shine your light though me



Dear Lord,

Shine your light brightly through me.

That my words and actions might bring honor to your name.

Teach me to live a life of blessing and encouragement.

That my part of the world might know that you are Lord.

In all things, help me to walk in love and grace.

That divine light might shine and illuminate the world.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

to see more clearly



Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For all the benefits and blessings which you have given me,

For all the pains and insults which you have borne for me.

Merciful Friend, Brother and Redeemer.

May I know you deeper.

Open my eyes that I might see you more clearly.

Help me to love you more dearly.

And follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.

- adapted from a prayer by Richard of Chichester  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Help me trust you and receive your gift of love




Dear God,

 I so much want to be in control.

I want to be the master of my own destiny.

Still, I know that you are saying:

“Let me take you by the hand and lead you.

Accept my love

and trust that where I will bring you,

the deepest desires of your heart will be fulfilled.”

Lord, open my hands to receive your gift of love.

 

Amen.

Henri Nouwen (source: “You are the beloved” by Henri Nouwen))

 


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer to move on



Heavenly Father,

I pray that you will help me to move on.

Open my eyes to a future filled with new hope.

Break the chains that have ensnared me for so long.

Guide me as I leave toxic relationships and environments.

Help me to not return to old patterns of dependence.

Bless me to trust Your goodness and grace in new ways.

I believe that You have better things for me in the future.

Teach me to walk in your ways.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

for courage to change



Dear God,

Grant me the courage to change.

Grant me the grace to forget the past.

Grant me the release control of my future.

Grant me the confidence to be myself today.

Grant me to live a life that pleases you in every way.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for resilience



Dear Lord, 
Your Word promises that you “will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” 

Your Truth nourishes the root of our hearts, helping us bloom in the desert. 

Your love revitalizes us when circumstances threaten to dehydrate our faith.

When we are surrounded by the dryness of uncertainties, fears, or change, saturate us with Your presence, pour Your peace into every fiber of our being until we radiate with resilience.

No matter where you have us planted, help us bloom for Your glory.

We love you. We need you. We praise you. In Jesus’s name. 
Amen
- Author Unknown  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a blessing of simplicity



May the God of simplicity be with us.
Opening us to a clear vision of what is real and true. 
Leading us deeply into the mystery of childlike faith.
And may our dealings with others be marked by honesty, which is simplicity.

May the blessing of simplicity be on us.

Amen
-Author Unknown  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Prayer: Where Two Struggles Meet





Lord, 

You know I sometimes struggle when I pray. I read promises in the Bible that if I ask, it will be given to me*. And so I ask but then I don't receive what I prayed for. I read more and conclude that it must be my fault as I don't have enough faith **. I muster up all the faith I have and pray, believing that my prayers will be answered. But still, there is nothing.

Then I read more and think, maybe it is because I don't know how to pray "in Jesus' name" ***. But I am confused as I do pray in Your Name.

Lord, is it because I am so sinful and that you consider my prayers selfish ****? But surely you know that the thing I am praying for is not meant to be a selfish request. It comes from a deep desire in my heart. I am confused.  Am I supposed to reach a certain standard of spirituality before my prayer is answered? If so, Lord does that not sound so much like our relationship is based on works and not grace?

Lord, I am so often confused when I pray. Help me to understand and experience prayer the way you want it to be.

But Lord, even as I have been struggling in my prayers, I thank you as I am discovering that the struggle I feel is a crucial part of prayer. So, help me, Lord to have faith as I pray. Help me grasp that prayer is not about a set of rules but an important way my relationship with you grows and deepens. Help me to pray knowing, that You love me and want the best for me.

In Your own name Jesus

Amen

* Matthew 7:7-11
** Matthew 21:22, James 1:7
*** John 16:24
**** James 4:3



Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

embracing new seasons



I am reminded Lord.

That there are different seasons in our lives.

And each season seems to bring new friends with it.

Help us to let go of the old season.

That we might fully embrace the new one.

Teach us to adapt and change so that we might thrive.

Remind us that You remain the same in each season.

And that you are present with as the seasons change.

We give you all praise and glory.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

for endurance



Dear Father,

We all want patience but what we really need is endurance.

Help us to keep going in difficult times.

Give us an inner vision that we might see you working in our lives.

Mostly, teach us to be a people who wait upon you Lord.

Teach us to be marathon runners instead of sprinters.

We commit ourselves to your work - both today and tomorrow.

In Christ's name we say amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

prayer for contentment

Dear Lord,

You know that I want to be content.

Help that desire to sink deeply into my being.

Bless me with the ability to let go of control.

The apostle wrote to us about how he learned to be content.

Open my heart and mind that I might receive your instruction.

I bow to you in humility asking for your help.

I need to be content.

Give me the ability to be open to the life I am leading.

Help me to be satisfied with what I have.

Amen. And Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

when things close in on us



Father,

Give Your people a glimpse of Your greatness. As we look at the heavens, as we see the majesty of nature in the world around us, help us to remember that we are seeing only a very limited picture of how great You are.

Help us to recall this, when the things of life close in on us or just the tedium of living seems to wear us down. Help us measure all of our problems by Your greatness. And may it put them all in perspective.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen
-Mike Erich, the Mad Theologian

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

The power of short, honest, and humble prayers



Here is the conclusion of  a wonderful parable by Jesus for our benefit.

Luke 18:13–14 (ESV)
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.”

Compare it with the longer prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-12. One prayer was short, honest and humble, and God answered it. The other was long, dishonest, and prideful, and God ignored it. 

To paraphrase Peter Kreeft (see the above graphic), coming to God in prayer with a posture of humility knowing that God knows everything about us and our situation is a powerful experience. Often our short, honest, and humble prayers are the best and all that is needed.  God knows our situation, and hearts, and our needs. We don't have to pretend with God, and His love for us is eternal.

In times of struggle and failure, I am not ashamed to pray as the tax collector did for I know when I pray it honestly and humbly, God answers.

GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER!
THANK YOU FOR HEARING MY PRAYER
                AMEN




Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

for confidence and trust



O Lord, we ask for a boundless confidence and trust in Your divine mercy, and the courage to accept the crosses and sufferings which bring immense goodness to our souls and that of Your Church.

Help us to love You with a pure and contrite heart, and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross, as we climb the mountain of holiness, carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory.

May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us, as You desire, for Your greater glory.

O Jesus, most adorable heart and eternal fountain of Divine Love, may our prayer find favor before the Divine Majesty of Your Heavenly Father. Amen.

-St. Padre Pio  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

an Easter blessing



May the glory and the promise of this joyous time of year bring peace and happiness to you and those you hold most dear.

And may Christ, Our Risen Saviour, always be there by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide.

Amen
- Author Unknown  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for stillness



O blessed Jesus,

Give me stillness of soul in You.

Let your mighty calmness reign in me.

Rule me, O King of Gentleness, King of Peace.

Amen.
— Saint John of the Cross  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

remembering the cross



Dear Jesus,

On this Good Friday we pause to remember ...
How you were abused by the authorities in your final hours.
How those who welcomed you on Sunday turned on you.
How you forgave those who crucified you.
Fill us afresh that we might serve you and our neighbors.

Inspire us anew that we might manifest your sacrificial love.

Cause us to love and live in the power of your Spirit.

We commit ourselves to a life of service and love.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Praying instead of worrying






In times of worry, prayer ought to be our first instinctive action. This is the reminder and promise of Philippians 4:6–7:

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

One well-known simple and beautiful prayer we can pray is "The Serenity Prayer"

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can; 
and the wisdom to know the difference.

-----
Some background on this prayer from Glazier, M., & Hellwig, M. K. (2004).  The modern Catholic encyclopedia (Rev. and expanded ed.). Liturgical Press.

The prayer was composed and written by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), distinguished Protestant theologian and social critic, who taught for decades at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Niebuhr spent many summers in the village of Heath in Massachusetts where he often worshiped and preached at the local church. One Sunday, in the summer of 1934, he hastily wrote the Serenity Prayer on the back of an envelope; and ironically, while most of his scholarly work is now unread and forgotten, the brief prayer, so casually written, is recited all over the world.

Here is the original text of Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer:

  God give me the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, 
courage to change the things that should be changed, 
and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

  During World War II the prayer was widely distributed to members of the armed services by the United States Organization. Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, adopted it and recommended its use by members of the AA program and it has been used by them for over sixty years. He is also credited with “polishing” Niebuhr’s prayer giving it its present popular format:

  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

at the beginning of another day



O God,

I find myself at the beginning of another day.

I do not know what it will bring.

Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be.
If 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.
If I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
I pray just for today, for these twenty-four hours, for the ability to cooperate with others according to the way Jesus taught us to live.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
May these words that he taught us become more than words.

Please free my thinking and feelings and the thinking and feelings of others, from all forms of self-will, self-centeredness, dishonesty, and deception.

Along with my brothers and sisters, I need this freedom to make my choices today according to your desires.

Send your Spirit to inspire me in time of doubt and indecision so that, together, we can walk along your path.

Amen
- Adapted by J. Veltri, S.J.  

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

help us to be kind



Dear Lord,

Life can be hard and unforgiving.
Give us strength of heart and the will to forgive.

Life can bring hurt and suffering.
Teach us to let go of our pain and bitterness.

Help us to be kind when the journey is painful.
Cause us to be vessels of your love.

In the name of Love we say amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

to listen more and speak less



Dear Father,

I need your help.

I really want to hear from you, Jesus.

Holy Spirit, please come and help me.

Give me inner eyes to see what you are doing.

Bless me that I might hear what you are saying.

Help me to focus and discipline my heart to listen.

Pour out your grace that I might listen more and speak less.

And lead me that I might reflect your love to the world.

Amen.


Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.