“God, I offer myself to Thee — to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!”
“God forgive me where I have been resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid today. Help me to not keep anything to myself but to discuss it all openly with another person – show me where I owe an apology and help me make it. Help me to be kind and loving to all people. Use me in the mainstream of life God. Remove worry, remorse or morbid (sick) reflections that I may be of usefulness to others. AMEN.”
“God direct my thinking today so that it be divorced of self pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking and fear. God inspire my thinking, decisions and intuitions. Help me to relax and take it easy. Free me from doubt and indecision. Guide me through this day and show me my next step. God give me what I need to take care of any problems. I ask all these things that I may be of maximum service to you and my fellow man in the name of the Steps I pray. AMEN”
“Keep us, Oh God, from pettiness.
Let us be large in thought, in word, and in deed.
Let us be through with faultfinding and leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face,
without self-pity or without prejudice.
May we always be patient,
never hasty in our judgment,
and always tolerant.
Teach us to put into action or better impulses,
straightforward and unafraid.
Let us take time for all things;
make us calm, serene, and gentle.
Grant that we may realize
that it is the little things that make the differences,
that in the big things we are as one.
And may we strive to touch and to know
the great and common heart of us all.
And, Oh, God,
let us not forget to be kind.”
(Originally from the AA Prayer Pamphet, but taken from the Interfaith Ministry Handbook)
“Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.”
“Holy Spirit, powerful Consoler, sacred Bond of the Father and the Son, Hope of the afflicted, descend into my heart and establish in it your loving dominion. Enkindle in my tepid soul the fire of your Love so that I may be wholly subject to you. We believe that when you dwell in us, you also prepare a dwelling for the Father and the Son. Deign, therefore, to come to me, Consoler of abandoned souls, and Protector of the needy. Help the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and support the wavering. Come and purify me. Let no evil desire take possession of me. You love the humble and resist the proud. Come to me, glory of the living, and hope of the dying. Lead me by your grace that I may always be pleasing to you. Amen.”
“For your mercies' sake, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul: "I am your salvation." So speak that I may hear, O Lord; my heart is listening; open it that it may hear you, and say to my soul: "I am your salvation." After hearing this word, may I come in haste to take hold of you. Hide not your face from me. Let me see your face even if I die, lest I die with longing to see it. The house of my soul is too small to receive you; let it be enlarged by you. It is all in ruins; do you repair it. There are thing in it - I confess and I know - that must offend your sight. But who shall cleanse it? Or to what others besides you shall I cry out? From my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant. Amen.”
“O Lord my God, I believe in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can, insofar as you have given me the power, I have sought you. I became weary and I labored. O Lord my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking you. Grant that I may always and ardently seek out your countenance. Give me the strength to seek you, for you help me to find you and you have more and more given me the hope of finding you. Here I am before you with my firmness and my infirmity. Preserve the first and heal the second. Here I am before you with my strength and my ignorance. Where you have opened the door to me, welcome me at the entrance; where you have closed the door to me, open to my cry; enable me to remember you, to understand you, and to love you. Amen.”
"Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee."
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Found at Christ Church Episcopal
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen.
(Found at The Prayer Book Society)
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”
“For you are all children of God in the Spirit.
There is no Jew or Greek;
There is no slave or free;
There is no male and female.
For you are all one in the Spirit.”
(Galatians 3:28)
Taken from the article The Importance of "And" The Forgotten Political Message of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass.
“May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember the most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between
preserving their health or making rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care
for our children when their school closes
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those with nowhere safe to go.
May we who are losing our “margin money”
in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those with no margin to spare.
May we who settle into Quarantine in comfortable homes
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
Let us choose Love.
During this time when we cannot physically
wrap our arms around each other,
Let us find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
Amen.
(author unknown)
“Everliving God,
whose will it is that all should come to you
through your Son Jesus Christ:
Inspire our witness to him,
that all may know
the power of his forgiveness
and the hope of his resurrection;
who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.”
Taken from the (Online) Book of Common Prayer
“Lord God,
No one is a stranger to you
And no one is ever far from your loving care.
In your kindness, watch over refugees and victims of war,
Those separated from their loved ones,
Young people who are lost,
And those who have left home or who have run away from home.
Bring them back safely to the place where they long to be,
And help us always to show your kindness
to strangers and to all in need.”
- Author Unknown
“Lord God,
Remember Christ, your Son, who is peace itself,
and who has washed away our hatred with his blood.
Because you love all men and women,
look with mercy on all who are engaged in battle.
Banish the violence and evil within all combatants
so that one day, we may all deserve to be
called your sons and your daughters.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.”
- Author Unknown
“Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace,
who are yourself our peace and reconciliation,
who so often said, "Peace to you," grant us peace.
Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice,
and brotherly love.
Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.
Enlighten our rulers that they may
guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.
May all peoples on the earth
become as brothers and sisters.
May longed for peace blossom forth
and reign always over us all.”
- Pope John Paul II
Prayer found at Jesuit Resources
“O God, author and giver of peace,
in whose image and likeness each of us has been created
with a human dignity worthy of respect on earth
and destined for eternal glory,
Listen to the cry that rises from every corner of this fragile earth,
from our human family torn by violent conflict:
Give peace in our time, O good and gracious God,
that peace which, as your son Jesus Christ told us
and as we have experienced in these days,
is a peace which the world cannot give.
To world leaders grant the wisdom
to see beyond the boundaries of race, religion, and nation
to that common humanity that makes us all your children
and brothers and sisters to one another.
To those who have taken up arms in anger or revenge
or even in the cause of justice
grant the grace of conversion to the path of peaceful dialogue
and constructive collaboration.
To the innocent who live in the shadow of war and terror,
especially the frightened children,
be a shelter and strength, their haven and hope.
And to those who have already lost their lives
as victims of human cruelty and chemical warfare,
open wide your arms and enfold them all
in the embrace of your compassion, healing, and everlasting life.
Grant this through Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord.
**
- Peter J. Scagnelli
Prayer originally found at Jesuit Resources.
** This prayer originally ended with the line: “Mary, Mother of all and Queen of peace, pray for us” which I removed because it is not my own faith tradition, but feel free to re-insert the line if you see fit.**
“O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”
(Book of Common Prayer pg. 815)