Prayers and Inspirational Poems
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Our Prayers and Inspirational Poems are submitted by Members and Friends of Covenant. If you have a favorite prayer, meditation, or poem that you would like to share with others, please email to webadministrator. Please state title/author and source if applicable.
Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson I Walk Down the Street by Portia Nelson Help Us Richard Rohr - Hope Against Darkenss Signs of the Liberating Love of God Jean Vanier, Community and Growth At the River Clarion (Excerpt) by Mary Oliver The Prayer of the Iris by Carol Tyx A Prayer from Africa with a Prelude by Wang Weifan,China A Litany for the Gulf of Mexico by Sarah Creech, Fairhope, AL Prayer is . . . by Abraham Joshua Heschel PC(USA) Mission Year Book for Prayer and Study
How to Pray the Serenity Prayer This is the perfect prayer to add to your Daily Devotions. Set aside a few minutes in the morning or in the evening to pray your devotions to God. Ask God for serenity on a daily basis using this prayer as your guide. Some additional tips and exercises for praying this prayer.
God grant me the serenity
Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve
the world. So that other people won't feel
insecure around you. We were all meant to shine, as
children do. It's not just in some of us; it's
in everyone. We unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same As we are liberated from our own
fear, Our presence automatically
liberates others.
By Marianne Williamson
I walk down the street.
I walk down the street.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I know where I am.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
—Autobiography
in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson
Let us be present now.
Help us be present to the place
Help us find some space within
Help us find space so you, loving God,
Amen Richard Rohr from Hope Against Darkness
Signs of the Liberating Love of God Communities must not be isolated one from another. They are called to live in communion and to collaborate one with another. They are all part of a vast body uniting heaven and earth, uniting those who have gone before and those who are present on the earth today. And together they are all preparing the seeds that will flower and bear fruit in the generations to come. They are preparing the ways of tomorrow so that the body of Christ may be fulfilled. Each community is but a sign of the liberating love of God. Source: Community and Growth
At the River Clarion (excerpt) A Prayer from Africa Wang Weifan of China writes: The poet Li Si has said: “The mountain cherishes the soil which gives it height; the sea does not disdain the water which gives it depth. The boundaries of the realm of the Spirit depend on the narrowness or breadth of the heart. If our embrace is narrow, we cannot put our arms about another. If we are partial to our own group or attack those who are different: this too is displeasing to God. If we take every small thing to heart, if we cannot forget past grudges, can our hearts be vast as the ocean. The great land supports the myriad creatures. There is nothing that does not feel the warmth of the sun. But how narrow my heart, smaller than the chicken’s roost or the pig’s enclosure; empty but for ambition. How can it soar with the eagle or race with swift horses? I pray God to open my heart. Only then can I find peace. May it be high as a mountain peak, deep as the sea -- when, Lord, when?” O God, enlarge my heart, that it may be
big enough to receive the greatness of your love Stretch my heart, that it may take into
it all those who, with me, around the world, believe in
Jesus Christ. Stretch it, that it may take into it all those who do not know him, but who are my responsibility because I
know him. And stretch it, that it may take in all those who are not lovely in my eyes, and whose hands I do not want to touch; through Jesus Christ, my Savior. Amen
A litany for the Gulf of Mexico in a time of crisis. Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous, praise him and highly exalt him forever. You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord, praise him and highly exalt him forever. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is upon the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor. O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great, There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it. You give it to them; they gather it; you open you hand, and they are filled with good things. You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth. For the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, that they may be kept pure as you created them. Lord, have mercy. For all who work on the waters that they be safe from harm; for all who have been injured, for all who have died, and for all who mourn. Lord, have mercy. For all who support their livelihood and the care of their families and communities from the harvest of the waters, Lord, have mercy. For all who live along these waters and for their livelihood, provide places of rest and recreation for others, Lord, have mercy. For all who explore the depths of the earth, even under the sea, for the resources of your creation for the common good, Lord, have mercy. For all creatures of your making and for the wonderful mysteries of natural habitats you have willed for them, that they be protected from all dangers, Lord, have mercy. For all in authority over us, in the government of our nation, our states, and communities, that they may serve your will for the common good, and no other, Lord, have mercy. For all who work to preserve us from the dangers of this present calamity, that they may be blessed with success and kept safe from all harm, Lord, have mercy. For our deliverance from fear, anxiety, and anger, Lord, have mercy. For your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, Lord, hear our prayer. Mercifully hear us, O Lord our God. Let our cry come to you. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Prayer is . . . by Abraham Joshua Heschel Prayer clarifies our hope and intentions. It helps us discover our true aspirations, the pangs we ignore, the longings we forget. It is an act of self-purification.... It teaches us what to aspire to, implants in us the ideals we ought to cherish. Prayer is an invitation to God to intervene in our lives, to let God's will prevail in our affairs; it is the opening of a window to God in our will, an effort to make God the Lord of our soul. We submit our interests to God's concern, and seek to be allied with what is ultimately right. Source: The Wisdom of Heschel
Lord, make us
realise that our Christianity is
like a rice field: when it is newly planted the paddies are prominent, but as the plants take root and grow taller, these
divided paddies gradually vanish, and soon there appears only one
vast continuous field.
A Prayer from the Philippines
Like the iris
Dig me up, O Spirit
then drive me deeper
to pull my yearning
then let me offer
— Carol Tyx
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