Prayer Archives — A collection of inspirational prayers.
· 13 August 2006 | 40 words
Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth: Set up your kingdom in our midst. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God: Have mercy on me, a sinner. Holy Spirit, breath of the living God: Renew me and all the world. -- N.T. Wright...
· 15 July 2006 | 57 words
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits which You have given me, For all the pains and insults which You have borne for me. Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, May I know You more...
· 19 June 2006 | 233 words
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that...
· 11 June 2006 | 344 words
Definition: lover, a person who loves (or is loved). To love someone means to give yourself, at least in part, to another. The more one loves, the more one wants to give. The more one gives, the more one...
· 7 May 2006 | 227 words
I wrote this poem in less than an hour. If you know me, this is very unusuall, especially with anything poetic. This poem was inspired by and originally posted with Susan's poem. It sums up a small portion of my...
· 5 May 2006 | 113 words
Father, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you, I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, ...
· 13 April 2006 | 258 words
Jesus is stripped of His garments. At the end of the long, crueling walk through the streets and crowds, out the city gates and up the hill of Golgatha under the weight of the heavy Cross, Jesus stands alone...
· 17 March 2006 | 49 words
May the road rise to meet you; May the wind be always at your back; May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, May God hold you...
· 9 March 2006 | 59 words
Grant, O Lord,that none may love Thee less this day because of me; that never a word or act of mine may turn one soul from Thee; and, ever daring, yet one more grace would I implore: that many souls this day, because of me may love Thee more. Amen. -- Rev. James D. Watkins
· 28 February 2006 | 115 words
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will-- all I have and call my own. You have given all to me; to you, Lord,...
· 24 February 2006 | 309 words
Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should also be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season to turn to God:...
· 14 February 2006 | 63 words
Lord God, We recognize your faithfulness to us. We recognize your holiness. We recognize your great power. We recognize your mercy and forgiveness. And so, We respond by being faithful to our covenant with you. We respond with obedience and...
· 6 February 2006 | 371 words
Relax into the back of your chair, and take a slow, deep breath. Let it out slowly. Take a another slow deep breath. Let it out slowly. Concentrate on your breath as you breathe slowly, ...
· 8 January 2006 | 55 words
Eternal Lover of Your children, bring us into Your life, make us sharers in Your love and transmitters of it. Help us to become serene and patient in the midst of our frustrations, but at the same time make us...
· 9 December 2005 | 233 words
Here. Here's my heart I know at times I can hold it back, cautiously ensuring it will be handled with great compassion, carefully making certain my dreams will not be ridiculed or the words of my soul trampled on. But...
· 26 November 2005 | 182 words
Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts to celebrate with faith, the hope which does not disappoint, in the love which seeks nothing in return. Spirit of Truth, you who search the depths of God, memory and prophecy in the Church, lead...
· 11 November 2005 | 97 words
Father in Heaven, God of power and Lord of mercy, from whose fullness we have all received, direct our steps in our everyday efforts. May the changing moods of the human heart and the...
· 23 October 2005 | 428 words
This prayer is kind of a modern version of the Anima Christi. Jesus, may all that is you flow into me. May your body and blood be my food and drink. May your passion and death be my strength and...
· 22 September 2005 | 248 words
An old and beautiful prayer. It is part of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom within the Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church. Note the call to the Trinity--O Lord, O Master, O Holy One. O Lord, I believe...
· 18 September 2005 | 160 words
Lord let me find back the lost treasure of time: Time for gentle listening to a friend, for sharing the play of a child, For consoling a suffering fellow man, For thinking without strain, ...
· 5 September 2005 | 452 words
Sister Benedicta from the Red Plains Monastery told me to change the pronouns around in Psalm 139 and insert my name as if God was speaking directly to me. Praying the psalm this way can have a profound effect on...
· 3 September 2005 | 95 words
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your angels and saints charge over those who sleep. Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ. ...
· 24 August 2005 | 382 words
I had to tell a very dear friend a hard truth yesterday. I forced her into a position where she will receive professional help. She denied that she needed it. Suddenly a wall came crashing down around her heart, A...
· 3 August 2005 | 25 words
My past, O Lord, to your mercy; my present, to your love; my future, to your providence! -- St. Padre Pio (via Video meliora...)...
· 22 July 2005 | 209 words
Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way...
· 20 May 2005 | 110 words
Lord, give us the Word. Give us cheering words for the lonely, Comforting words that bless. Encouraging words for the hopeless, Smiling words to bring happiness. Give us patient words for the struggling, Courteous words, so that rudeness ends, Kind...
· 11 May 2005 | 386 words
Winston Churchill was plagued by what they use to call "melancholy". Today we call it depression. He called it the "black dog". I think he saw it as an enemy not to fight, but to avoid. Some say that is...
· 6 May 2005 | 153 words
Lord, There was some parenting I didn't receive; You are my Father. There was some romancing I shouldn't have trusted; You are the Lover of my Soul. There are some things I want, but...
· 6 May 2005 | 84 words
Father, bless my students, past, present, and future, in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! Send down Your grace so that they...
· 14 April 2005 | 179 words
Lord of all, Watch over me, walk with me, and answer my prayer. Help me to know your presence at every moment of every day. In times of trouble and in times of gladness, let me know you are near....
· 2 April 2005 | 48 words
Thank you, Father, for the gift of Pope John Paul II. Have mercy on him. Thank you, Father, for the gift of Terri Schiavo. Have mercy on her. Thank you, Father, for all of the people in our lives. Have...
· 31 March 2005 | 50 words
Receive, Lord, in tranquillity and peace, the souls of your servants who have departed out of this present life to be with you. Give them the life that knows no age, the good things that do not pass away, through...
· 22 March 2005 | 23 words
Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death to life. -- refrain from a song based on Psalm 23...
· 17 March 2005 | 117 words
May you have many friends and may they be as mature in taste and health and color and as sought after as the contents of this glass. May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on...
· 26 February 2005 | 75 words
For all that has been--Thanks. To all that shall be--Yes. To say Yes to life is at one and the same time to say Yes to oneself. Yes--even to the element in one which is most unwilling ...
· 12 February 2005 | 122 words
O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray And to concentrate my thoughts on you: I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, But with you there is light; I am lonely,...
· 8 February 2005 | 82 words
These Wave Are for me A Tempest. I shall perish, lost in an abysmal sea. Yet, For You, Like that night in Galilee, They are a lulling hush,...
· 7 February 2005 | 194 words
God, I have no defense. I am lonely and miserable-- for no real reason. How can I spread your love when I don't have it? How can I spread to others your joy ...
· 4 February 2005 | 230 words
We offer you, Lord, a poor man's gift. We offer you a poor man's life. We're poor and hungry; we're naked and weak; we break easily, Lord, so handle us gently. The goods that we offer are gifts from you:...
· 1 February 2005 | 101 words
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Christ has no body on earth now but yours; no hands but...
· 27 January 2005 | 50 words
I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I...
· 20 January 2005 | 115 words
Lord, my God, teach my heart this day where and how to see you, where and how to find you. You have made me and remade me, and you have bestowed on me all the good things I possess, and...
· 1 January 2005 | 16 words
May God draw faith, hope, and love in your heart every day this year....
· 11 December 2004 | 81 words
O Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to...
· 10 December 2004 | 0 words
[Image of Our Lady of Guadalope, a remembrance of her feast day.]
· 25 November 2004 | 131 words
Loving God, Amid all the troubling news of the world, thank you for the good news of the Gospel. Amid the fear of foreigners, thank you for helping us welcome strangers. In the hectic...
· 10 November 2004 | 309 words
Yesterday morning, I was driving westward into the city to go to work. The fresh morning blue sky and the golden colors of the sunrise behind me looked gorgeous in my rear view mirror. At one point, as the bend...
· 27 October 2004 | 132 words
Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as You shine: so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from You. None of it will be mine. No merit...
· 15 October 2004 | 113 words
May today there be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith....
· 2 September 2004 | 51 words
Gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, intelligence to understand you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate on you, and a life to proclaim you; through...
· 25 August 2004 | 157 words
I found this prayer at DeoOmnisGloria that is perfect for the family (or small group or school): Our forgiving Lord, we praise you for your unconvential love, compassion, and understanding. It is through your sacrifice that we come together and...
· 18 August 2004 | 38 words
Day by day, dear Lord, of Thee Three things I pray: To see Thee more clearly, To love Thee more dearly, To follow Thee more nearly, Day by day. -- St. Richard of Chichester
· 6 August 2004 | 59 words
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will. -- St. Ignatius of Loyola
· 5 August 2004 | 155 words
O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace, help me in all things to rely upon your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by you. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray. And you, yourself, pray in me. Amen
· 4 August 2004 | 61 words
I know that I have to trust that You will be with me, however broken and wounded my soul. I do not have to earn Your love, I do not have to be healthy and whole. I need only to remember that my heart is greater than my wounds, that You await me there with Your healing presence. -- John Kirvan
· 14 July 2004 | 76 words
Eternal Wisdom, source of life and grace, bless all who are seeking the meaning of life. Endow them with courage to risk the unknown. Bless them with wonder to be still and rejoice. Anoint them with wisdom to understand the potential of their dreams. Blessed is your name, now and evermore. Amen. -- Vienna Cobb Anderson
· 10 July 2004 | 112 words
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference--living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace, taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will--that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever. Amen. -- Reinhold Niebuhr
· 7 July 2004 | 168 words
There is this one scene from the movie The Passion of the Christ that still comes to my mind just about everyday. It was the scene where Jesus washes his hands. There is a closeup of his hands as someone...
· 26 June 2004 | 172 words
Father God, I call to you. Jesus once gave us these words through John: This is the verdict: "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." Let those men and...
· 18 June 2004 | 66 words
Oh Lord, I thank You for loving me. I shall not cry out to You that I am not worthy because that You should love me, sinner that I am, is an act worthy of You who is Love itself. Oh Lord, I thank You for loving me. -- Fr. Leo Clifford, attributed to an old French prayer
· 17 June 2004 | 93 words
God, give me the willpower to talk with you, To confide in you my fears, To tell you my secrets, To share with you my joys, To weep to you my sorrows, And to listen to your words of guidance. God, also give me the knowledge to keep my prayer vital, To try different ways of communicating with you, To sit in your holy presence, To bask in your perfection, To float in your goodness, And to be one with you throughout this life and in the next. Amen. -- Ross B. Nodurft
· 13 June 2004 | 52 words
Lord, you are my sanctuary. I dwell within your house, And there I am safe. You dwell within my heart, And with you there I am safe. Let me never neglect your house, Oh Lord. Let me never neglect my heart, Oh Lord, let me never neglect you. Amen. -- Ryan Harris
· 6 June 2004 | 68 words
I have seen what I know, I feel much more than I know I know. I have shown what I have, I have given much less than I have had. I have stood up for those things I chrish, I have retreated, or compromised in heart, Much more than I have stood for. So when I fail--to know, to give, or to protect--Forgive me. -- Joe Byron
· 5 June 2004 | 41 words
If it be your will, God, Preserve me through the day. Let my encounters be blessed, Let my meals be blessed, Let my coming and my goings be blessed, And help me see your hand in all things. -- Bashir Noruddin
· 27 May 2004 | 43 words
Love consists in sharing what one has and what one is with those one loves. Love ought to show itself in deeds more than in words. -- St. Ignatius of Loyola
· 24 May 2004 | 130 words
Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my coworkers. Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, "Accept the person I am. Listen to me." Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me--the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished. Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside--in the deepest part of me. Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice--in the busyness and in boredom, in certainy and in doubt, in noise and in silence. Teach me, Lord, to listen. Amen. -- Adapted by John Veltri, S.J.
· 25 April 2004 | 60 words
Oh Lord, I need You for myself. I am poor. I am needy. I am sinful. I need You for Your sake, so that I may know You, so that I may love You. I need You for the sake...
· 23 April 2004 | 97 words
My God, I am yours for time and eternity. Teach me to cast myself entirely into the arms of your loving providence with the most lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity. Grant me, O most merciful redeemer, that...
· 23 April 2004 | 53 words
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You. Amen. -- Prayer taught by the Angel of...
· 14 April 2004 | 185 words
I asked God to take away my bad habits. God said, No. It is not for Me to take away, but for you to give it up. I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience...
· 8 April 2004 | 76 words
Lord Jesus Christ, you endured every ill at the hands of your enemies for love of all people who were not yet your friends. Obedient to the Father's will, you walked into the darkness of death to open out before...
· 7 April 2004 | 68 words
Oh Lord, I confess that there is within me so much that is ignoble, selfish, and sinful. My little house is in ruins. I cannot repair it. You yourself must come to rebuild it ...
· 5 April 2004 | 115 words
Oh, Lord my God, you called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings. You have called me by...
· 3 April 2004 | 23 words
I'm going to try to follow this simple message for Holy Week: Be still and know that I am God. -- Psalm 46:10...
· 29 March 2004 | 86 words
Father in heaven! You, oh God, you give your Word as a gift. And if you find only some willingness on our part, you are promptly at hand. With divine patience you spell out the Word for us so that...
· 23 January 2004 | 75 words
I weave a silence on my lips, I weave a silence into my mind, I weave a silence within my heart. I close my eyes to distractions, I close my eyes to attentions, I close my eyes to temptations. Calm...
· 17 January 2004 | 206 words
O Jesus, for how many ages have you been on the Cross and yet people pass by in utter disregard of you except to pierce once again your Sacred Heart. How often have I passed you by, heedless of...
· 14 January 2004 | 70 words
God, I don't have great faith, but I can be faithful. My belief in you may be seasonal, but my faithfulness will not. I will follow in the way of Christ. I will act as...
· 13 January 2004 | 100 words
Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let your will be done in me, and in all your creatures....
· 11 January 2004 | 310 words
May His love, peace, and energy touch you in faith
· 25 December 2003 | 13 words
May the Light of Christ Burn brightly in your life, Today and always...
· 24 December 2003 | 97 words
Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. -- Isaiah 40:28-31
· 16 December 2003 | 164 words
Come Spirit of God grant us the power to be gentle, the strength to be forgiving, the patience to be understanding, the endurance to accept the consequences of holding on to what is right. Come Spirit of God help us to put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil, the power of love to overcome hatred. Come Spirit of God enlighten us with the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world free from violence, a new world where fear will no longer lead us to commit injustices, nor selfishness cause us to bring suffering to others. Come Spirit of Wisdom and Love, Source of all good teach us your truth and guide our actions in your way of peace. -- a prayer card from "Prayers for Peacemakers"
· 6 December 2003 | 122 words
Father of mercy, like the prodigal son I return to you and say: "I have sinned against you and am no longer worthy to be called your son." Christ Jesus, Savior of the World, I pray with the repentent thief to whom you promised Paradise: "Lord, remember me in your kingdom." Holy Spirit, fountain of love, I call on you with trust: "Purify my heart, and help me to walk as a child of light." Amen.
· 1 December 2003 | 214 words
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day. Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction.
· 29 November 2003 | 75 words
Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. -- St. Augustine
· 27 November 2003 | 92 words
Thank you Father for it all, especially for the people in my life. You already know the details of what I am thankful; but I most grateful to You for finding me, for opening my heart, and for letting me...
· 17 November 2003 | 104 words
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love; For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. -- St. Francis of Assisi
· 7 October 2003 | 161 words
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I...
· 20 July 2003 | 491 words
O Lord, teach me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to Labor and not to ask for any reward, save knowing that I do your will. Amen. -- St. Ignatius
May God’s love,
peace, and energy
touch you in faith.
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")