In the second week of Advent, churches traditionally light the Candle of Peace. This prayer of confession might be used in worship on Sunday with this explanation: Several denominations are ‘calling on congregations NOT to light their second Advent candle — in solidarity with all those who are suffering in the war between Israel […]
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Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1) Holy God, ever present, our hearts are once again heavy as we watch this disaster unfold. We pray comfort for those who have lost loved ones and remember those who have lost their lives, commending their souls to your care. In the midst of this […]
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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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Loving God, Let today be the day I turn to You in everything Before I get so involved In the call of the many I forget You are ready To Break open Every hard place Too heavy for me Alone to open. O Love, Let today be the day I trust your love more Than […]
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(somewhere between prose/poetry and prayer) So many of my prayers Are in the ether in hospital chapels Littered at school gates Waiting for the no.29 bus to town And many of my prayers Are wept over graveyards Scattered like confetti at weddings Joyful at newborn pics A lot of my prayers scramble to decide What […]
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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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As so much is re-shaped by Coronavirus Covid-19, let us pray together for: people left unwell, beckoned by death or bereaved; people providing professional health care and advice, looking after loved ones at home or working to create treatments and cures; people shaping the response of nations and neighbourhoods, of commerce and industry, of service […]
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Eternal God, we turn to you knowing you are the source of the living water for which we thirst. Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you. We pray for those, like the woman by the well, confronted by their own reality and being invited to step boldly into the unknown. May they […]
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Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth; lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust; lead me from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe. Each day at noon people of all faiths and none use this ‘Universal Prayer for Peace’. […]
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Echos of the Jesus Prayer Loving God, we know that you forgive us our trespasses as we must forgive those who trespass against us. And yet how hard we find it to follow your loving example in our day to day lives. Help us to resist the temptations of revenge and retribution and turn instead […]
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We thank you for this day to live, another day to love and one more day to forgive. Make us a light and blessing to one another as we acknowledge you.
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Prayers on every theme, for every occasion written over a 40 year ministry in the Uniting Church of Australia. ‘These sample prayers, written to be spoken, are logged in two groups: soft-theistic and non-theistic/post-theistic. They seek to be shaped by a progressive, post-liberal theology. When soft-theistic, they attempt to use new or different metaphors when […]
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As the crimson flame of life Breaks slowly Above the horizon, The white, frosted meadows, With trees and hedgerows Of sculptured ice, Speak loudly Of your presence. Once more Upon this journey, As another day begins, Without effort Or intrusion, Through the peace And tranquillity Of your silent voice, The moment becomes eternal, And the […]
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Gracious God, Today we pray for a moment of quiet to catch our breath; to give thanks to you; to listen to the insects and the birds, to the cars and airplanes; to watch the breeze move gently in the leaves and the squirrels collect food for their winter store. Grant us quiet. Today we […]
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Dear God of all, grant us understanding of our brothers and sisters worldwide. Plant in us the seed of oneness. Nourish us with your love and grace so that we may live God-like in our interactions with those who are different from us. Grant us the ability to recognize the spirit and sameness that unites […]
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Prayers Sunday to Saturday Daily Prayer Series: Monday Prayers — New Creation Tuesday Prayers — Refreshing Words Wednesday Prayers — Renewal Thursday Prayers – Solidarity with the poor Friday Prayers — Solidarity with Creation Saturday Prayers Sunday Prayers — Resurrection and New Life Lawrence explains: I began looking for a daily prayer series that would nourish me in the sort of […]
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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 1 Samuel 15:34 – 16:13 Mark 4:26-34 God, your ways continue to surprise and delight us. Thank you for the seeds you have sown in us. Encourage us to nurture them as they grow and develop in our inner being, rather than spend so much time and energy on […]
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What of colour and faith? What colour would you assign to love or to peace? What colour symbolises God or Jesus? How would you use colour to describe the feelings and emotions of trust, joy, anger, depression, dreams, hope, loneliness, or thankfulness? David explains: ‘As a Christian with dyslexia (dyslexia comes from the Greek meaning […]
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Gratitude, the yoga of the gods, may sometimes take a little practice. Each day, select one thing to be grateful for: a cup of water, a wisp of green, sun on stone, a friend’s memory, gravity, so we do not float away…. Hold your gratitude like a seashell in your hand, and rehearse it. Come […]
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The Empire Feeds Cold and dark clamp down on us. The Empire feeds itself, human bodies as fuel, boots tracking blood. Rachel weeping for her children, we’ve heard it before. The person with the megaphone doesn’t care. The emperor has spoken. Only the most fragile voice cries out for hope. The gentle bear it, weeping […]
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Ezekiel 37:1-14 Fifth Sunday in Lent – Year A 2 April 2017 God of life, hear my prayer. Withered, cracked, pale Sometimes I feel like a pile of old bones Dry, brittle, broken Sometimes I feel as though all hope is lost. Dry bones, hear the word of the Divine! […]
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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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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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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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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. The old ways are so comfortable, O God. They fit like old slippers; they feel like old friends. I don them more readily than my resurrection clothes; I live […]
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Our God We pray for Empathy – seeking to understand: ideas, people, situations, ourselves, our faith, our hopes, seeking, exploring the why of life, the why of who we are. seeking because we know that only by seeking, do we go beyond ourselves, to where answers reside, answers that we had never considered. And we […]
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Our God, The world is more magical, less predictable, more autonomous, less controllable, more varied, less simple, more infinite, less knowable, more wonderfully troubling than we could have imagined being able to tolerate when we were young. More surprising, able to operate without us adaptive, resistant robust fragile complex and into this environment, we are. […]
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Life winds in many connected strands, Most controlled by other hands, We’re often pulled this way and that, Minds changing like the drop of a hat. Their expectations running high, We can only strive and try, Comes a time we clearly see, This is not a life meant for me. The things that matter beyond […]
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Worried about Climate Change? Concerned for our environment? Wanting to be a good steward of God’s creation? Join other Christians committed to make a stand for climate justice. Each month, a new ‘Prayer Point’ is posted on the website: Pray and Fast for the Climate. Here is the posting for July 2023 as an example: […]
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