Daily Prayer

A prayer of repentance and mercy

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life,

For my spirit rises early to pray towards Thy holy temple,

Bearing the temple of my body all defiled;

But in Thy compassion, purify me by the loving kindness of Thy mercy.

Lead me on the paths of salvation, O Mother of God,

For I have profaned my soul with shameful sins,

and have wasted my life in laziness.

But by your intercessions, deliver me from all impurity.

When I think of the many evil things I have done, wretch that I am,

I tremble at the fearful day of judgement.

But trusting in Thy loving kindness, like David I cry to Thee:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

Source: From the "troparia" (Eastern Orthodox liturgy) quoted by Schmemann, Alexander. 1969. Great Lent. New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

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Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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A prayer for when we mess up

Lord, may I never forget that no matter how much I’ve bungled—no matter what a mess I’ve made of things—you still love and accept me. Moreover, you’re with me to help me work things out. Increase my faith in you. Give me the grace to make a new start—to begin over and over again if necessary. And help me to make your tender acceptance, your genuine concern, known to my family and friends. Help me to bring them closer to you, too. Source: Daughters of Saint Paul. 2008. Lenten Grace: Daily Gospel Reflections. Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.

Mediate on John 4:5-42. John 4:5–42 (ESV)

5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

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a prayer for being overwhelmed by chaos

O Father who ordered all creation,

O Christ through whom all things were formed from nothing,

You know me:

my love of sequence and order,

of places for things and things in their place.

And you also know, O Holy God, that this whole world has tended toward decay, decomposition, withering and moldering.

All is turned and upturned, untidied, a mess of human making, a consequence of an old curse, a wearing out, a winding down, a slow slide toward entropy and gravity, a ruin and wreckage ever accumulating— beyond our power to put right again.

And I see it in the hard realities of this world today—

in territories with by political and ethnic conflicts,

in violent incursions disrupting some hard-won peace,

in the stubborn refusal of prejudice to be purged from our public spaces,
in the hope-shattering inescapability of disease and loss and grief.

In the midst of this chaos, and all chaos,

let me learn to call upon and lean upon your name,

O God—for you are the One who ordered all things in the beginning.

You are the One who is making all things new.

You are the only One who can sustain me in my struggle with all that is not yet put right.

You are God Our Peace who alone can speak a deep and lasting calm to the chaos of this world,

and to the chaos in my own heart and mind.

Grant me peace amidst this world's relentless disorder, O Christ.

Still my mind and strengthen my hands.

Keep despair far from the door. Be my present help when I sigh at the sight of constant disarray of this world.

Give me peace of mind and heart to release long-held breath and gritted teeth,

and in your mercy grant me ordered spaces where I can be at ease.

Send me to spaces like a corner that is not in need of neatening work. Help me lean into the relationships that nourish more than drain, and remind me of the grace of unexpected beauty that sustains my wearied soul.

Refresh my faith. Refresh my hope.

Amen.

(Adapted from Every Moment Holy, Book III)

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a prayer for guidance

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Abundant living not just existing

Countless people experience their existence as dull, boring, stagnant, and routine. They lack vitality, a deep desire to be alive. For them, every day is just another day, often filled with many things to do, but seldom offering profound human satisfaction. This is the experience of living without bearing fruit. But fortunately, some men and women have a deep sense of their value - precisely because they are in touch with the life-giving quality of their existence. Their joy brings forth joy, and their peace brings forth peace. They make us aware of the holy contagiousness of all that lives. (Henri Nouwen)

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John 15:4–6 (ESV)

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Lord, I don't want to just exist in this world

I want to live experiencing the abundant life that you came to give me.

I want to live a life of joy and peace that is contagious and overflows to bless others.
So help me, Lord, to live each day abiding in you so that I may experience the fullness of life you have given me.

In Your Name, Jesus, I pray

Amen

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a calling prayer

We call upon you Lord God.

Open our eyes that we might see as you see.

Warm our hearts that we might love as you love.

Bless our minds to seek you and discover your will.

We call upon you Lord God.

Lead us through uncomfortable situations.

Bring us to places you want us to be.

Cause our steps to bring glory to you.

We call upon you Lord God.

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a prayer when things go wrong

God of Second Chances,

I feel overwhelmed and nothing seems to be going right.

I am worried and need your peace to calm my heart.

Help me to release control and trust that you are present in me.

Give me the strength to endure and wisdom to know how to change.

Bless me with patience as I wait with you.

I will trust in your love to turn my scars to stars.

I pray in your blessed name.

Amen.

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A prayer for our hands and feet:

Lord, bless our hands to serve you more faithfully in the year to come. Guide our feet to walk in your steps, imitating the example you set for us during your time on earth. Help us to follow and obey you. Empower us by your Spirit to love one another in consistent and creative ways.

Source: Ten Prayers for the New Year (Dennae Pierre) - Christianity Today

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an Easter prayer

Dear Lord Jesus,

I rejoice in your glorious victory over death.

Thank you for the cross and the empty tomb.

These give me hope for the future.

And a knowing that my present sufferings have a purpose.

Help me to live in the reality of your resurrection.

Bless me to spread your love and light to those around me.

Because you live, I know that light overcomes darkness.

All praise be to you O Risen Lord!

In Your name, I pray. Amen.

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A prayer for the Christian community:

Lord, help us not to be consumers in our local churches, or to think transactionally about our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. Instead, show us how to nurture true Christian community in our lives this year. Give us the initiative and insight to know how to cultivate a greater love for God’s people. Help us to share our lives with one another in such a way that the people we meet are ultimately drawn closer to you.

Source: Ten Prayers for the New Year (Dennae Pierre) - Christianity Today

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My days are numbered

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is.

You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.

My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;

at best, each of us is but a breath.

Psalm 39:4-5

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a prayer when rejected

Only you, O Lord, know how deeply this dismissal cuts into my sense of self. I've been turned away from something I desired, and thought was best for me.

You are sympathetic to my sadness and distress, for you also knew rejection. You knew betrayal as well, and the way it hits deep into the soul.

In the late night moments of the garden and the darkness of Good Friday, rejection and betrayal moved across your heart and through your body.

Remind me that in the end, no rejection awaits me in Christ - only a glad and unending welcome into his arms.

Amen.

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empower me to love

Lord of Light and Love,

Empower me with your Spirit to love, not just with words, but with actions. Give me the strength to show kindness, patience, and compassion. even to those who are difficult to love or who have hurt me.

Teach me to see others through your eyes and to love them as you love me. Help me to abide in you, so that your love is perfected in me, and I can be a true witness of your grace in this world.

In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Amen.

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a prayer for panic attacks

Heavenly Father,

The scriptures tell us that you are a safe and powerful protector.

Protect me from the fear and anxiety I am experiencing these days.

Send the calming of the Holy Spirit to help me with these strong feelings.

I believe that you can be strong in my weakness and my struggles.

You are with me, and I lean on You.

I am praying in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

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