Category Archives: prayer

A Prayer Prompted by Luke 19

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Dear Father in Heaven,

Your Son Jesus Christ deserves all the devotion, all the praise and all the commitment that we can possibly give. He is worthy of even more.

He has said that you have given him all authority in heaven and on earth. We need to willingly give him all authority over every part of our lives.

We willingly offer you our talents, relationship, treasure, the truth as much as we know it, and our time. All that we have is from you, so we offer it back to you as yours for us to use in your service.

As stewards we want to be faithful.

And we wait for your Son to return from heaven and begin his earthly rule as King.

So we pray in his name,

Amen

 

An old musical and a much older prayer

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If you are old enough, or interested enough in old Broadway musicals, to remember Godspell from 1971, then some of the words of this prayer will sound familiar. They are included in the song “Day by Day” in Act I.  They seem so much more meaningful to me now than they did as an adolescent when I first heard them, likely at Sunday mass, where guitars and songs like that were used on a limited basis.

The prayer that inspired the song is actually way older than I ever knew.  It is worth quoting and praying in its entirety.

Thanks be to Thee my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits which Thou hast given me;
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me. 
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
May I know Thee more clearly;
Love Thee more dearly;
And follow Thee more nearly. Amen.

– Richard of Chichester (1197-1253), who served as Bishop of Chichester from 1245 to 1253.

Luke 18 – Verse by Verse

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This week Jesus teaches us to be bold and persistent in prayer.  He talks about grace and about the attitude we should have as we approach God.  Finally, he will remind us that his earthly ministry was always meant to end at the cross.

Luke 18.pdf

Luke 18.mp3

Here is a link to the livestream video:

 

A Prayer Prompted by Luke 18

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Heavenly Father,

As we approach you in prayer, we want to leave behind any thoughts of our own merit, wisdom – and all confidence that we even know how to pray.

Our confidence is nothing more than trust in you. Give us boldness to come before you on the basis of your faithful love. And help us to be persistent in prayer.

Help us to live our lives in such a way as to store up treasure in heaven.

Not that we deserve any such thing, but again, we trust you and remember our constant need for your great grace.

And finally thank you for the cross, through which your Son Jesus has brought us into a right standing before you, by atoning for our sins.

It is in his name that we pray,

Amen