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Great Prayers
The Lord's Prayer - Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13)
Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.]
St Patrick’s Prayer – Lorica
I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
Wesleyan Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
Prayer for the Church - Flora Siegfried
O Lord, help us to understand the church. We are the body of Christ and individually members of it. The church is not so much made up of saints as it is sinners. It is not so much made up of those born again as it is those being born again. It is made up of different people with different problems, as well as different gifts.
The church has not yet arrived. It is on the road. We are not tourists, but pilgrims. It is not a club or a business, but a fellowship in mission. It is not for those fully qualified, but rather it is made up of those who recognize their own unworthiness and the full sufficiency of Christ.
The church rests not upon our merit badges, but with the grace of God. Discipleship does not earn Your grace. Discipleship is our faith-response because of Your grace to us in Christ.
O Lord, help us to understand that the church is not perfect. It is made up not only of the mature, but also the maturing as well as the immature. It consists not only of the committed, but also of the semi-committed as well as the seemingly uncommitted. It includes not only the consistent but also the sporadic as well as the erratic. It is composed not only of the hot, but also of the lukewarm as well as the cold.
O Lord, pour out your Spirit on us according to our need. Sustain the hot, heat the lukewarm, fire up the cold. Help us to be the church. Grant us the grace that we may run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Pioneer and the Perfecter of our faith.
Amen.
A Leader's Prayer - Unknown
Lord, help me to know, love, and serve you today.
Guide me as I seek to lead your church.
Use me to encourage others.
Make me a blessing to all that I meet today.
And in everything, help me to know you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
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