interceding for friends

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My good Lord,
    I long to pray to you for my friends,
    but I am held back by my sins.
Since I stand in such need of grace myself,
    how can I dare ask for grace for others?
I anxiously seek intercession on my own behalf.
    yet even so I shall be so bold
    as to intercede for others.
You commend me to pray for my friends,
    and love prompts me to do so.
So I pray to you, good and gracious God,
    for those who love me for your sake
    and whom I love in you.
 
If my prayer does not deserve to be answered,
    please love them for their own sakes,
    for you are the source of all love.
And make them love you with all their hearts
    so that they will speak and do
    only that which pleases you.
My prayer is but a cold affair, Lord,
    because my love burns with such a small flame.
Yet you who are rich in mercy
    will bestow your grace not according to my prayers
    but according to the infinite warmth of your love.
 
Anselm of Canterbury, c. 1033-1109, Benedictine monk and archbishop
 
__________________
 
 
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. 
Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  
And pray for me, too. 
Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan
    that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
 

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An interceding heart

My heart and my soul,
   my arms and pockets are filled
      with the people I pray for, Lord…
You know who they are and what they need
   and don’t need me
      to speak their names…
But something’s sacred
   in saying aloud the names of those
      who’ve asked for my prayers…
Something’s holy
   in whispering to you
      what they once whispered to me…
And something’s graced
   in simply remembering
      the prayer I saw in their eyes…
My heart and my soul,
   my arms and pockets are filled
      with the people I pray for, Lord…
Hear every prayer I whisper
   for all of those who’ve asked me
      to mention their names to you…
Amen.

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