Prayers of Fellow Pilgrims
A compilation
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Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
—Jesus1
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Good morning, Lord! What are You up to today? Can I be a part of it? Thank You. Amen.—Norman Grubb, missionary and author (1895–1993)
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Lord, you are my lover,
My longing,
My flowing stream,
My sun,
And I, I am your reflection.
—Mechthild of Magdeburg, 13th century mystic
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Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. Amen.—St. Ignatius of Loyola, 16th century priest
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Image of God
born of God’s breath
vessel of divine Love
after His likeness
dwelling of God
capacity for the infinite
eternally known
chosen of God
home of the Infinite Majesty
abiding in the Son
called from eternity
life in the Lord
temple of the Holy Spirit
branch of Christ
receptacle of the Most High
wellspring of Living Water
heir of the kingdom
the glory of God
abode of the Trinity.
God sings this litany
eternally in His Word.
This is who you are.
—Anonymous Trappist monk
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I lift these hands, dear God, to You,
in praise and thanks for all You do.
You light the path through all my days
and bless me with Your loving ways...
I lift these hands dear God, to You,
in troubled hours when joys are few.
You bear me up on eagles’ wings and see
me through each test life brings.
I lift these hands, dear God, to You,
please grant me wisdom, patience, too.
Then fill my heart with love and caring,
precious gifts You've made for sharing.
—Emily Matthews
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Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.—King David2
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Lord, make me an instrument of your 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.
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.
—Author unknown, often attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi
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Lord, make my life
A window for Your light
To shine through
And a mirror to reflect
Your love
To all I meet. Amen.
—Robert Schuller
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Dear God, the little plans I tried to carry through have failed. I will not sorrow. I’ll pause a little while, dear God, and try again tomorrow.—John Fico
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My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone.—Thomas Merton, 20th century Trappist monk, writer, and mystic
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May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen.
—A Franciscan benediction
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Jesus, please help me to have love today for those I work with, for those I teach, for those I talk to. If I don’t accomplish another thing today, help me to have shown love to each person I encounter—a hug and touch for those who need affection, compassion for those who need to know I understand, patience for those who are confused and doubting, wisdom for those who need to share their heart but don’t know how, tolerance with those who seem not to be trying hard enough, prayer for those who are burdened, loving care and understanding for those who are sick, a helping hand to those who are struggling with some task.—Maria Fontaine
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Jesus prays for His disciples
I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
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.
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.3
Published on Anchor April 2013. Read by Bryan Clark.
Music by Michael Dooley.
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