Louis Untermeyer

GOD, though this life is but a wraith,
Although we know not what we use,
Although we grope with little faith,
Give me the heart to fight—and lose.

Ever insurgent let me be,
Make me more daring than devout;
From sleek contentment keep me free,
And fill me with a buoyant doubt.

Open my eyes to visions girt
With beauty, and with wonder lit—
But always let me see the dirt,
And all that spawn and die in it.

Open my ears to music; let
Me thrill with Spring's first flutes and drums—
But never let me dare forget
The bitter ballads of the slums.

From compromise and things half done,
Keep me with stern and stubborn pride;
And when at last the fight is won,
God, keep me still unsatisfied.

Chain E-mail Prayer

Received this in my e-mai recently.

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to
see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God
and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on
blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or
thought that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger
and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of
gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so
that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that I can accept all
things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.
And It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to
use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to
others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak... Keep me uplifted that
I may have words of encourage ment for others. I pray for those that are
lost and can ' t find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood. I pray for those who don ' t know You intimately. I
pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I
pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I
pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in
their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they
are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that
reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater
than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees
it.

Prayer for the President

O Lord, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty Ruler of the universe,

who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth;

Most heartily we beseech thee,

with thy favour to behold and bless thy servant THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and all others in authority; and so replenish them with the grace of thy Holy Spirit,

that they may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way.

Endue them plenteously with heavenly gifts;

grant them in health and prosperity long to live;

and finally, after this life, to attain everlasting joy and felicity;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Found on Church of the Acronym

The Great Invocation

From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let Light stream forth into the minds of man.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let Love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let Purpose guide the little wills of men -
The Purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.

Alice A. Bailey

A Child's Prayer for Morning

Now, before I run to play,
Let me not forget to pray
To God who kept me through the night
And waked me with the morning light.

Help me, Lord, to love thee more
Than I ever loved before,
In my work and in my play
Be thou with me through the day.Amen.

I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.

Help me to pray

And to concentrate my thoughts on you:

I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,

But with you there is light;

I am lonely, but you do not leave me;

I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;

I am restless, but with you there is peace.

In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,

But you know the way for me…Restore me to liberty,

And enable me to live now

That I may answer before you and before me.

Lord, whatever this day may bring,Your name be praised.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thomas a Kempis

In truth, sublime words make not a man holy and just;
but a virtuous life maketh him dear to God.
I had rather feel compunction than know its definition.
If thou didst know the whole Bible by heart and the sayings of all the philosophers,
what would it profit it thee without the love of God and His grace.

Thomas a Kempis
Of the Imitation of Christ Bk. 1 Ch. 1 v. 3

Prayer for Unsaved Indians

Giving you honor and praise as a Sovereign God,

I ask that You do what only You can do:

give the gift of salvation to those who live in the darkness of India.

Protect Your servants who go in unsafe areas where the Gospel has not been heard.

Give unsaved Indians a hunger and thirst for Your righteousness.

Help them to see sin the way You see it.

Continue to make others fit to disciple the new believers.

Glorify Yourself, exalt Your name in this work.

Let the fool who has said there is no God

see You manifested in your people who are witnesses for You.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Attributed to BABAJI A Himalayan Saint

Love and serve all humanity. Assist everyone.

Be cheerful. Be courteous.

Be a dynamo of irrepressible happiness.

See God and good in every face.

There is no saint without a past.

There is no sinner without a future.

Praise every soul.

If you cannot praise someone, let them pass out of your life.

Be original. Be inventive.

Dare, dare, and then dare some more.

Do not imitate. Stand on your own ground.

Do not lean on the borrowed staff of others.

Think your own thoughts. Be yourself.

All perfection and all virtues of the deity are hidden inside you:Reveal them.

The savior also is already within you: Reveal Him.

Let His grace emancipate you. Let your life be that of a rose.

Through silence it speaks in the language of fragrance.

Prayer - by P.M. Traunstein

Creator God:
We always ask before we thank, for we are asking creatures.
We ask for love and thank you for the love you have inspired in us.
We ask to be closer to you and thank you for our capacity to pray.
We ask for understanding and thank you for bringing us the light of your presence.
We ask for happiness and thank you for the joy of life.
We ask for strength and thank you for the courage you have given us to hope.
We ask for your presence and thank you for living in our hearts.
We ask, and we have already received.

Blessed be your name, O God, our Creator.

Le Notre père

Notre père, qui êtes aux cieux!
Que votre nom soit sanctificié.
Que votre règne vienne.
Que votre volonté soit faite, sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donnez-nous aujourd'hui notre poindre ce jour.
Pardonnez-nous nos offenses, comme nous pardonnons aussi a ceux,
qui nous ont offensés,
et ne nous soumetez pas à la tentation, mais délivrez-nous du mal.

Car c'est à toi qu'appartiènne, le régne, la puissance et la gloire, pour les siècles des siècles.

Amen.

Prayer for Asian Earthquake Victims

Father, in the name of our wonderful Savior, I bring to your throne all the survivors of the terrible earthquake that hit Asia. Please give them comfort, the comfort and peace that only YOU can give. Lord, I pray for all those that don't have a personal relationship with you. May they come to know you in this trying time. I know, Lord, that you are in control. Since the beginning of time you created the heavens and the earth so that we can honor your name. We should always give you praise no matter what our cicumstances are. I thank YOU, for what you are going to do.

In Jesus' name.

The Unspoken War Prayer by Mark Twain

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

Prayer for White Folks

(This prayer is attributed to 6 year-old Ruby Bridges. She said it twice a day, before and after school, when she became the first black child to go to William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans. Local authorities refused to assist in the federally ordered integration. The year was 1960.)

Please God,
try to forgive these people.
Because even if they say those bad things,
They don't know what they're doing.
So You could forgive them,
Just like You did those folks a long time ago
When they said terrible things about You.

Amen.

Ecumenical Prayer for Peace

O Lord,you love justice and you establish peace on earth.
We bring before you the disunity of today’s world;
the absurd violence, and the many wars,
which are breaking the courage of the peoples of the world;
human greed and injustice,which breed hatred and strife.
Send your spirit and renew the face of the earth;
teach us to be compassionate towards the whole human family;
strengthen the will of all thosewho fight for justice and for peace,
and give us that peace which the world cannot give.

Amen.

(Found on the World Council of Churches website).

Peace in the Middle East

The following prayer authored by Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy was used in many places in inter-religious worships around the time of the Gulf War in 1991:

Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but You.
Great and wonderful are Your works, wondrous are your ways.
Thank You for the many splendoured variety of Your creation.
Thank You for the many ways we affirm Your presence and purpose,
and the freedom to do so.
Forgive our violation of Your creation.
Forgive our violence toward each other.
We stand in awe and gratitude for Your persistent love for each and all of Your children:Christian, Jew, Muslim, as well as those with other faiths.
Grant to all and our leaders attributes of the strong;
mutual respect in words and deed, restraint in the exercise of power,
and the will for peace with justice, for all.

Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but You.

Amen.

(Found on the World Council of Churches website.)

Zoroastrian

Happiness be the lot of him who works
for the happiness of others.
May the Lord grant him health and endurance.

Hearken with your ears to these best counsels,
Reflect upon them with illumined judgment.
Let each one choose his creed with that freedom of choice
each must have at great events.
O ye, be awake to these, my announcements.

Doing the right thing is our best gift
That is what brings us bliss and happiness.
Happy and blissful is the person who does what is right,
because it is the right thing to do.

From "A Course In Miracles"

Attributed to Jesus.

God is my Father, and He loves His Son.

My true Identity is so secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious and great, wholly beneficent and free from guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light. It lights the world as well. It is the gift my Father gave to me; the one as well I give the world. There is no gift but This that can be either given or received. This is reality, and only This. This is illusion's end. It is the truth.

My Name, O Father, still is known to You. I have forgotten it, and do not know where I am going, who I am, or what it is I do. Remind me, Father, now, for I am weary of the world I see. Reveal what You would have me see instead.

Agnostic (by Roger Zelazny)

Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say,
I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed
to do which requires forgiveness.

Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit
for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit.

I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony.

Amen.

African Traditional

In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is the word which comes out of your mouth.
That word!
It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.

A Hindu Prayer

O God, The Giver of Life,
Remover of pains and sorrows,
Bestower of happiness, and
Creator of the Universe;
Thou art luminous, pure and adorable;
We meditate on Thee.
May Thou inspire and guide
Our intellect in the right direction.

A Sufi Prayer

Beloved Lord, Almighty God,
Through the Rays of the Sun,
Through the Waves of the Air,
Through the All Pervading Life in Space;
Purify and Revivify Us
And we pray, heal our bodies, hearts, and souls.
Amen

An Islamic Prayer

With Ramadan starting today, I thought this beautiful Islamic prayer appropriate.

In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds,
The most Gracious, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement.

Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
Show us the straight way.
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace,
those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

Judaic Prayer

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tonight. I was told this is a Judaic Prayer.

You alone are God,
You were from of old,
And You will be until eternity,
always, first and last,
Now and always for ever and ever.
As for You, You are the same,
and Your epoch will not come to an end;
As for You, You are the same,
and Your kingdom will not be abolished,
And Your Power is invincible,
And Your strength is untiring,
And Your magnificence will not be humbled,
And the splendour of Your Name will not be dispelled,
and the praise of Your exalted fame will not be diminished,
And Your light will not be darkened,
And Your decree will not be abrogated,
The pillar of Your word will not be overthrown,
And Your wisdom will not fall into error,
And Your counsel will not be concealed.
You alone are God, God of all;
You alone are God, Lord of all;
You alone are God, King of all;
You alone are God, Creator of all;
You alone are God, Conqueror of all;
You alone are God, Omnipotent;
You alone are God, Slayer of all;
You alone are God, Destroyer of all;
You alone are God, Saviour of all;
You alone are God, Life of all;
You alone are God, Sustainer of all;
You alone are God, Protector of all;
You alone are God, Restorer of all;
You alone are God, Raiser of all;
You alone are God, Supporter of all;
You alone are God, Helper of all;
You alone are God,
A righteous God over all creation.

Native American Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.

I am small and weak.

I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength, not to be superior to my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes, so when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit will come to you without shame.

The Intelligent Designer's Prayer

Our Intelligent Designer,
Who art in the unspecified-good-place,
Unknown be Thy name.
Thy flagella spin, Thy mousetraps snap,
On Earth, as it is in the
Unspecified-good-place.
Give us each day our unchecked apologetic.
And forgive us our invidious comparisons,
As we smite those iniquitous Darwinists
With rhetoric.
And lead us not into encounters with people
Who ask us to state our theory,
But deliver us from biologists
Who know what we're up to.
For Thine is the irreducible complexity,
And the wiggly parts of bacterial bottoms,
And the inapplicable theorems,
Now and forever.

Amen.


Shamelessly stolen from The Panda's Thumb.

Short Version of A Prayer of St Patrick

Christ shield me today
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Prayer Before the Kansas House of Representatives

This prayer was sent to me by a close friend. She forwarded a chain letter which had part of the prayer. The chain letter incorrectly said the prayer was recent, given before the Kansas senate.

In fact, the prayer was said by the Reverend Joe Wright in 1996 before the Kansas House. It's still timely and provacative.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good", but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that.
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery,
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare,
We have killed our unborn and called it choice,
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable,
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem,
We have abused power and called it politics,
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition,
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression,
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen!

Prayer for Faith

Creator God, I pray for faith.

Your servant St. Paul said, "Act as if you have faith, and faith will be given to you."

How long, O God, will you let me, your servant, act a part? How long, O God, before I experience your healing presence, before I feel your blessings, before I truly know your love?

Your servant King David asked for a pure heart. In history you hardened the hearts of some and not others. Can you not open my heart, open my eyes and ears so that I may know you?

Your servant asks for deliverance and faith. Doubts and fear assault me, tempt me, make me sick at heart. You made me a skeptic, O Lord; you schooled me in doubt and gave me a love of argument. "I believe, O God, help me to overcome my disbelief!"

I choose you, O Lord. I affirm you with my lips and my mind. I beg you to bring my heart into your presence. I pledge my self to you, and pray always that I carry out your will. I ask for discernment, wisdom and your guidance.

Have mercy on me, O God who made the heaven and the earth, and show me your light, give me the faith which I seek.

But "your will be done, not mine." If it be your will, then send me to my grave full of doubts.

Amen.