Prayers for Diverse Occasions

An Evening Prayer

Dear Lord of my heart, my mind, and my soul, to you I pray on this evening bring me peace.

Fill my heart with hope, and joy, and grace. May I know your love, and life, and light. May I feel your strength. May I reflect your presence in all I do, and say, and think.

Lord of my heart, and my mind, and my soul, may I walk in your truth, be reminded of your call and be spurred along the way.

Lord of my heart, fill me with love.

Lord of my mind, give to me wisdom.

Lord of my soul, help me with courage, so that my soul, my mind, and my heart might someday be like you.

Give me peace, this cool evening, that I may rest, and dream of noble things. Be with me O Father, and Son, and Spirit, let me abide with you.

Prayer Upon Viewing a Waterfall

Lord of my heart,

A waterfall of your life pours down over rocky soil, over boulders taller than I, through the soil, pouring, ever pouring in, through and under, seeking the open spaces, widening the cracks, until your living water pours unimpeded, forcefully and constantly into the pool of my soul refreshing, renewing, reinvigorating a parched and weary land.

 

A Sabbath Prayer

Thank you, O Lord, for this day of rest, this day to reflect and recover strength and peace.

Thank you, O Lord, for the gift of work throughout the week, that I might be dutiful and honoring with my time, and be able to use the gifts which you have given me.

Yet on this day, this day of rest, I remember that you, even you, paused in your work, not for need but for delight, knowing that the work is sweeter when one stops.

Grant me this day, I pray:

Peace, that I might be calmed; Rest, that I might be restored; Beauty, that I might be inspired; Hope, that I might trust in your unfailing work.

May I reflect on your bounty, Your light, Your vitality. Remembering that all I do is a gift from you.

May this be a day of joy and reflection; A day of peace and restoration.

May I rest, resting in the knowledge that I rest in you.

 

A Prayer for Study

As I sit down to open my books grant me wisdom, O Lord of my mind. May my mind, which is a blessing and gift from the Giving God, be able to focus and ponder the words and thoughts before me.  

May my thoughts, ever wandering Fleeting at a whim, be reigned in able to settle on that which is before me.

As I study, study even you and your words, may my heart, which is a blessing from the Giving God, be inspired and renewed by coming to a better understanding of your bounty, grandness, and glory.

May you be with me in my studying, teaching me through your Spirit adding insight and understanding, leading me to a place farther along than where I started

And in my studying, pondering, reading may I worship you,  the All-Wise God, ever praying as I study, ever cognizant of who I study for.

Bless my mind and my time, O God of all wisdom and truth.

The Rising[1]

Let us go forth, In the goodness of our merciful Father,In the gentleness of our brother Jesus, In the radiance of his Holy Spirit, In the faith of the apostles, In the joyful praise of the angels, In the holiness of the saints, In the courage of the martyrs.

  Let us go forth, In the wisdom of our all-seeing Father, In the patience of our all-loving brother, In the truth of the all-knowing Spirit, In the learning of the apostles, In the gracious guidance of the angels, In the patience of the saints, In the self-control of the martyrs.

  Such is the path for all servants of Christ, The path from death to eternal life.

 

Prayer for Concentration[2]

God help my thoughts! They stray from me, setting off on the wildest journeys.

When I am in church, they run off like naughty children, quarreling, making trouble.

When I read the Bible, they fly to a distant city, filled with beautiful women.

My thoughts can cross an ocean with a single leap; they can fly from earth to heaven, and back again, in a single second.

They come to me for a fleeting moment, and then away they flee.

No chains, no locks can hold them back; no threats of punishment can restrain them, no hiss of a lash can frighten them.

They slip from my grasp like tails of eels; They swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight.

Dear, chaste, Christ, who can see into every heart and read every mind, take hold of my thoughts.  Bring my thoughts back to me, and clasp me to yourself.

 

A Commuter’s Prayer

O mighty God, Creator of all that is seen and unseen, Protector and Savior of all who call out your name, Grant me safety, I pray, on my journey today. Grant me peace on my journey away, protecting me from those who may harm me from those who are distracted, frustrated, or angry. Grant me grace, that I might not sin while I drive, sin by being angry, or being rude, or being proud. 

May I remember that I am still a servant of yours while I drive, and may your Spirit be ever with me. As I travel, passing and being passed, may  I remember your love, even unto death, which you have for all those that pass and are passed. May they also feel your hand in their lives, be protected from being harmed in heart or health. and like I, reach their destination safely and peacefully.

May I remember your grace, your forgiveness, and your peace offered to all, and may I likewise be a bearer of these for all who I see.

And when the day is done, when my work is through, may you bring me back safely again, guarding my heart and my health, leading out and leading me back, ever praying, ever worshipping, ever singing, ever mindful, of your greatness, and glory, and light for all to see.

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[1] Robert Van De Weyer, Celtic Prayers, (Nashville:  Abingdon Press, 1997), 25.

[2] Van de Weyer, 41.