Prayers

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in pleasant green pastures, He leads me beside the peaceful waters. He restores my soul, He guides me in good paths for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through a valley overshadowed by death, I will fear no evil, For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my oppressors. Once You anointed my head with oil; my cup has been full ever since. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And then I shall live in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

Psalm 23

I extol You, O Lord. You raise me up. I cried out to You, O Lord. and You healed me. You brought up my soul from the grave, You saved me from the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, you faithful. Praise the holiness of His glory. His anger lasts a moment, His love is for a lifetime. Tears may linger for a night, but joy comes with the dawn. I once thought, while at ease: Nothing can shake my security. Favor me, and I am a mountain of strength. Hide Your face, O Lord, and I am terrified. To You, O Lord, would I call; before the Lord would I plead. What profit is there if I am silenced? What benefit if I go to my grave? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness? Hear me, O Lord. Be gracious to me. Hear me, O Lord, and be my help. I shall never be silent, Lord my God. I shall always sing of Your glory.

Amen.

Psalm

God of our life, there are days when our burdens overwhelm us, when the road ahead seems dreary, when the skies are grey and threatening. On such days our lives have no music, our hearts are lonely and Our spirits are robbed of courage. Flood our path with light, we beseech You; direct our vision to promising skies; attune Our hearts to the uplifting music of life. Grant us the awareness of true comradeship with others, to sustain us, and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage those who journey with us on the road of life to dedicate themselves to Your honor and glory.

Amen.

Author Unknown

Dear God,
Please watch over my beloved child as he lies in innocent slumber, with the purest of souls. With a broken heart I watch as disease robs him of his well-being, his health, his dignity, his consciousness, his life. He makes small movements, communicating in minute fashion to let me know he feels my presence. What is it about the human spirit that wants to soar even when the ugly face of illness attempts to drag it down? I struggle to understand why this dear, sweet soul must suffer. The pain of an anguished parent’s heart as I hover over my beloved child – ready to protect, defend, love…to give up my own life so that my child might live his. Lord, give me the strength to persevere as my child , devastated by disease, seems to slip away more and more each moment, all control over his well-being slipping through my hands. It is You, God, whom I turn to for that strength. For without my faith, all hope would be lost…taking with it all dreams for good things to come. Dear God, please hear my pleas and my prayers for my child. Do not abandon him .. Send him your healing love… he needs it now more than ever.

Amen.

Lorrie Klemons

We pray for children who put chocolate fingers everywhere, who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants, who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bound in the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury the goldfish, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves with Band Aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at, and whose smiles can make us cry.

We pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, and who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must, for those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a second chance. For those we smother…. and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

And we pray for all children stricken with life threatening disease, whose small bodies grow weaker each day, and whose days are numbered without the help of strangers, whose hopes for the future lie in the hand of those same strangers, whose parents’ heartbreak cannot be measured, who lift up their eyes begging for someone to save them.

Oh, Lord, hear our cries…. listen to our prayers and save ALL OUR CHILDREN.

Amen.

Ina J. Hughes

However deep I am sunk in despair, Groaning in my distress, Yet will I hope in God, I will praise Him continually For He is my deliverer.

Amen.

Psalms 42:6