The Dancingrev's Prayer Chapel
Our Lord's Model Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, let your holy name be revered, let your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us only enough bread to get us through today, and forgive us the wrongs we have done to you, as we forgive those who have done wrong to us. And do not bring us to the test unprepared, but save us from the evil one. AMEN
C. S. Lewis on Prayer
The prayer preceding all prayers is "May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to."
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
A Celtic Prayer
God help my thoughts! They stray from me, setting off on the wildest journeys; when I am at prayer, they run off like naughty children, making trouble. When I read the Bible, they fly to a distant place, filled with seductions. My thoughts can cross an ocean with a single leap; they can fly from earth to heaven, and back again, in a single second. They come to me for a fleeting moment, and then away they flee. No chains, no locks can hold them back; no threats of punishment can restrain them, no hiss of a lash can frighten them. They slip from my grasp like tails of eels; they swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight. Dear, chaste Christ, who can see into every heart, and read every mind, take hold of my thoughts. Bring my thoughts back to me, and clasp me to yourself.
Celtic Church (Date Unknown)
I Cannot Dance
I cannot dance, O Lord, Unless You lead me. If You wish me to leap joyfully, Let me see You dance and sing -- Then I will leap into Love -- And from Love into Knowledge, And from Knowledge into the Harvest, That sweetest Fruit beyond human sense. There I will stay with You, whirling.
Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1210-1280)
Dance with Me Lord
Lord, put your hand upon my waist and hands left in right head to head heart pressed to heart dance with me. When the world crushes in on me and the tune of life is more dirge than canticle more lamentation than sweet psalm with cheerful strain let me place my head upon your shoulder so that you, dear Lord, can move me about in measured steps and gliding moves. When the world grows brighter and the tune of life becomes more contradance than corrinoch more reel than mourning song then hand tight in hand fling me out, and whirl me about so that our feet may in frolicked movement dance the dance of joy.
L. David Sterling (1948- )
Awaken Me
O sweet and loving God, When I stay asleep too long, Oblivious to all your blessings, Then, please, wake me up, And sing to me your joyful song. It is a song without noise or notes. It is a song of love beyond words, Of faith beyond the power of human telling. I can hear it in my soul, When you awaken me to your presence.
Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1210-1280)
As the beautiful, dew-covered rose
As the beautiful, dew-covered rose rises from amongst the thorns, so may by heart be so full of love for you, my God, that I may rise above the storms and evils that assail me, and stand fast in truth and freedom of spirit.
Hadewijch of Brabant (13th Century)
The Prayer for Peace
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; 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. Amen
Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
St. Patrick's Prayer
This day I call to me: God's strength to direct me, God's power to sustain me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's vision to light me, God's ear to my hearing, God's word to my speaking, God's hand to uphold me, God's pathway before me, God's shield to protect me, God's legions to save me.
from A Retreat With St. Patrick
Serenity, Courage, Wisdom
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 in the next. Amen
Reinhold Neibuhr
Canticle of Creatures
Most high, all-powerful, all good, Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor And all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy To pronounce your name. All praise be yours, my Lord, through all that you have made, And first my lord Brother Sun, Who brings the day; and light you give to us through him. How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars; In the heavens you have made them, bright and precious and fair. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, And fair and stormy, all the weather's moods, By which you cherish all that you have made. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water, So useful, lowly, precious and pure. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire, Through whom you brighten up the night. How beautiful is he, how gay! Full of power and strength. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother, Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces Various fruits with colored flowers and herbs. All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grant pardon For love of you; through those who endure Sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, By you, Most High, they will be crowned. All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death, From whose embrace no mortal can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those She finds doing your will! The second death can do no harm to them. Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks, And serve him with great humility.
- From the English Omnibus of the Sources - Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
The Servant Song
Brother, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you, Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant too. Sister, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you, Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant too. We are pilgrims on a journey, we are bothers on the road, we are here to help each other walk a mile and bear the load. I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I'll laugh with you, I will share your joy and sorrow till we've seen this journey through. I will hold the Christ-light for you, in the night-time of your fear, I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear. When we sing to God in heaven, we shall find such harmony, born of all we've known together of Christ's love and agony.
(Music and Words written by Richard Gillard) (Arranged here as in the Baptist Hymnal)
A Prayer of Augustine
God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down, when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies gray and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to your honor and glory
Augustine (354-430)
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