MorningPrayer

Loving Shepherd,     When our actions harm and our words wound, bring us into the fold of your presence and soothe our nerves and calm our fears.  Help those who have felt the sting of our rebuke to heal and find their peace.  Forgive us, O Lord, for our sins and mold us anew in your love and vision. Give us the discernment of clear seeing and thinking and nurture us in the waters of your mercy and the bread of your loving kindness. May Jesus give us the peace of now and forevermore. AMEN

Dear God,    Our prayer is one of brokenness and longing.  The world is fractured and humanity lies bleeding.  We truly do need a savior.  We cannot do it by ourselves; our very humanness prevents us.  Our ego, pride, arrogance and unknowing prevents us from healing.  Yes, we are amazing in our technology and our art but in our relationships and ideology we need help, O God.   This Christmas we place ourselves in the nativity of your mercy and the manger of your healing love. AMEN

Dear God,      As we journey closer and closer to the nativity of new life, may the star of faith that guides us be the clarifying light of wisdom and personal evaluation. Help us, God, to see ourselves in the light of your grace and perceive the world around us with intelligence, humor and insight. With every step, might we be emptied of a past of dis-ease and filled with the mystery of new hope and wellness in you. AMEN

Dear God,      We are people who need to live in hope.  Even in the face of loss, fear or despair, we need to believe that our life matters and that circumstances can improve. In you, God, lies our hope.  You are the energy of the universe that lifts us up in your image and does not give way to despair but believes by faith that we can triumph.  Keep us alive in your vision and your faith in us to persevere.  Like the Holy family at Christmas, we will make our journey without knowing the conclusion but believing in your mercy and love. AMEN

Holy Lord,      Gentle is the hush of morning; smelling of flute music and purring violins. In the sanctuary of your pink sunrise might we know peace and harmony. Empty of us of soot and creosote and create of us, hollow vessels that receive your love and are filled with your grace. Flow into us and through us, O God, and saturate us in your Holiness and blaze new paths of mystery in our own spirit. May we leap high from the ground and become one with you in the wonder of Jesus birth. AMEN

Good Morning, a personal prayer.  My mother's husband, Stan Stultz died last evening. Dear God,     In your Holiness and love, we lift up our hearts in prayer.  The line between life and death is thin and we, your people, are fragile  In sadness and loss many feel alone in this moment and fearful of the future.   Embrace us in your loving grace and enfold us with angel wings of infinite compassion and melodies of sweet eternal life. May the gift of Christmas lodge in all of our hearts and the Christ child be the gift of hope and joy now and forevermore. AMEN

Dear God,     The frozen sun has dragged the morning into afternoon.  The shadows are heavy on the ground but crisp and fresh is the air.  In the warmth of our caves we sniff the baking bread and watch the fires glow in the stove. If the serenity in the home could slide like shadows across the ground and coast in the crisp air, then surely, peace would be on earth and humanity would tremble in the joy of life, love and a God of wonder and grace.  And then, free from greed and hate filled ideology we could be one. We pray that it might be so. AMEN

Dear God,     May we be set free from desires that keep us in bondage to that which we don't have and that which we might never attain. May we be loosened from attachments that cause dis-ease and sickness that is not curable or beyond healing. Only in our attachment and need for you, can we be set free and live without limitations and chains.  In your love and in your grace might we be healed and saved. AMEN

Dear God,     In the midst of luxury, some of us pray this prayer.  How fortunate we are. How blessed or lucky or something.  So many of your people are displaced, homeless, living in extreme poverty, war zones, or diseased by hate, bitterness, disease and extreme dis-ease. So we pause in the middle of our day to give thanks, to lift up hands in praise, to fold them in prayer, to be aware of and recognize what we have. In gratitude, joy and contentment will fill our hearts and we will know love and peace. AMEN

Dear God,     Today, we pray for all those who offer their gifts and lives in service to you; who lift up your name and kingdom in thanks, praise and action.  By so doing, they place themselves in the middle of the human drama of joy and sorrow, life and death. May they be strong and sensitive in their actions as they follow Jesus in what they say and do.  May they be infused with the Holy Spirit and your Divine Wisdom. May they always follow that star of new life and love. AMEN

Dear God,      What miracle might the day bring?  What unexpected treasure might occur that sweeps us off our feet, makes us gasp, and proclaim, "Praise! Holy Cow, OMG!" May we be open, awake and aware of that which is amazing and special and profound.  May we be receptive to the Holy Spirit and divine intrigue.  May we feel and know that moment of exhilaration when our mind is touched by the very essence of creation and we know that you are with us. See, hear, touch Jesus. AMEN

Dear God,       The tattered treetops scatter the clouds like foam from crashing waves.  Black specs of crows ride the waves calling the chaos into life.  Our own spirits rise and dip and soar in the tumult and our hearts are filled with the wonder of life created and creating.  Immersed in the possibilities we ride the potential, a constellation in the sky and shout to the heavens, "Our Lord and God!"  AMEN

Dear God,      Can you see our face?  Our faces when we are afraid or concerned.  Our faces when we are angry or unhappy.  Our faces when we laugh and have joy.  Our faces as we meditate or pray in serenity. Can you enter into our heart and soul, our mind and spirit and soothe and participate in our longings and our wholeness? Dear God, are you with us in the daily emotions and events of our daily life?  May we pause in our doing and being and recognize you as part of us, as the ground of our being and the sky in which we soar. AMEN

Dear God,     May we walk in the beauty of a guilt-free conscience, forgiven and redeemed. We confess that we have sinned individually and collectively.  The human race is fallen and we have tumbled also. Only you can bring us into wellness and wholeness.  You have shown the way in Jesus who has walked in perfection and harmony, one in the Spirit and one is love. Let us also be free of our burdens to walk in unity of the Spirit and joy and peace in our hearts. AMEN

Holy Lord,     Solemnly, quietly, gently we start the day.  In a hushed whisper we murmur a prayer.  A prayer of gratitude, a prayer of compassion, a petition of care and kindness.  We ask for angel wings of flying vision and a harp of sweet joy.  We ask for sandals of humility and a crown of justice. We ask for a garment of righteousness and a hand of mercy for all.  We ask to be like you, Lord. In you we pray. AMEN

Dear God,     Rain is washing our land, flowing waters finger across the fields, filling streams, rivers and lakes.  That which was parched is being quenched. That which was hot and burning is being extinguished.  Sometimes, we are parched and burning up with lack and needs.  We need filling with the Spirit of love.  Our fevers need to be quelled in the hope and promise of life with meaning. Our souls need the grace of eternal understanding and purposeful life. Fill us, O God. Immerse us in your very being. AMEN

Dear God,       If we are tense with serious faces, frowns and lines of stress--then we need relief.  Please ease our unhappy countenance and give us lines of mirth.  Turn our downcast looks, whines and snarls into laughter and joy.  Help us to enjoy life, one another and ourselves.  It is only now that we have and we pray that you, God, will give us the eternal now of grace and love and peace. AMEN    

Dear God,      May we have patience to deal with those things we find irritating or ego deflating.  Help us to deal with one another gently and with grace.  Help us to move through our day, not seeing conflicts but seeing opportunities. May we be inspired and creative, using our potential in imaginative holy ways. May we find Jesus as mentor and guide along the way. AMEN

Dear God,             We are beginning to decorate our homes and our hearts with Christmas.  We place the evergreen of belief in the center of our soul and hang lights of hope across the windows of our mind. The ornaments of memory we hold in prayer before our eyes.  The Santa's of mirth take away our despair as we place Jesus in the creche of  reverent praise. Let us not race and fret but let us gently and peacefully advent the season of wonder and mystery.  In harmony and quiet splendor may we move in your spirit this season, O God. AMEN