Daily Prayer/Meditation

Green Gaia · Aug 26, 2005

Prayer to Live With Grace

May we discover through pain and torment,
the strength to live with grace and humor.
May we discover through doubt and anguish,
the strength to live with dignity and holiness.
May we discover through suffering and fear,
the strength to move toward healing.
May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor.
May Life grant us wellness of body, spirit, and mind.
And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage
moments of meaning, opportunities for love
and the deep and gracious calm that comes
when we allow ourselves to move on.

- Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
Appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Aug 27, 2005

Do Not Lose Heart

Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.

- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

Green Gaia · Aug 28, 2005

For the Unitarian villages in Transylvania and everyone effected in Europe by the recent flooding.

Prayer In a Time of Flash Floods

By Rev. Olivia Holmes

To everything there is a season
The ancient prayer of comfort says.

In the Unitarian villages of Transylvania
This is a time of weeping,
A time of mourning,
A time of dying
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair.

A wall of water sweet life-giving water
More than the earth can bear or hold
Rises beyond endurance
Sweeps through the valley
And leaves no home unhurt.
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair.

Some beloved ones are gone with the water
For mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair

The crops are ruined
The livestock have died
Barns and houses are barren
There is no food, no feed
No supplies for the winter
No road or rail for help
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair

Great Spirit of Life, O Living Loving God
Bless us all who are left behind
With a will to live, to build, to rekindle
The flame that has died.
Bless us with a spirit of embracing,
There is so much grief to embrace
Bless us with the power to sow
New crops, new lives, new hope.

For everything there is a season,
Let this be a season for love that can heal.

Green Gaia · Aug 29, 2005

Fisherman's Prayer

I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day.
And when it comes to my last cast,
I then most humbly pray:
When in the Lord's great landing net
And peacefully asleep
That in His mercy I be judged
Big enough to keep.

- Unknown
Appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Aug 30, 2005

Prayer for Shelter Against the Storm

God of heaven and earth, God who carries our lives and the lives of our whole community in your hands, be with us in the peril of this day/night. Help us to release our anxieties and fears into those same caring hands, knowing in faith that your will for us is life and everlasting good. Send your holy angels to watch over us and guard us. May they spread their holy wings to give us shelter against the storm. For you alone, O God, are all good, all life, all love, and that love is for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel
Christian
source: Prayer Book for the Hurricane and Tornado Seasons

Green Gaia · Aug 31, 2005

Prayer for Protection

O God, you are my Lord. There is none worthy of worship except You. I rely upon You, and You are the Great Lord of the Throne. Whatever God wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen. There is no power or strength except by God. I know that God is able to do anything, and that God knows all. O God I seek refuge in You from the evil in myself and every creature that You have given power over us. Verily my Lord is on the straight path.

- Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Muslim

Green Gaia · Sep 1, 2005

Prayer for Kindness

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

Bahá'u'lláh
Baha'i, appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Sep 2, 2005

For the Protection of Travelers

All-Father Wodan, protector of travelers,
guard us, guide us,
bring us through
in safety and ease
on our journey today.

Ceisiwr Serith
"A Book of Pagan Prayer"

Have a safe weekend everyone!

Green Gaia · Sep 6, 2005

Prayer for Those Who Are Afraid

The unknown is terrifying,
responsibility is overwhelming,
the untapped anger cannot be borne.
Hear our cry, O God of love,
for all so trapped in fear.
Open our hearts to trust
your presence to guide us
in the unknown places;
teach us to know
you will support us in all
that we undertake;
free us to share with you
the rage within, knowing
you will never desert us.
Amen.

Vienna Cobb Anderson

Green Gaia · Sep 7, 2005

Prayer for Rescue, Recovery, Rebuilding

O gracious God, we will never understand the sorrows of the world, but by your grace we will not turn away from them. Renew and sustain in us the spirit of love that crosses miles. Cheer and encourage those who labor to help the injured, the homeless, the hungry and those in despair. Bless and soften the hearts of those who would take advantage of tragedy for their own profit, that they may come to know where true joy is to be found. Unite us in prayer with all those who look for help, and use us to come speedily to them with the things that they need. We ask these things in your own most holy Name. Amen.

- Susan Colaneri, St. John's Lutheran Church, NJ

Green Gaia · Sep 8, 2005

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
Appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Sep 9, 2005

Prayer for Those Who Have Suffered Trauma

Most merciful God,
bless all who have suffered trauma
in their lives.
Support them with love
during their time of shock.
Grace them with peace
as they wrestle with the challenges
of each day.
Sustain them in hope
as they prepare for the days ahead.
Amen.

Vienna Cobb Anderson

Green Gaia · Sep 10, 2005

Prayer for Humility

Incline us O God! to think humbly of ourselves, to be saved only in the examination of our own conduct, to consider our fellow-creatures with kindness, and to judge of all they say and do with the charity which we would desire from them ourselves.

- Jane Austen
Appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Sep 12, 2005

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.

- St. Francis of Assisi
Christian, appropriate for many faiths

Green Gaia · Sep 15, 2005

The Future Is Full of Promise

The future is full of promise, Holy Mystery,
if only because we discern your forces of evolution at work everywhere.

Every opening daffodil, every growing child,
every glimmer of human enlightenment, every bodily process of healing -- tells us the future is not fearsome but is full of promise.

Your face is hidden, your name unknown:
still we turn to you in faith and confidence.

Creating Spirit, we hear your comforting voice
in the steady music of the unfolding of creation.

We give thanks to exist,
and to be the joy of your heart.
Amen.

William Cleary

Green Gaia · Sep 16, 2005

Teach Us to Love

O God, perfect us in love, that we may conquer all selfishness and hatred of others; fill our hearts with Thy joy, and shed abroad in them Thy peace which passeth understanding; that so those murmurings and disputings to which we are too prone may be overcome. Make us long-suffering and gentle, and thus subdue our hastiness and angry tempers, and grant that we may bring forth the blessed fruits of the Spirit, to Thy praise and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- Rev. Henry Alford

Green Gaia · Sep 18, 2005

Prayer for World Peace

May all the beings in all the worlds be happy.
May all the beings in all the worlds be happy.
May all the beings in all the worlds be happy.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu.
Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu.
Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

Hindu
Rig Veda

Green Gaia · Sep 19, 2005

Prayer for Guidance

Let me not wander in vain.
Let me not labor in vain.
Let me not mingle with the prejudiced.
Let me not leave the company of the virtuous.
Let me not fly into anger.
Let me not stray off the path of goodness.
Let me not seek for this day or for the morrow.
Give me such a wealth, O Almighty!

- Pattinattar (10th century poet)
Hindu

Green Gaia · Sep 20, 2005

Walking Meditation

My mind can go in a thousand directions.
Now I walk in peace.
Each step creates a warm breeze.
With each step, a lotus blooms.

Andrew Weiss
-Buddhist

Green Gaia · Sep 21, 2005

Prayer for Autumn Days

God of the seasons, there is a time for everything; there is a time for dying and a time for rising. We need courage to enter into the transformation process.

God of autumn, the trees are saying goodbye to their green, letting go of what has been. We, too, have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk. Help us to let go when we need to do so.

God of fallen leaves lying in colored patterns on the ground, our lives have their own patterns. As we see the patterns of our own growth, may we learn from them.

God of misty days and harvest moon nights, there is always the dimension of mystery and wonder in our lives. We always need to recognize your power-filled presence. May we gain strength from this.

God of harvest wagons and fields of ripened grain, many gifts of growth lie within the season of our surrender. We must wait for harvest in faith and hope. Grant us patience when we do not see the blessings.

God of geese going south for another season, your wisdom enables us to know what needs to be left behind and what needs to be carried into the future. We yearn for insight and vision.

God of flowers touched with frost and windows wearing white designs, may your love keep our hearts from growing cold in the empty seasons.

God of life, you believe in us, you enrich us, you entrust us with the freedom to choose life. For all this, we are grateful.

Author Unknown

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