Prayer through the Ages - Help Me Live It – Keith Green

Submitted by Ian Reid on 17 September, 2020

Oh Lord, You’re beautiful Your face is all I see

For when Your eyes are on this child Your grace abounds to me

Oh Lord, please light the fire That once burned bright and clean

Replace the lamp of my first love That burns with holy fear

I want to take Your Word and shine it all around But first help me just to live it, Lord

And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown

For my reward is giving glory to You.

Prayers through the Ages - Christ Be With Me – St. Patrick

Submitted by Ian Reid on 17 September, 2020

Christ with me,

Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me,

Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Christ. May your salvation, Lord, be ever with us.

Prayer through the Ages - Make me an Instrument of Your Peace - St Francis of Assissi

Submitted by Ian Reid on 16 September, 2020

Instrument of Your Peace – St. Francis of Assisi

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,

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

not so much to be understood as to understand,

not so much to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

it is in dying that

we awake to eternal life.

Prayers through the Ages - The Prayer of St Teresa of Avila

Submitted by Daphne Bate on 27 July, 2020

God desires peace in your life and one of the most effective ways of finding that peace is invoking his aid. He wants to help you, but our hearts must be open to that divine assistance.

St. Teresa of Avila wrote a beautiful poem during her lifetime that has been used as a prayer throughout the centuries. It is simple in its format, which is why many turn to it in times of distress. If you are feeling afraid or anxious right now, consider praying this prayer, opening your heart to God and adding your own words, invoking God’s help in your hour of need.

Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you,

All things are passing away:

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things

Whoever has God lacks nothing;

God alone suffices.

Jesus himself said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Pray points

Submitted by Paul Massen on 27 July, 2020

Praise:

• We praise God for His perfect love.
• We praise God for creating us in His image.

Thanks giving:

• We thank God for sending Jesus Christ to suffer in our place.
• We thank Him for all that He’s given us.

Confession:

• We confess that we have fallen short yet again.
• We confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Prayers:

• We pray for Michele, the Kyalimpas and the Hays in Africa.
• We pray for TBC that God will grant us an abundance of wisdom and patience.

Prayers through the Ages - The Serenity Prayer

Submitted by Daphne Bate on 27 July, 2020

The Original Full Version 

God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.     

Origins of the Prayer:

It has been variously said that Reinhold Neibuhr himself denied writing it, and credited Friedrich Oetinger, an 18th century theologian, with its authorship; or that it was actually written in 500 A.D. by a philosopher named Boethius who was martyred for the Christian Faith.  

Both of these theories have since been discredited, and it does now appear that the Theologian Reinhold Neibuhr was the actual author (he also did in fact claim credit for it).  Niebuhr was a major influence on the German Pastor and Nazi resister, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.