationships at home, as the ache of uncertainty gnaws at our hearts. Comfort us, strengthen us, and, as you did with Job, release us from our illusions of self-reliance, and remind us that our only future lies in your promises. Guide our government and business leaders as they make difficult decisions about daunting crises; bless President-elect Obama as he prepares to assume the presidency in the face of immense challenges. Give peace and wisdom to him and his advisers, to congressional leaders, to Congressman Ehlers and the many newly elected congress members who will join him soon on Capitol Hill.

Lord, our fears are as big as the global economy, and as specific as the
particular griefs and joys in our church family.

...

We say with the psalmist, 'What are human beings, that you are mindful of us and care for us?'
and we sing with your children in exile, 'Great is your faithfulness.'
Put this humility on our hearts and this awe on our lips this week, and all our days.

We pray through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

-NB

Advent and Christmas prayers for illumination by Michael Lindvall

2008-09-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

Michael Lindvall:

God of acceptance without horizon, may your grace rise again upon us this day.
May your love startle us again in its embarrassing generosity and its costly
demands. Save us from our eternal temptation to make you as small as our
imaginations and to shrink your grace to the size of our affections. And now may
the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Amen [+]

Open our ears to hear your word over the wonderful and dizzy din of modern
Christmas. May it fall fresh on our ears and find its way into our hearts. May it
shape the way we live, make choices, and set priorities. And now may the words
of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen [+]

Cast your light on these words, O God, this ancient and mysterious story, familiar
and perplexing at the same time. May it comfort us if comfort be our true need.
May it discomfort us if discomfort be our truer need. And now may the words of
my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my
Rock and my Redeemer. Amen. [+]

Teach us again to listen for angel voices, O God. Tune our ears for whispers of
transcendence hidden between the honking of taxi horns, sequestered in laughter at
a party, concealed in the giggles of overexcited children, tucked between the
silences, woven into the warp and woof of joy and sorrow, and incarnate this night
in word, music and sacrament. And now may the words of my mouth and the
meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and
Redeemer. Amen. [+]

Lord of creation, to you be all praise

2008-09-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

Lord of creation, to you be all praise!
Lord of all power, I give you my will
Lord of all wisdom, I give you my mind
Lord of all bounty, I give you my heart
Lord of all being, I give you my all

- from the first lines of the verses of "Lord of Creation," PsH 286

Anna Waring - Hymn 1

2008-08-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Anna Waring (1820-1910):

Father, I know that all my life

Is portioned out for me,

And the changes that are sure to come,

I do not fear to see;

But I ask Thee for a present mind

Intent on pleasing Thee.

continued

Bishop Andrews - morning Matins

2008-08-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

From the Devotions of Bishop Andrews:

GLORY be to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.
Glory to Thee who gives me sleep
to recruit my weakness,
and to remit the toils
of this fretful flesh.
To this day and all days,
a perfect, holy, peaceful, healthy,
sinless course,

Vouchsafe O Lord.

continued

Eucharistic prayer from the Didache

2008-08-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

From the Didache:

We thank you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have revealed through Jesus, your child. To you be glory forever.

continued / about

Anselm - on believing to understand

2008-08-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Anselm:

Grant to me that I may look upon your light, though from far off, though out of the deep. I will seek you, with longing after you. I will long after you in seeking you, I will find you by loving you, I will love you in finding you. I confess to you, O Lord, and I give thanks to you, because you have created in me this your image, that I may remember you, think upon you, love you: but so darkened is your image in me by the smoke of my sins that it cannot do that the way it was created to do, unless you renew it and create it again. I seek not, O Lord, to search out your depth, but I desire in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves. Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this too I believe, that unless I first believe, I shall not understand.

continued

Prayer of the Trinity by N.T. Wright

2008-08-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

quoted here with link:

Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
Set up your kingdom in our midst.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God:
Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Holy Spirit, breath of the living God:
Renew me and all the world.

Blessing before Meals - "for the knowledge, faithfulness and eternal life..."

2008-08-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

From FFOZ:

We thank You, our holy Father, for Your holy name that You have caused to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge, faithfulness and eternal life that You have made known to us through Your servant Jesus. Yours is the glory forever.

(First doxology of the grace after meals from the Didache as translated for First Fruit's of Zion's We Thank You.)

Brueggemann: "On Reading Psalm 1"

2008-08-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite prayers by Walter Brueggemann—this one the opening prayer in his collection Inscribing the Text:

Iona: 'If need be, despite us'

2008-08-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite prayers of all time—especially for that last list of prepositional phrases:

Reshape us, good Lord,
until, in generosity, in faith,
and in expectation that the best is yet to come,
we are truly Christ-like.

Make us passionate followers of Jesus
rather than passive supporters.

Make our churches cells of radical disciple
and signposts to heaven.
Then, in us, through us,
and—if need be—despite us,
let your kingdom come.
Amen.