Prayer before reading Scripture

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
Christ Taking Leave of the Apostles, by Duccio via Wikimedia Commons
 
We praise and thank you
    glorious Lord Jesus Christ,
    for being present among us and in us.
In us you praise the Father
    with the voice of the Spirit,
    whom you have given us.
Lord, may this voice of the Spirit
    be roused in us
    as we listen to the words of Scripture
    in a manner that is worthy and fitting,
    appropriate to the meaning of the text and
    in harmony with what is revealed to us.
Make us ready to recognize
    how we can correspond
    to the teaching and example proposed to us.
For you are God, living and reigning
    for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Carlo Maria Martini, SJ, 1927-2012,Italian Biblical Scholar
 
________________________
 
 
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. 
He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. 
He will tell you about the future. 
He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.
All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said,     
  ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

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may the Holy Spirit work in the Church today

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Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    we want to thank you for the Church which is your own creation.
We want to thank you for the way you have enabled your servants,
    by the power of the Holy Spirit, 
    to propagate your Gospel throughout the world.
We thank you for the zeal that you implanted 
    in the hearts of those early missionaries
    who brought the good news to foreign lands like Africa.
It is our prayer, Almighty God, 
    that the power of the Holy Spirit may work in the Church today, 
    that the hearts of the people may grow from strength to strength,
    that they may be able to withstand the obstacles that come their way
    in their endeavors to make your word reach all corners of the world.
Revitalize your Church and let your presence 
    be with all who are called by your holy Name.
Help each of us to live according to your will 
    so that your glory may be found in your Church.
Let everyone in the Church have zeal to exalt your Name.
 
Prayers Encircling the World, slightly modified
 
________________________________
 
 
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 
    had peace and was being built up. 
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 
    it multiplied.
 

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Come Holy Spirit

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Pentecost Light by Lawrence OP via flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
Come, oh come, most gracious comforter of afflicted souls
    and helper in tribulations.
Come, cleanser of sins and healer of wounds.
Come, strengthener of the weak,
    comforter of the downtrodden.
Come, teacher of the humble
    and destroyer of the proud.
Come, devoted father of the orphan,
    gentle protector of widows.
Come, hope of the poor, reviver of the sick.
Come, stay of the navigator,
    post of refuge for the shipwrecked.
Come, singular glory of those who live,
    singular salvation of those who die.
 
Come, most Holy Spirit, come,
    and have mercy on me.
Make me fit for you.
And graciously reach down to me 
    so that my insignificance 
    may be pleasing to your greatness,
    my weakness to your strength,
    according to the multitude of your mercies
through Jesus Christ my Savior
who lives with the Father in unity 
and reigns forever and ever. 
Amen.
 
Anselm of Canterbury, c. 1033-1109, Benedictine monk and archbishop
 
________________________
 
 
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 
    how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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shepherd to the shepherds, help us

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The Good Shepherd, 3rd Century Roman Catacombs
 
 
God of peace, 
    who has restored us to each other, 
    and made the two one:
  You who set kings upon thrones, 
    who raise the poor out of the dust, 
    and lift up the beggar from the dung hill.
  You who chose David and took him away from the sheepfold,
    though he was the least and the youngest of the sons of Jesse.
  You who gave the word to those who preach the gospel
    with great power for the perfection of the gospel.
Hold me by my right hand, 
    guide me with your counsel,
    and receive me with glory.
You who are a shepherd to the shepherds and a guide to the guides,
    help us to feed your flock with knowledge,
    not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
Help us to serve according to the blessing,
    and not according to the curse 
      pronounced against the men of former days.
Give strength and power to your people.
Present your flock dazzling and spotless, worthy of the fold on high,
    in the place of rejoicing and in the splendor of the saints.
Do this so that in your temple everyone,
    both flock and shepherds, together may say:
Glory in Christ Jesus our Lord, 
    to whom be all glory forever and ever!
Amen.
 
Gregory Nazianzen, 329-389, Archbishop of Constantinople
 
______________________________
 
 
So I exhort the elders among you, 
    as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, 
    as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 
 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, 
    exercising oversight, not under compulsion, 
    but willingly, as God would have you;
  not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 
  not domineering over those in your charge, 
    but being examples to the flock. 
And when the chief Shepherd appears, 
    you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

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for those suffering the anguish of inner darkness

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photo via pixabay CC0

 
Lord Jesus, 
as you bowed your head and died,
a great darkness covered the land.
 
We lay before you
the despair of all
who find life
without meaning or purpose,
who suffer the anguish
of inner darkness
that can only lead them 
to self-destruction and death.
 
Lord,
in your passion, you too
felt abandoned, isolated, derelict.
 
You are one
with all who suffer
pain and torment
of body and mind.
 
Be to them the light
that has never been mastered.
Pierce the darkness
which surrounds and engulfs them,
so that they may know
within themselves
acceptance, forgiveness, and peace.
 
We pray for those who,
through the suicide
of one close to them,
suffer the emptiness of loss
and the burden of untold guilt.
May they know
your gift of acceptance,
so that they may be freed
from self-reproach
and mutual recrimination,
and find in the pattern
of your dying and rising,
new understanding, and purpose
for their lives.
 
Neville Smith, retired Anglican priest and hospital chaplain
 
______________________
 
 
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all

prayer for young people

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Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

 
Father, we pray for young people growing up 
    in a difficult and dangerous world.
We pray for those who are unemployed,
    who have not worked since they left school and have never earned any money.
We pray for those who are taking their first steps in their skill, trade, or profession.
We pray for those who feel they have no support from the adults around them
    and who grow resentful at what they see to be their indifference.
We pray for those who are caught up in violence,
    either giving it or receiving it.
We pray for those who are morally confused and uncertain of what is right or wrong.
We pray for young Christians as they strive to live out their faith 
    in an unsympathetic world.
Father, you are head of all the family.
Hear our prayers in Jesus’ name.
 
Michael Walker, Baptist writer and lecturer
 
___________________________
 
 
You who are young, be happy while you are young,
    and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
    and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
    God will bring you into judgment.
So then, banish anxiety from your heart
    and cast off the troubles of your body,
    for youth and vigor are meaningless.
 

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open my hand

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photo by Oladimeji Odunsi on Unsplash
 
 
You have called me to open my hand
    so that you can fill it.
 
But I would not open my hand.
I held the world tightly 
    and kept my hand shut.
I would not let it go.
 
But please God,
    open my hand for me.
And do not only open my hand, 
    but also open my mouth –
  and not only my mouth,
    but my heart also.
 
Grant that I may know nothing but you,
    that I may count everything as loss compared to you,
    and that I may strive to be conformed to you.
 
Jeremy Taylor, 1613-1667, English cleric, imprisoned during the Protectorate
 
__________________________
 
 
I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

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Lord of ultimate power

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

photo by Christian Lue via unsplash
      

Father, source of all power, 
We confess that we do not always use the powers you have given us as you intend. 
Sometimes we are afraid of the power we wield, 
        and so do not use it at all; 
  at other times we are careless in our use of it and harm others; 
  at yet other times we deliberately misuse it to achieve our own selfish ends. 
We confess our misuse of our God-given powers, 
    and ask for your grace to use them properly in the future.
 
We think of the power of the nations of the world. 
In international affairs it so often seems that events are out of our control, and rule us. 
Father, help us to see how national power can be wielded for the fulfilment of your will.
 
We think of the power of economic systems. 
Often we feel enmeshed in a system which is not fair 
    and yet cannot be changed without causing immense hardship. 
Father, help us to become masters of economic forces 
    and to order them for the purposes of justice.
 
We think of the power of governments. 
They now touch our personal lives at so many points. 
Father, may politicians and civil servants use their powers responsibly 
    and respect the rights of individuals.

Give us the courage to challenge them when they are wrong, 
    and willingness to share in the processes of government ourselves. 
May the power of governments everywhere be used for the good of all.

Father, yours is the ultimate power. 
We see evidence of it everywhere in the world, 
    but most of all in Jesus Christ. 
In him we see the power of your love: 
    weakness and death did not destroy him and you raised him from death. 
May that same power of love be in us.

Caryl Micklem, 1925 – 2003, English minister and hymn writer
 
______________________________
 
 
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, 
    through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
    by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, 
    so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, 
    having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

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love for the Eternal Trinity

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The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, Giovanni di Paolo, via Wikimedia Commons

 
O Eternal God! O Eternal Trinity!
Through the union of your divine nature you have made so precious
    the blood of your only begotten Son!
O eternal Trinity, you are as deep a mystery as the sea,
    in whom the more I seek, the more I find;
    and the more I find, the more I seek.
For even immersed in the depths of you,
    my soul is never satisfied, always famished and hungering for you,
    eternal Trinity, wishing and desiring to see you, the true light.
 
O eternal Trinity, with the light of understanding
    I have tasted and seen the depths of your mystery
                         and the beauty of your creation.
In seeing myself in you, I have seen that I will become like you.
 
O eternal Father, from your power and your wisdom
    clearly you have given me a share of that wisdom
    which belongs to your only begotten Son.
And truly the Holy Spirit,
    who proceeds from You, Father and Son,
    has given to me the desire to love You.
 
Catherine of Siena, 1347 – 1380, Italian Dominican mystic
 
____________________________
 
 
Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
    Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

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Father, give us all your Holy Spirit

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​Veni Sancte Spiritus, by Lawrence OP, via  Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask you now to give us all your Holy Spirit,
    and to give him continually, that he might awaken, enlighten, encourage,
    and enable us to dare to take the small and large steps of moving 
    out of the comfort with which we can comfort each other 
    and into hope in you.
Turn us away towards you!
Do not allow us to hide from you!
Do not let us do anything without you!
Show us how glorious you are and how glorious it is to trust and obey you!
 
We would ask the same for all people,
    that nations and governments may bow to your Word,
      and that they will be willing to work for justice and peace on earth,
    that your Word may be understood and taken to heart
      by all those who are poor, sick, imprisoned, troubled, oppressed, and unbelieving;
    that through word and deed your Holy Spirit may be made known to them;
      and that you may be perceived by them as the answer to their sighs and cries;
    that all Christian churches and confessions may learn to recognize him anew 
      and serve you with renewed faithfulness;
    that your truth may remain bright in all of humanity’s error and confusion,
      until such a time as he shall ultimately enlighten all people and all things.
 
You are glorified, you who make us free in Jesus Christ, your Son,
    by confessing and standing on this: that our hope is in you. 
Amen.
 
Karl Barth, 1886 – 1968, Swiss Reformed theologian
Fifty Prayers, slightly modified
 
______________________________
 
 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, 
    so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
 

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