Category: Prayer

  • Serenity prayer

    The Serenity Prayer is attributed to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. It was was adopted and popularised twelve-step programs, and has been used in churches across the world. I particularly appreciate the most well-known version of the prayer with its later inclusion of the word “grace”. I find the prayer helpful particularly after I’ve given…

  • Annunciation

    She wasn’t ready for this.She may have been sleeping,Or just waking up. Me? She asksBut I’m still young,No one notices me much. You are seen,Declares the light.Seen and trustedTo carry and to bring to birthThe Light of Creation. Then may it be soShe quietly respondsWondering what her yes will mean. If she looked around She would…

  • Breath prayer, after Psalm 34 (lectionary, All Saints)

    I live and breathe God…My lungs expand with praise” from Psalm 34.1&2 (MSG) I take a deep breath now.Every moment a gift from you.Every expansion of my frame honours you.Every inhale a thanksgiving.I breathe out in grateful-trust. I continue,I breathe in, “I thank you”And exhale, “I trust you (to provide)” Each inhale a gift.Each exhale…

  • Let not our souls be busy inns …

    Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine,But quiet homes of prayer and praise,where thou mayest find fit company,Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away,And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee;where holy thoughts pass up and downAnd fervent longings watch and wait thy…

  • Psalm 127, a meditation (Lectionary, Lent 4)

    This week as I settled into prayer I returned to the words of this Psalm. As you gaze and meditate on the words, which words stand out to you? This week it was the words “unless the Lord…” which seemed to have the most resonance for me. I allowed them to come into sync with…

  • A prayer, after Psalm 29 (Lectionary, Epiphany 1)

    You who carve canyons,You who brood over wild waters,We gaze on your creation in wonder.This your temple, in which we cry — Glory!Mighty and majestic; wild and untamed,Lightening and thunder have nothing on you.Yet, to what can we compare you? Give strength to your people today.To all who fast and pray, to all who sing…

  • Songs of Lament (hold me now)

    One of the many gifts of the Hebrew Scriptures are the expressions of lament which are given voice throughout. The Psalms record many of these — with cries of of “how long O Lord?”, “Why Lord?” … “when Lord?” Note these words from Psalm 6: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal…

  • Lectio Divina

    Lectio Divina is an ancient way of praying scripture. This practice has been used throughout church history and continues to be a nourishing discipline for Christians from all traditions. The Latin/Benedictine name, Lectio Divina, may sound unusual to us now — it essentially means: “sacred reading”. This engaging with scripture is reflective and done in the…

  • Examen (a variation with postures)

    I’m grateful to the author Ian Adams for bringing this version of the Ignatian Daily Examen to my attention, in his book ‘Running Over Rocks’. This practice fits particularly well at threshold moments, such as the end of a day. The five stages correlate to fives gesture, incorporating our whole self into the prayer. Open…

  • Centering Down: Palms Up, Palms Down

    Author and teacher Richard Foster describes a prayer practice sometimes known as ‘Palms up, palms down’, it has also been known by the The Quakers as Centering Down.This version of the prayer uses gestures in order for us to “embody the prayer”: First: identifying and releasing our burdens (palms down) Second: receiving God‘s grace (palms…

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