Prayers & Meditations

[majestyjo]

June 9

Let us pray:
Lord our God,
may I learn
to treat others generously,
with respect,
and with care and understanding,
that we may all
bring out the best in one another.
Amen

[majestyjo]

June 10

Let us pray:
Lord, lead me to look for the positive
in all people
and in all situations.
May I help bring light
to those in darkness,
and encouragement
to those who feel unhappy.
May I show as much care for others
as I would like them to show for me.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 11

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus,
we can read in the Gospel
of your attitude
towards those
whom others looked down on.

Zacchaeus, the tax-collector,
was rejected by others,
but you called him by his name
and ate in his house.

You did not condemn the woman
who was about to be stoned
for adultery,
but you called her
to change her life

The woman
who was drawing water from the well
was there in the midday heat,
cut off by others
because she was a Samaritan.
Yet she was one of the very few
whom you told directly
that you were the Messiah.

You have told us
not to be afraid or anxious,
and you said that the last will be first.
You assure us
that, as God the Father
even takes care of sparrows,
we are worth more
than hundreds of sparrows.

We think of people
being ‘put down’ or ‘bullied’
and we ask you this day, Lord,
to remind us of the respect
that each person deserves.
Lead us
to be as encouraging and positive
to others
as we would like them to be to us.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 12

Let us pray:
Help me, Lord,
to discover the talents
I have been given,
and not to let them lie unused
but to make the best use of them
both for myself and for others.
May sport help
to bring out the best in people,
teaching us the lessons
of commitment and co-operation,
of fairness and appreciation.
May sports and hobbies and interests
help me to develop my personality
that I may be renewed and re-created
in your image and likeness. Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 13

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you said that
“there is more joy in giving
than in receiving”.
Inspire us to live generously,
sincerely thinking of others
before ourselves.
May others treat us
as we treat them. Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 14

Regular prayer not applicable.

"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41).

As followers of Christ, we are called to a life of joyful obedience. We are called to love others as we love ourselves. We are called to serve one another without complaint. We are called - not to keep an account of wrongs against us - but to forgive and "go the extra mile," even for those we consider enemies.


An Excerpt from The Second Mile
by Paula Fox

What is the Second Mile?

We often hear the phrase "going the Second Mile" in our modern conversation, but it actually has its roots in first-century Palestine.

During Bible times, the Romans had conquered much of the known world and ruled with an iron hand. By Roman law, a Roman soldier could compel a subject of one of the conquered lands to carry his backpack, or "load," for him one mile, but only one mile. The Israelites resented the oppressive rule of the Roman occupation and would obey the law by going one mile, but not one step more

originally posted by BW

[majestyjo]

June 15

Let us think and pray:
Let us pray for individuals who suffer under
those who abuse power and people.
Let us pray for the defenceless who are
treated unfairly and who do not receive
justice.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all rulers, that they appreciate
that they are called to serve for the
benefit of others.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray for our own members of parliament
and the government elected by
the nation. We pray that they may be
people of integrity who govern justly and
responsibly.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray for ourselves, that we may
clearly distinguish good from evil, growing
in integrity of character, developing
a true sense of values.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.

[majestyjo]

June 16

Let us pause for a moment to remember
in prayer all who are ill, and all who
take care of them, mentioning in silence
those people whom we know.
(pause…)

please include bluidkiti (Tammy) in our prayers.

[caressa222]

June 17

Let us pray:
Lord, we give thanks
for all who have brought
life and happiness to us.
Inspire us to give of ourselves joyfully
and always look for the positive.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 18

Father,

As I begin a new week, I lay before you my whole self, spirit, soul, and body. I ask that you would recalibrate all that I am to align with your great will for me. May I keep my thoughts in line with your thoughts, my desires in line with your desires, my words aligned with your Word, and may all I do bring you pleasure.

First, I ask that you would pour out your love into my heart through the Holy Spirit. May I have the power to experience Your love. May I bear fruit that will give you glory today. Holy Spirit, please fill me up, empowering me to do the will of God from my heart.

I want to be about your business, Lord, not my futile busy-ness. You are all about forgiveness, so give me grace to overlook offenses. Remind me that my enemy is not flesh and blood but evil spirits who seek to undermine my purpose in this world.

I refuse to be deterred! I refuse to be discouraged! I refuse to be disqualified! I refuse to be daunted!

My charge to myself this morning is right from Your mouth: “With God nothing is impossible.” I’m with you, God! And I know you are with me, for you said you would never leave me or forsake me. Thank you!

Now, let’s do this thing! Let’s have a blessed day, You and me, Holy Spirit, for nothing is impossible when I’m with You and You’re with me.

In Jesus’ Name Amen!

[caressa222]

June 19

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you promised
that when two or three
would get together in your name
then you would be present with them.
May your Spirit
lead us to grow more aware
of your presence in our lives
today and every day. Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 20

There is a poster that says: “If you were
accused of being a Christian, would there
be enough evidence to convict you?”
Let’s pause in silence for a moment.
(pause…)
Let us pray for all prisoners of conscience,
and also for those who torture
and kill.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray that, when times are difficult,
others may find us to be true friends.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray that we may live generously,
being prepared to make sacrifices for the
benefit of others.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.

[caressa222]

June 21

Let us pray:
Lord God, Creator of light,
at the rising of your sun
each morning,
let the greatest of all lights
- your love -
rise, like the sun,
within my heart.

(from the Armenian Liturgy)

[caressa222]

June 22

1 Today is the feast of Saints John Fisher
and Thomas More. John Fisher was born
in Yorkshire, in 1469, and became
Bishop of Rochester in Kent. He was wellknown
as a man of learning, and had
written several books. Bishop John Fisher
was asked to study the “problem” of the
marriage of King Henry VIII (the eighth)
to Catherine of Aragon. The king wanted
to divorce her after 18 years of marriage,
in order to have a male successor to the
throne. Henry VIII wanted John Fisher
and Thomas More (and others) to tell him
that he was free to marry again. Both
John Fisher and Thomas More were executed
for opposing King Henry VIII, who
declared himself to be Head of the
Church in England

2 Sometimes when we pray for something,
we might think it’s an easy way for something
to happen, presuming that God will
do something without us having to work
at it. If I pray for “peace in our world”
then I am really also committing myself
to start making peace around me. Saint
Thomas More put this in a simple way
when he said:
“The things, good Lord, that we pray for,
give us your grace to work for.”

We’ll make those words our prayer today,
as we say:

3 “The things, good Lord,
that we pray for,
give us your grace to work for.

This is an excerpt from the page of this date in
‘Praying Each Day of the Year’,
a 3-volume book
by Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC.

[majestyjo]

June 23

Let us pray:
Lord, we are conscious
of the image that people give
- whether it’s the clothes we wear,
how we look,
what we say,
or who we choose to go with.
Sometimes the image doesn’t match
who we really are.
Lead each of us to live sincerely
as we are called to be. Amen.

[caressa222]

June 24

Let us pray:
Teach us, Lord,
to do the little things
as though they were great,
because of the majesty of Christ
who does them in us
and who lives our life.
Teach us to do the greatest things
as though they were little and easy
because of his great power. Amen.

[caressa222]

June 25

Let us pray and commit ourselves that
here and amongst our families, we may
set out to be understanding, treating
everyone fairly.

Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer. Let us pray and commit ourselves to
value and respect people as individuals.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.
Let us pray and commit ourselves to be
positive and friendly and generous towards
others.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.

Let us pray and commit ourselves not to
become prejudiced against people of
other backgrounds, religions, or cultures
- but may treat others in the same way
that we would like them to treat us.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer

[caressa222]

June 26

Let us pray:
God our Father,
each of us can rejoice
at all that is good about ourselves.
We ask that we may be people
who encourage others,
being ready to give praise and thanks
when they are due.
We ask, too,
that you help each of us today
to work on changing for the better
just one thing
that is negative in the way we live.
Amen.

[majestyjo]

June 27

Let us pray:
Lord, there are many places
in our world
where some people do not respect
the background and traditions
and culture of others.
We know that prejudice
can turn to hatred
and even to murder,
and such things often start
in simple ways.
Lead us to live in such a way
that our first reaction
is to think good of people,
focussing on the positive
before we ever see the negative.
Amen

[majestyjo]

June 28

Let us pray:
Lord, may peace with justice
come to our world,
but let peace and justice start
with the way
each of us lives this day. Amen.