Personal devotion words

poems, prayers, meditations and reflections to console and uplift the spirit

May I be a bridge…Daily Prayer–Shantideva, India

Daily Prayer, by Shantideva, Buddhist sage 700 A.D., India Prayer performed each morning by His Holiness the Dalai Lama May I be a guard for those who need protection A guide for those on the path A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood May I be a lamp […]

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Eddies in the current of life — Jim Burklo, USA

Along the dirt path, past golden grasses nodding in the breeze and stubby juniper trees studded with pale blue-green aromatic berries, through narrows the water rushes, falling over steeps in smooth sheets. Around bends it tumbles, creating backflows that spin into eddies. We are whirlpools in the stream of the universe, eddies consisting of eddies […]

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Holy Darkness, Hold Us — Amanda Udis-Kessler, USA

This could be read by numerous readers (perhaps passing it around a circle) or in the traditional one/many responsive reading style.  It might be used for a nightime reading with a child or with a group out under the summer stars. One: Holy darkness, hold us. Many: Gentle darkness, soothe us. One: Peaceful darkness, heal […]

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Drawn Up — David Long-Higgins, USA

Loving God, Draw everything of me Into the mystery of You Bending the barrenness Of winter’s weary wait Toward Your leading light Hinting at things to come. Let everything of me Be swayed toward You Resisting every wind Of the world’s uprooting Often blowing within Daring to break my resolve To follow Your Christ-love Wherever […]

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The Touch — Sam Goodman, UK

The singular (me/I) might be replaced with the plural (us/we) for a prayer to include in corporate worship. Your hands hold me They meet me in prayer They comfort my spirit They show me that you care Your hands reach out to me They tell me that love forgives They lead me to a place […]

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New Beginning — William Stephenson, USA

God, who wanted and willed me into life, so often I come to you with needs to be met. Seldom I come with joy for all that has been given. Re-sensitize me today to the silent ministries of your quiet gifts, the rest and renewal of last night, the freshness and feeling of this morning, […]

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Fallen into Hope, an autumn prayer — Ana Gobledale, UK

Thoughts upon watching a small child dance with a handful of fallen leaves Fallen Wind-blown Brittle Cracked, cracking An autumn leaf Lifted in the fingers of a child Awed at the brilliance of fire orange And the prominent vein tracks Held high During the dance Twirling Eyes upturned to the heavens Delight In the face […]

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May I…., a meditation — Daphne Armstrong, USA

This might be used as a corporate prayer, substituting ‘we’ for I’. It might also be used at a service of affirmation — an induction, ordination, baptism, re-commitment or confirmation, substituting ‘you’ for ‘I’. May I…. Hands at third eye centre: May I see things as they really are, and not as how I want […]

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Mother God, David Long-Higgins

Mother God, a prayer — David Long-Higgins, USA

Mothering God, Love me anew into life Bearing the birth Of a new beginning I cannot yet see Nor fully understand Yet know I need. Press into me a pulse Enlivening every deadness Shedding every fear Bearing necessary pain For new beginnings Required for this life You renew to rise. Grant me grace O Mothering […]

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Hazelnut meditation — Duncan Wilson, UK

This reflection might be read on Easter morning, or during a time of meditation, having distributed a hazelnut for each participant to hold.                         Text: Wee, wizened pod of latent life, dormant hope protecting, I hold your power entire within my hand and wonder […]

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Before you know it — Jim Burklo, USA

Before you know it, your kid’s childhood is over and she’s gone off to college. Before you know it, your vacation is over and it’s time to go back to work. Before you know it, the storm has passed and the sky is clear. Before you know it, way too much of your life has […]

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Tuning into life is a practice — Anna Blaedel, USA

Loving is sharing in beauty. Living is sharing in the earth’s great cycles–life and death, crucifixion and resurrection, germination and bloom, sorrow and wonder and solace. Our sorrow is deep. Our connection, pulsing too. Practicing resurrection is recognizing the love that flows through the heart of the world. Being alive is a gift. Tuning into […]

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Prayer Experience — Ana Gobledale, UK

The Phenomenon of Prayer I’d love to say that I pray without ceasing, but I do, cease that is. I would love to say that I pray with understanding, but I often pray from a place of not-knowing. I would love to say that I pray with a deep sense of connection to the Spirit, […]

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Discern — Sam Goodman, UK

So how do I know what you intend for me? What can I draw on to find the strength that I need? What word can comfort, what arms can embrace So I hear your words calling and look at your face? So how do I go from where I find myself now? How do you […]

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Never let go — Sam Goodman, UK

Inspired by words of Julian of Norwich: ‘All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and we never let us go.’ Never let go Though it’s hard to hold on This love will hold you And […]

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The nights are closing in — Amy Boucher Pye, USA

The nights are closing in, And darkness descends. Sometimes I feel lost in the dark, Wondering where you are; If you’ve left me. At times like these, Remind me of your presence and love And help me, Gently, to educate my feelings To fall in line with the truth of your promises. Enable me to […]

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Matthew 13: 31-33, Christianity Incubated — Jim Burklo, USA

Pentecost 8, Year A Matthew 13: 31-33 Let us prepare our souls to receive the sacred myth of scripture. Breathe deep, keep a moment of silence; release any preconceptions you might have about the meaning of the passage, open your heart to new revelations that may arise. Then read the text aloud: Jesus put before […]

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Sacred time — Annie Heppenstall, UK

Let this be a sacred time, O God, in which I let what has begun, gradually grow, finding within me the patience and trust that allows me to tend my concerns with wisdom. This prayer by Annie Heppenstall was distributed at Gloucester Cathedral during the ‘Museum of the Moon’ exhibition in October 2019.

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Lighting a candle is a prayer – Hereford Cathedral, UK

When I lit a candle in Hereford Cathedral, I picked up a card that reads: The shrine of St Thomas of Hereford: a place where pilgrims have left their prayer for hundreds of years. Lighting a candle is a prayer When we have gone it stays alight — continuing our prayers of thanksgiving and intercession […]

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Psalm 104 for Today — Operation Noah, UK

Thank you for my eyes that help me see the world. Thank you for my ears that bring music to my soul. Thank you for my feet that keep me on the ground. Thank you for my hands that I can wave around. For fingers and toes, Mouth and nose, Chin and hair, And even […]

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Silent Flight — Chris Roe, UK

In the silence The clarity of your voice, Climbs high Upon the eagle’s wings. The chains of doubt That imprison my soul, Fall away beneath my feet. In the freedom and majesty Of the sentinel’s gaze, Faith is strengthened And hope returned To a weary heart, Upon the silent flight Of eagle’s wings. Chris posts […]

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Psalm 23 for today — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, UK

Inspired by Psalm 23 God is my shelter, my protection, and my guide. I want for nothing, and I will practice thanksgiving! God invites me to places of peace and beauty where wildflowers bloom and mountain streams flow. God will restore me, and I will practice sabbath rest. Even when anxiety and fear threaten to […]

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Hopeful brokenness, in response to a bombing — Ana Gobledale, UK

Written April 2018 during a time of personal reflection in the Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral, UK, following the bombing of Syria by the US and the UK. Broken Bombed Darkness descends How did it come to this? God groans The world whimpers. We cower Fearfully crying out, ‘Which way?’ What about our grandchildren? Follow the […]

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Stilling the storms of life, Mark 4:35-41 — Ana Gobledale, UK

Stilling the storms of life, a guided reflection  Text: Mark 4:35-41   NRSV  (Lection 5th Sunday of Pentecost, Year B)   Prior to reading the passage, set the scene: Jesus’s days, filled with healing and teaching by the lakeside, have tired him and the disciples out.  In chapter 3 he asks for a boat to stand […]

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Falling into temptation, the Lord’s Prayer anew

Ever felt uncomfortable praying ‘Lead us not into temptation’? Ever wondered why God would need to be asked to refrain from leading us toward that which tempts us? The French Catholic Church (Bishops, March 2018) has altered their translation of this troubling petition to read: ‘Ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation.’  In English: ‘Do not […]

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Confession of a Scrooge-like heart–Lawrence Moore, UK

Pause before the prayer, allowing God’s Spirit to search your heart.  Make your own confession. Pause after the prayer to experience the reality of God’s forgiveness. Why do I so readily settle for less, Spirit-giver? Respectable religion instead of living faith; God-at-a-distance instead of the searing closeness of your parenthood; sameness instead of the adventure […]

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Prayer for peace, Order of St Luke — Tod Gobledale, Australia

Dearest Friend, gentle Spirit, breath of live, source of our being, from the peacefulness of silence, the silence that preceded Creation, your Word entered the void and said, ‘Let there be light.’ This afternoon we sit mindful that we are kin and covenanted to that Word and to your light. We are grateful to you, […]

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Growing peace — Steve Garnaas-Holmes, USA

Let me stand before enemies with love prepared to break soil, to prune branches to do the hard work of growing peace For I will need stout tools to work this rough land well, to bring fruits of justice out of rocky earth, to tend the muscular trees of mercy. Steve Garnaas-Holmes serves in ministry […]

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Prayer for Today — Louise Gough, UK

Loving God who summoned the world into being, moulded the mountains, bathed the earth in colour and light, and breathed into us the Spirit of life we bring you our praise. We adore you, the God who first loved us – who knew us in the womb made each of us unique and who tends […]

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Prayer for the New Year — Sandy Messick, USA

Ready-to-print copy: WORD Prayer for the New Year, Sandy Messick   God of all times and seasons, On this threshold of a new year, we turn and return again to you. The year spreads before us with possibilities and challenges, joys and concerns. There is beauty all around: in the smiles of children, in the […]

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Striving, a prayer for today — Lynne Roberts, Australia

Loving, embracing Spirit We strive and we fall often, straight into the safety net of your compassionate embrace. We pick ourselves up and try again, secure in the knowledge that you will always be there for us, and that we are so much more than our successes and failures. Help us to learn from our […]

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Prayers for Today — Christina White, UK

Day’s Beginning O God, You have birthed the world And us. You have washed us, Dressed us, Fed us, Set us on our way in the school of life. Give us courage to stand strong, To meet all that comes our way with kindness, Learn from all with an open heart, And remember always That […]

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Song for Sunrise — Joy Cowley, New Zealand

Hey, beautiful morning, we’re singing your God song, a psalm of seas and mountains, of empty roads and houses yawning under a new blue bowl of sky. It’s the song of the bellbird, of steaming cows in sheds, of freckled trout quivering in deep dark pools, and dew on cobwebs lacing trees. Hey, beautiful morning, […]

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