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.
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A prayer for Sunday…Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A prayer for Sunday…John 17
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
John 17:13-26
A prayer for Sunday…In Praise of Saints
I thought I’d be a little contrarian this morning and offer a prayer for All Saints Day instead of Reformation Sunday. Indeed, though, if you read through this prayer, you’ll see that it’s really a prayer in praise of God’s faithful servants who have gone before us, those who remained faithful despite intense persecution, and God glory demonstrated in and through them. To that extent, we can see Reformation Sunday and All Saints Day has having common themes. Let’s celebrate today all those who have gone before, on whose shoulders we stand.
In Praise of Saints
How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lord
which you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honour and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words of those with this world’s power.
For you they sustained fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life.
A prayer for Sunday – The Olney Hymns
I noticed last week that October 19 was the anniversary of the publication of the Olney Hymns, a classic collection of evangelical and Reformed compiled by William Cowper and John Newton. So, I thought we’d use one of those hymns for this week’s prayer.
VI. WISDOM.—Proverbs viii.22-31.
Ere God had built the mountains,
Or raised the fruitful hills;
Before he fill’d the fountains
That feed the running rills;
In me, from everlasting,
The wonderful I AM,
Found pleasures never-wasting,
And Wisdom is my name.
When, like a tent to dwell in,
He spread the skies abroad,
And swathed about the swelling
Of Ocean’s mighty flood;
He wrought by weight and measure,
And I was with him then
Myself the Father’s pleasure,
And mine, the sons of men,
Thus Wisdom’s words discover
Thy glory and thy grace,
Thou everlasting lover
Of our unworthy race!
Thy gracious eye survey’d us
Ere stars were seen above;
In wisdom thou hast made us,
And died for us in love.
And couldst thou be delighted
With creatures such as we,
Who, when we saw thee, slighted
And nail’d thee to a tree?
Unfathomable wonder,
And mystery divine!
The voice that speaks in thunder,
Says, “Sinner, I am thine!
A prayer for Sunday…Francis of Assisi
Since October 3 marks the anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi and October 4 is his feast day, it seemed appropriate for this Sunday’s prayer to come from him.
Almighty, eternal, just, and merciful God, grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone
What we know You want us to do, and always to desire what pleases you.
Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened, and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
May we be able to follow in the footsteps of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You, Most High,
Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity,
And are glorified God all-powerful forever and ever. Amen.
A prayer for Sunday….Jerome
With St. Jerome’s feast day coming up in ia few days (Sep 30), I thought it would be appropriate to offer one of his prayers for this Sunday.
O Lord, show Your mercy to me
and gladden my heart.
I am like the man on the way to Jericho
who was overtaken by robbers,
wounded and left for dead.
O Good Samaritan,
come to my aid.
I am like the sheep that went astray.
O Good Shepherd,
seek me out and bring me home
in accord with Your will.
Let me dwell in Your house
all the days of my life
and praise You for ever and ever
with those who are there.
A prayer for Sunday…John Chrysostom
Since tomorrow is traditionally the day to commemorate John Chrysostom in the West, here is a prayer from him for Sunday morning.
O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of the saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration, enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen.
A prayer for Sunday…Gregory the Great
September 3 is the traditional day to remember Gregory the Great (540-604). We’re a couple of days late, but still close. So, today’s prayer comes from him.
O Lord, You received affronts without number from Your blasphemers, yet each day You free captive souls from the grip of the ancient enemy. .You did not avert Your face from the spittle of perfidy, yet You wash souls in saving waters. . You accepted Your scourging without murmur, yet through your meditation You deliver us from endless chastisements. . You endured ill-treatment of all kinds, yet You want to give us a share in the choirs of angels in glory everlasting. . You did not refuse to be crowned with thorns, yet You save us from the wounds of sin. . In your thirst You accepted the bitterness of gall, yet You prepare Yourself to fill us with eternal delights. . You kept silence under the derisive homage rendered You by Your executioners, yet You petition the Father for us although You are his equal in Divinity. . You came to taste death, yet You were the Life and had come to bring it to the dead. . Amen.
A prayer for Sunday from Augustine
O God, the Light of the heart that sees you, the life of the soul that loves you, the strength of the mind that seeks you: May I ever continue to be steadfast in your love.
Be the joy of my heart; take all of me to yourself, and abide therein.
The house of my soul is, I confess, too narrow for You. Enlarge it that You may enter. It is ruinous, but do repair it. It has within it what must offend your eyes; I confess and know it, but whose help shall I seek in cleansing it but yours alone?
To you, O God, I cry urgently. Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep me from false pride and sensuality yhat they not get dominion over me.
