Prayers to Use

Thank you, God, for the gift of my life,
for one more opportunity
to grow,
to heal,
or to celebrate.

Prayer of Protection
The light of God surrounds you,
The love of God enfolds you,
The power of God protects you,
The presence of God watches over you.
Wherever you are, God is.
~written by James Dillet Freeman during World War II

May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be happy.
                              ~ancient Tibetan Buddhist blessing

Father/Mother God and All there is,
I am overwhelmed with Gratitude for all of the blessings I receive. Thank You.
~Terry Gratton, Chaplain 

May the long time sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide you all the way home.

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us are all our brother and sister, why are there constant troubles in this world?

Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans surrounding us?

I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of mountains.

Let me see, meet, recognize God in everyone and everything,

everywhere and every time.

Help me use wisdom in all parts of my life.

"Please pray for me that I may love God deeply, that my heart may be purified and made receptive to His blessings, and that I may grow from the trials I'm going through. Thank you very much."

Father, Mother, God,
Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
       For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days,
      For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days,
      For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends.

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.........PEACE.

~ Maya Angelou

Prayer for Forgiveness

Today, Creator, grant me the courage and the will to forgive the people I love the most. Help me to forgive every injustice I feel in my mind, and to love other people unconditionally. I know the only way to heal all the pain in my heart is through forgiveness.

Today, Creator, strengthen my will to forgive anyone who has hurt me, even if I believe the offense is unforgivable. I know that forgiveness is an act of self-love. Help me to love myself so much that I forgive every offense. Let me choose forgiveness because I don’t want to suffer every time I remember the offense.

Today, Creator, help me to heal all the guilt in my heart by accepting the forgiveness of everyone I have hurt in my life. Help me to sincerely recognize the mistakes I have made out of ignorance, and give me the wisdom and determination to refrain from making the same mistakes. I know that love and forgiveness will transform every relationship in the most positive way.

Thank you, Creator, for giving me the capacity to love and forgive.

Today I open my heart to love and forgiveness, so that I can share my love without fear.

Today I will enjoy a reunion with the people I love most. Amen.

~Don Miguel Ruiz

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of you.

For the inner child in each of us:

Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities
of your Existence:
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty.
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And Tomorrow is only a Vision;
But Today well-lived makes every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!

-from the Sanskrit

We see ______  surrounded with God's light and love, and filled with peace and serenity.
May we find a gift in each day, as we walk this path together.
May we remember the moments of grace in our lives.
Although we each walk our own path, we are comforted and strengthened by our connection.
May those who help find fulfillment in their service.
May our faith be stronger than our fear.
May we see the light within apparent darkness,
   the joy within our sorrow,
      the laughter in our failings,
         the divinity in our humanity.
Thank you, God, for small graces and great love.

God is my help in every need;
God does my every hunger feed;
God walks beside me, guides my way
Through every moment of this day.

I now am wise, I now am true,
Patient and kind, and loving, too;
All things I am, can do, and be,
Through Christ the Truth, that is in me.

God is my health, I can't be sick;
God is my strength, unfailing, quick;
God is my all, I know no fear,
Since God and Love and Truth are here.

The Traveler by James Dillet Freeman
(male version)
  
He has put on invisibility.
Dear Lord, I cannot see—
But this I know, although the road ascends
And passes from my sight,
That there will be no night;
That You will take him gently by the hand
And lead him on
Along the road of life that never ends,
And he will find it is not death but dawn.
I do not doubt that You are there as here,
And You will hold him dear.

Our life did not begin with birth,
It is not of the earth;
And this that we call death, it is no more
Than the opening and closing of a door—
And in Your house how many rooms must be
Beyond this one where we rest momently.

Dear Lord, I thank You for the faith that frees,
The love that knows it cannot lose its own;
The love that, looking through the shadows, sees
That You and he and I are ever one!

I am surrounded by Light.
I am filled with Light.
All that exists is Light.
I am Light.

I am healing, I am healing, I am healing with God's love.

I am healing every feeling, every cell is filled with love.

In this moment, I remember I'm the perfect child of God.

I am open to the Spirit.  I am healing with God's love.

~song "I Am Healing" © Lois J Henrickson (Lytingale)

Dear God, protect and bless all living beings.
Keep them from evil and let them sleep in peace.

~ Dr. Albert Schweitzer

We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which
we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times
keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings
and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with
generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature
and control our greed for material things, knowing that
our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being
for who he is, for who she is,
reaching to the spirit that is within,
knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice,
for the alleviation of the crippling poverty
that condemns millions of people around the world
to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving,
who are condemned to homelessness, slave labor, and prostitution,
and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture
even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war,
for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places
through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere,
for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation,
intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping,
training for entertainment, abusive pet owners,
and all other forms of exploitation
such as overloading and overworking pack animals,
bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty,
whether to humans or other animals,
for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving
and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us,
and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

~ Dr. Jane Goodall