Prayers for all occasions

Prayer for Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy 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;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

--St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Prayer for dealing with stress and anxiety,

Dear Lord,
I need you now because I am full of stress and anxiety. Reading your Word brings comfort, as I ask you to come and take my heavy burdens. I take each burden, one by one, and lay them at your feet. Please carry them for me so that I don't have to. Replace them with your humble and gentle yoke so that I will find rest for my soul today. I receive your gift of peace of mind and heart. Thank you that I can lie down tonight in peace and sleep. I know that you, Lord, will keep me safe. I am not afraid because you are always with me. Please keep me daily, Lord, in your perfect peace.
Amen.

Prayer of devotion

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits thou hast won for me,
For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly:
For ever and ever.

--St. Richard Chichester (1197-1253)

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that you will make all things right,
If I surrender to your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with you
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Prayer for Lent
In penitence and faith let us make our prayer to the Father
and ask for his mercy and grace.

For your holy people,
that they may triumph over evil and grow in grace,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

For candidates for baptism and confirmation,
that they may live by every word that proceeds from your mouth,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

For the leaders of the nations,
that you will guide them in the ways of mercy and truth,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

For the needy,
that they may not be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor be taken away,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

For the sick in body, mind and spirit,
that they may know your power to heal,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

For the poor in spirit,
that they may inherit the kingdom of heaven
and see you face to face,
we pray to you, O Lord: R

Let us commend the world, for which Christ suffered,
to the mercy and protection of God.

Open prayer may be offered and silence is kept.

An Evening Family Prayer

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
For the love that unites us,
For the peace accorded to us this day,
For the hope with which we expect the morrow;
For the health, the work, the food and the bright skies
That make our lives delightful;
For our friends in all parts of the earth.
Amen.

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Advent Prayer

God of hope, who brought love into this world,
be the love that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought peace into this world,
be the peace that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought joy into this world,
be the joy that dwells between us.
God of hope, the rock we stand upon,
be the centre, the focus of our lives
always, and particularly this Advent time.

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.

--Reverend Henry Alford (1810-1871)

Advent Prayer

In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in unity,
that our praise and worship
might echo in these walls
and also through our lives.
In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in mission,
that the hope within
might be the song we sing,
and the melody of our lives.
In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in service,
that the path we follow
might lead us from a stable
to a glimpse of eternity.