Past Prayers of The Day
November 2000
November 30, 2000
Save us from weak resignation to violence.
Teach us that restraint is the highest expression of power,
That thoughtfullness and tenderness are the mark of the strong;
Help us to love our enemies,
not by countenancing their sins,
but remembering our own.
- Christian Prayer
November 29, 2000
I had technical problems with Geocities and couldn't update.
November 28, 2000
Beloved God, known to your creation by a thousand different names, we thank you for giving us power through your Spirit to reveal your life to the world: strengthen, bless, and guide all that we do.
Teach your children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of earth.
This we know, the earth does not belong to us; We belong to the earth.
This we know, all things are connected.
Our God is the same God whose compassion is equal for all,
For we did not weave the web of life; We are mearly strands of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
Let us give thanks for the web of life in the circle that connects us.
Thanks be to God, the God of all, the God known by a thousand names.
Amen.
- From the speeches of Chief Seattle
November 27, 2000
When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right it front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be
And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer
Let it be
For though they may be parted there is
still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer
Let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be
And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow
Let it be
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
There will be an answer
Let it be
- From "Let It Be" by the Beatles
November 26, 2000
Grant us the ability to find joy and strength
not in the strident call to arms,
but in stretching out our arms
to grasp our fellow creatures
in the striving for justice and truth.
- Jewish Prayer
November 25, 2000
The Lord is my light and my salvation,
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life's refuge,
of whom should I be afraid?
One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
- The Bible, Psalm 27
November 24, 2000
O God,
May I ever speak
as though it were the last word that I can speak.
May I ever act
as though it were the last action I can perform.
May I ever suffer
as though it were the last pain I can offer.
May I ever pray
as though it were for me on earth the last chance to speak to you.
Amen.
- "O God, May I Speak..." by Chiara Lubich
November 23, 2000
Spirit of Community, in which we share and find strength and common purpose, we turn our minds and hearts toward one another seeking to bring into our circle of concern all who need our love and support: those who are ill, those who are in pain, either in body or in spirit, those who are lonely, those who have been wronged.
We are part of a web of life that makes us one with all humanity, one with all the universe.
We are grateful for the miracle of consciousness that we share, the consciousness that gives us the power to remember, to love, to care.
- Frederick E. Gillis
November 22, 2000
Architect of the worlds,
you put man and woman in the garden to keep it.
Show us the true harmony betweem ourselves and the earth,
between green things and animals, air and water.
Give us the secrets of knowledge and will,
to restore all damage done to the planet
by our ignorance or malice,
and let all living things have the freedom
which is proper for them.
- Free Church of Berkeley
November 21, 2000
I wasn't able to update. Sorry!
November 20, 2000
I must now remember the keys to survival:
Help me to grieve
to accept,
and then to move on.
- In memory of Russian Pairs Skater, Sergei Grinkov:
February 4, 1967 - November 20, 1995
November 19, 2000
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
- Ute, North American (Native American)
November 17-18
I wasn't able to update. Sorry! I have been in the process of moving, so updates will be infrequent for the next week or so. Thank you for your patience!
November 16, 2000
At the foot of the Bodhi tree,
beautifully seated, peaceful, and smiling,
the living source of understanding and compassion,
to the Buddha I go for refuge.
The path of mindful living,
leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment,
the way of peace,
to the Dharma I go for refuge.
The loving and supportive community of practice,
realizing harmony, awareness, and liberation,
to the Sangha I go for refuge.
I am aware that the Three Gems are within my heart.
I vow to realize them.
I vow to practice mindful breathing and smiling,
looking deeply into things.
I vow to understand living beings and their suffering,
to cultivate compassion and loving kindness,
and to practice joy and equanimity.
I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning
and to help relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon.
I vow to live simply and sanely,
content with just a few possessions,
and to keep my body healthy.
I vow to let go of all worry and anxiety in order to be light and free.
I am aware that I owe so much to may parents, teachers, friends, and all beings.
I vow to be worthy of their trust,
to practice wholeheartedly,
so that understanding and compassion will flower,
and I can help living beings be free from their suffering.
May the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha support my efforts.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
November 15, 2000
The Light of God before me.
The Light of God behind me.
The Light of God above me.
The Light of God beside me.
The Light of God within me.
- From the Prayer of St. Patrick
November 12-14
I wasn't able to update. Sorry!
November 11, 2000
Creating God, your fingers trace
the bold designs of farthest space;
let sun and moon and stars and light
and what lies hidden praise your might.
Sustaining God, your hands uphold
earht's mysteries known or yet untold;
let water's fragile blend with air
enabling life, proclaim your care.
Redeeming God, your arms embrace
all now despised for creed or race;
let peace, descending like a dove,
make known on earth you healing love.
Indwelling God, your gospel claims
one family with a billion names;
let every life be touched by grace
until we praise you face to face.
- "Creating God, Your Fingers Trace," by Jeffery Rowthorn (a paraphrase of Psalm 148)
November 10, 2000
I wasn't able to update. Sorry!
November 9, 2000
And I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts;
A sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air.
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.
- William Wordsworth
November 8, 2000
Eternal lover of Thy children,
bring us into Thy life,
make us sharers in Thy love
and transmitters of it.
Help us to become serene and patient
in the midst of our frustrations,
but at the same time
make us heroic adventurers,
brave, gentle, tender,
but without fear
and with radiant faces.
- Rufus Jones, Quaker
November 7, 2000
This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes I see
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand
When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free
When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free
And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free
We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, have a little faith
We shall be free
- "We Shall Be Free" from the Garth Brooks album The Chase
November 6, 2000
Bide the Wiccan Rede you must
In perfect love and perfect trust.
Live and let live
Fairly take and fairly give.
Soft of eye and light of touch
Speak little but listen much.
Heed the flower, bush and tree
By the Lady, Blessed Be.
When you have a true need
Harken not to others' greed.
With a fool no season spend
Lest you be counted as his friend.
Merry meet and merry part
Bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law you should
Three times bad and three times good.
True in love ever be
Lest your lover be false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
As ye harm none, do what ye will.
- From an oral tradition.
November 5, 2000
Almighty God and Creator, you are the father of all people on the earth.
Guide, I pray all the nations and their leaders in the ways of justice and peace.
Protect us from the evils of injustice, prejudice, exploitation, conflict and war.
Help us to put away mistrust, bitterness and hatred.
Teach us to cease the storing and using of implements of war.
Lead us to find justice, peace and freedom.
Unite us in the making and creating of the tools of peace against ignorance, poverty, disease and oppression.
Grant that we may grow in harmony and friendship as brothers and sisters created in Your image, to Your honor and praise.
Amen.
- From an Orthodox Christian prayerbook
November 4, 2000
O Jesus,
Be the canoe that holds me up in the sea of life;
Be the rudder that keeps me in the straight road;
Be the outrigger that supports me in times of temptation.
Let your Spirit be my sail that carries me through each day.
Keep my body strong, so I can paddle steadfastly on in the voyage of life.
- O Jesus, Be the Canoe - Melanesian Prayer
November 3, 2000
The voice that beautifies the land!
The voice above,
The voice of thunder,
Among the dark clouds
Again and again it sounds,
The voice that beautifies the land!
The voice that beautifies the land!
The voice below,
The voice of the grasshopper,
Among the flowers and grasses
Again and again it sounds,
The voice that beautifies the land!
- Mountain Chant (Navajo)
November 2, 2000
Be praised, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
Especially Brother Sun,
By whom You bring us the day and who brings us the light;
Fair is he and shines with a very great splendor...
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars, which you have set clear and lovely in heaven.
Be praised, my Lord, for Brother Wind, and for air and cloud, calms and all weather...
Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and clean.
Be praised my Lord for Brother Fire, through whom You give us light in darkness, and he is bright and pleasant and very mighty and strong.
Be praised, my Lord, for our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and keep us, and brings forth fruits and flowers of many colors and leaves...
Praise and bless my Lord, and thank Him,
And serve Him with great humility.
- St. Francis of Assisi
November 1, 2000
In the quietness of this place, surrounded by the all-prevading presence of the Holy, my heart whispers:
Keep fresh before me the moments of my High Resolve, that in good times or in tempests,
I may not forget that to which my life is committed.
Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.
- Howard Thurman
Back To Past Prayers
Back To Main