Prayers

When we view our lives against the background of the universe and God’s eternity, we are truly humbled. Yet this view also is a source of stability and inner peace, of serenity and calm. Lord, You have been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains were born, before the earth was fashioned, from age to age, everlastingly You are God. A thousand years are in Your sight as a passing day, an hour of night. O Lord, my God, I thank You for the many blessings which I have enjoyed, and for my family and friends. At this moment I need courage and an ever stronger faith. Sustain me with a fresh confidence; so that I can face the coming days and weeks constantly aware of Your love.

Amen.

Author Unknown

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

My God and Father: I seek Your presence, praying that I may never feel alone. Though I may be separated from loved ones and friends, the knowledge that You are with me fills any lack in my heart. Bless me, Father, with the nearness of loved ones and friends. Teach me to treasure such blessings. Above all, grant me the awareness to sense the nearness of Your presence so that I may never feel the dread of being alone.

Amen.

Author Unknown

Dear God,
As I lie here waiting for surgery, I am terrified. Terrified of the procedure. Terrified of the anesthesia. Terrified of the what the surgeon will find. Terrified of the pain that I may suffer when I awaken from the surgery. Terrified of the thought of never awakening from the surgery. Dear God, please guide my surgeon’s hands as he or she seeks to make me well again. Give him or her the knowledge and skill for a successful and positive outcome to my procedure. In addition, I pray that You will guide my entire health care team, giving them the wisdom and compassion that I will most likely need in the days to come as I seek to get well once again. Through Your grace and blessings, I will count the days until I am well again… until I am whole again.

Amen.

Lorrie Klemons

Our love is strong. We both want, more than anything, to bring a new life into this world. Bless us with a child, God. Help our love bear fruit. When our bodies and souls unite in love, let the seed of life take root. Make us fertile, God. Be with us, God; watch over us, hear our prayer.

Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy

“In trials and tribulations, in testings and temptations, grant me the insights of patience. When I am tired and restless, give me patience, O Lord. “Better to be patient in spirit than proud in spirit.”

“Out of the depths have I called to You. Lord, hear my cry, heed my plea. Be attentive to my prayer, to my sigh of supplication.”

Amen.

Psalms 130: 1-2