Prayer for a New Year's Resolution

              That well-known Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr asks for the "Serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." 

              The 13th century poet Rumi says "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." 

              Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban say in a song from the show A Chorus Line, "Kiss today goodbye, the sweetness and the sorrow...[and] point me toward tomorrow." 

               My prayer for a New Year's Resolution is:

Dear Lord, help me with all of the above

and let all that I do be in Your name and with Your love. 

Amen.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space.

You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com

 All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

The Prayers of the People ~ 1st Sunday after Christmas

These more formal prayers have been composed for Liturgical (Worship) in a Sunday service.  I hope that you will find them useful for

personal prayer or small group meditation or in your congregation.  Feel free to use and share with attribution.

If you have any questions, see the end of this page for more information.

             We're tired but still celebrating.  The "Reason for the Season" has arrived and we are still shouting out our joy and excitement.  But as with much of life, the subtle change in tone that we see in the Gospel of Matthew gives a hint of the future, and, we just may not see it until we look back. 

 

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – First Sunday after Christmas Day 

Readings:  Isaiah 63:7-9; Ps 148:1-14; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23

 

~ Holy Sanctifier, You have come to us and call us Your sisters and brothers.  You come to help all children of Abraham.

 

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, Lord from the Heavens!

~ Holy Sanctifier, You are incarnated from the abundance of God’s steadfast love.  You become like us through God’s mercy to destroy the power and fear of death. 

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, Lord from the Heavens!

~ Holy Sanctifier, our merciful and faithful High Priest, guide those who govern in this world in the ways of Justice, Mercy, and Freedom from wars among all peoples.  We pray especially for our local and national representatives: (add your own petitions here)

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, and serve you, Lord from the Heavens!

~ Holy Sanctifier, lay Your healing hands on all who are ill and their caregivers.  Give us, your sisters and brothers, hope in our distress and the release from pain, fear, and sadness.  We pray especially for: (add your own petitions here)

 

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, and beseech you, Lord from the Heavens!

 

~ Holy Sanctifier, we, with Rachel, weep for those who have left this earthly plane to live in eternal love and glory.  Hold us close in our grief and save us in this time of trial.  We pray especially for: (add your own petitions here)

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, our Consoler from the Heavens!

~ Holy Sanctifier, bestow Your Grace-filled Wisdom on the leaders of Your Church as they work together and with us, the People of Your Church, as we go out to do the work You have given us to do.  We pray especially for: (add your own petitions here)

Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Savior, we praise your holy name.  We praise you, we serve you, we glorify you, Lord from the Heavens!

 

The Celebrant adds:  Lord Jesus our Christ, You are the Word of God made Flesh for our Redemption. Your Holy Light glows again in our hearts and calls us to be new prophets in this world. Let us commit ourselves to new life in Your service, to the Glory of God with the Holy Spirit.   Amen.

 

 

Feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space.

You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com 

 All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution

as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayer for Not Praying

It's late.  I'm tired.  The end of a busy week.  I don't have any useful words.  But You know me.  I feel the prayer but I can't quite pray just now.  But, You know me....  amen.

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space.

 You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com 

 All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayer for the Day After

            The planning, the budgeting, the buying, the change of mind, the organizing, the inviting, the forgetting, the remembering - too late? - the anxiety - too much? too little? - too early? - the countdown - the week before, two days, the Eve of, it's HERE!  And now, it's OVER... it was great, well, except for....could've, should've, ought've....

            Dear Holy and Constant Presence, the memories of yesterday have been made for better or not, for remembering or rehashing. Some are already distant and fading fast.  Help me savor this moment with You, free from self-reproach, free from judgment of others, free of the need to dissect every one of the 84,600 seconds of yesterday.  Let me live in Your Peace for today and remember that most of all. Maybe tomorrow I'll think about the Resolution for next time and yet be reminded that You are always in my Today.       Amen!

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space.

You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com 

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution

as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

 

 

Prayers of and for All People ~ Christmas

 

     Holy Creator, the time is here!  We each carry the fertile seed, the Divine Spark within us ~ Male, Female, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Atheist, Agnostic, Oblivious, Naughty, or Nice.  We tend, nurture, anticipate or ignore, abuse, deny that innermost part of ourselves. Yet the time is NOW to push into the unknown ~ painfully, frighteningly, but with great excitement to have the experience of our own birth as a New Creation.  What was is gone.  As with infants, we move into new light, new sound, uncertainty, anxiety, and new opportunities.  We are also called as part of the Good Tidings of Great Joy that is Christ the Lord! Let the Joy and Peace of now begin with me and let me, with you, carry it forward into this Day, into our lives, into all the Earth. Hallelujah!

 

Prayers of the People – Year A

Christmas Eve Readings:  Is 9:2-7, Ps 96, Titus 2:11-14, Lk 2:1-14 (15-20)
Christmas Day Readings: Is 52:7-10, Ps 98, Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12), John 1:1-14

 

Leader:  O God of Light, at last Your Child is born for us, our Messiah who is Christ the Lord!

 

Response: ~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

O God of Light, Your Promise is fulfilled, Your Word is made Flesh – our Good News of Great Joy is among us!
 

 

~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.
 

O God of Light, we, Your people have walked in darkness and now we see the Great Light of Christ!

 

~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

O God of Light, You have assured us that our Messiah will judge the world with righteousness and we, His peoples, with His truth. Help us to choose leaders of our government who will do the same. Give us the courage to be proactive and stand up for those who live under oppressive regimes.  We pray in earnest for all of those who govern in our names.

 

~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

O God of Light, You give us One named Wonderful Counselor this night and we ask Him for the grace of healing for those among us who are ill, and for those who give them care. 

 

 ~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

O God of Light, in the midst of our joy at the birth of our long-awaited Messiah, we mourn and miss our precious loved ones who have passed through this life to live again in Your everlasting Peace.  

 

~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

O God of Light, our eyes are wide and sparkling with the excitement of the New Birth which is also new birth for ourselves.  Enchant the leaders of Your Church, Your Shepherds in the fields, with renewed wide-eyed wonder of the miracle of Your Love and remind them of their role in guiding us as Co-Creators with You. 

 
 

~ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and Peace on Earth to us all.

 

The Celebrant adds:  Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, welcome to our lives and to Your world. Let us each experience the depth of the pangs and the height of the joy of Your birth in our souls.   Anoint us with the oil of gladness in our hearts so that our lives reflect the imprint of Your Being in every thought, prayer, and action.  AMEN.

  

 

 

 

Please feel free to request a prayer to be composed for a particular concern or topic for posting in this space.

You may leave your request in the comments section or contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com 

 All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution

as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. Requestors will remain anonymous.

Prayer for Enough

          

Aging Baby Boomers still rock out with gusto on"I Can't Get No Satisfaction."  The world anesthetizes itself with MORE. We're always chasing after satisfying every possible known desire and those soon-to-be discovered through the next advertisement. And yet,  More is never Enough.

               A modern interpretation of the 13th century Persian poet Hafiz says - "Being so preoccupied as we are with needing to be satisfied, it seems we would be better at it by now."  Wow, that was 10 centuries ago and we still haven't found it?! 

              Dear God of Real Life, whether it's Christmas or Tuesday I must stop my head rant of: did I buy enough, cook enough, impress enough and physically exhaust myself enough to prove everything I'm supposed to and why doesn't anyone give me what I want...??

             Ok, I'm taking a breath here...my real prayer is:  Please help me stop thinking of "wanting" as "needing."  Let me find the true gift of being in the ordinary, the routine, the everyday. A simple smiley face in a text or email feels as good to give as to get to say "I'm thinking of you." On those "special" holidays and holy days, I want and need to remember that less really is more.

            Oh, yes, and Thank You, Lord, sometimes I just need a place to stop, rest, and think about what life can be all about if I just give it a try. You are always there waiting for me to remember.  I'm working on it. And at least in terms of being the Great Listener, You're the best! I really don't have to explain or make excuses.  Even when I don't get what I (think) I want, with You in my heart there is always ENOUGH and always:

AMEN!

Prayer for Grieving at Christmas

For All Who Worry, Mourn, Feel Angry, or Lost at Christmas

Silent Morn, Holy Morn

Sometimes I wonder

Why I was born.

I wake in the darkness and

can't see the light.

All I want is the end of the night.

Take this grief from me, Lord

Please take this grief from me, Lord.

Silent Noon, Holy Noon

All songs I sing,

are out of tune.

I’ve been looking for right words to pray

Nothing I’ve found yet, has shown me the way.

Help me find my voice, Lord

Please, help me find my voice.

Silent Day, Holy Day,

All's not calm, on my way.

In my life,

so much does not seem,

to be close to what I once dreamed.

Help me trust in Your Peace, Lord.

Please, help me trust in Your Peace.

Silent Night, Holy Night

Finally calm, finally bright

With Your love so vast and yet mild

Now I can rest as I’m also Your child

I found some peace in this night, Lord,

Heaven-sent Peace in this night.

Feel free to share with attribution

© 2013 Christina Brennan Lee



 All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution

as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For questions or comments, contact me directly at Leeosophy@gmail.com