Past Prayers of The Day
January 2001
January 31, 2001
The Lord bless thee and keep thee;
the Lord make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee
and give thee peace.
- The Bible, Numbers 6:24-26
January 30, 2001
Think of what you're saying.
You can get it wrong and
still you think that it's alright.
Think of what I'm saying,
We can work it out and get it straight,
or say good night.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.
Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend.
I have always thought that it's a crime,
So I will ask you once again.
Try to see it my way,
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.
We can work it out,
We can work it out.
- From "We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles
Source
January 29, 2001
Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves.
Don't search for the answers,
which could not be given to you now,
because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future,
you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live your way into the answer.
- Rainer Maria Rilke
Source
January 28, 2001
Be ye all of one mind,
having compassion for one another,
love as bretheren,
be considerate, be courteous,
not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult:
but instead, blessing.
- The Bible, I Peter 3:8-9
January 27, 2001
Why do you go to the forest in search of the Divine?
God lives in all, and abides with you too.
As fragrance dwells in a flower,
or reflection in a mirror,
so the Divine dwells inside everything;
seek therefore in your own heart.
- Tegh Bahadur
January 26, 2001
This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches, give alms to every one that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others,
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people,
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men,
go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families,
read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life,
re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book,
dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body...
- Walt Whitman
January 25, 2001
Let us cultivate boundless goodwill.
Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state.
Let none in anger or ill-will wish another harm.
Even as a mother watches over her child, so with boundless mind should one cherish all living beings,
Radiating friendliness over the whole world,
Above, below, and all around, without limit.
- Metta Sutta (Buddhist)
January 24, 2001
I wasn't able to update. Sorry!
January 23, 2001
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the World -
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the World.
- Traditional Song
(If you know the author, please e-mail me.)
January 22, 2001
You are the One; there's no one else
Who lifts me up
And gives me water from the well
But there's a hole
That seems to drain it all away
And once again I'm left in fear and doubt
When all my strength is crying out
So here I am again
Willing to be opened up and
broken like a flower in the rain
Tell me what have I to do
To die and then be raised
To reach beyond the pain
Like a flower in the rain
The evil wind, it blows a storm
To rock my world
Just when I think I'm safe and warm
I'm led astray far too easily
It's always hard for me to say I'm wrong
Until I know I can't go on
So here I am again
Willing to be opened up and
broken like a flower in the rain
Tell me what have I to do
To die and then be raised
To reach beyond the pain
Like a flower in the rain
- From "Flower in the Rain" by Jaci Velasquez
January 21, 2001
Lord, when my soul is weary
and my heart is tired and sore,
and I have that failing feeling
that I can't take any more;
then let me know the freshening
found in simple, childlike prayer,
when the kneeling soul knows surely
that a listening Lord is there.
- Ruth Bell Graham
January 20, 2001
May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work you do
with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring
healing, light, and renewal to those who work with you
and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings
of refreshment, inspiration, and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your
new day with dreams, possibilities, and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered, and protected.
May your soul calm, console, and renew you.
- Celtic Blessing - Anam Cara - John O'Donohue
Source
January 19, 2001
We can never make the world safe by fighting.
Every nation must learn that the people of all nations are children of God, and must share the wealth of the world.
You may say this is impracticable, far away, can never be accomplished, but it is the work we are appointed to do.
Sometime, somehow, somewhere, we must ever teach this great lesson.
- Olympia Brown
January 18, 2001
Spirit that hears each one of us,
Hears all that is-
Listens, listens, hears us out-
Inspire us now!
Our own pulse beats in every stranger's throat,
and also there within the flowered ground
beneath our feet,
And-teach us to listen!-
We can hear it in water, in wood, and even in stone.
We are earth of this earth,
and we are bone of its bone.
This is a prayer I sing,
for we have forgotten this
and so the earth is perishing.
- Barbara Deming
January 17, 2001
"I'll lend you for a little while a child of mine," he said.
"For you to love there while he lives,
and mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty two or three,
But will you, till I call him back,
take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you,
and shall his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories
as solace for your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay,
since all from earth return.
But there are lessons taught down there
I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over
in my search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes
I have selected you.
Now will you give him all your love,
nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call
to take him back again?"
I fancied that I heard them say:
"Dear Lord, Thy will be done!
For the joy Thy child shall bring,
the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness,
we'll love him while we may,
And for the happiness we've known
forever grateful stay;
But shall the angels call for him
much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes
...and try to understand."
- By Edgar Guest
In Memory of Michael Cuccione:
January 4, 1985 - January 13, 2001
January 16, 2001
Lord, we lift your name on high.
Lord, we love to sing your praises.
I'm so glad you're in my life.
I'm so glad you came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth
to show the way.
From the earth to the cross
our debt to pay.
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky.
Lord, we lift your name on high.
- Rick Founds
January 15, 2001
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
- From Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.
Full version
January 14, 2001
Love cannot remain by itself-it has no meaning.
Love has to be put into action and that action is service.
Whatever form we are,
able or disabled,
rich or poor,
it is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing;
a lifelong sharing of love with others.
- Mother Teresa
January 13, 2001
Some kids have and some kids don't
And some of us are wondering why.
Mom won't watch the news at night
There's too much stuff (that's) making her cry.
We need some help
Down here on earth
A thousand prayers, a million words
But one voice was heard.
A house, a yard, a neighborhood
Where you can ride your new bike to school.
The kind of world where mom and dad
Still believe the golden rule
Life's not that simple
Down here on earth.
A thousand prayers, a million words
But one voice was heard.
One voice, one simple word
Hearts know what to say.
One dream can change the world
Keep believing till you find your way.
Yesterday while walking home
I saw some kid on Newbury Road
He took a pistol from his bag
And tossed it in the river below.
Thanks for the help
Down here on Earth.
A thousand prayers, a million words
One voice was heard.
- "One Voice" - Sung by Billy Gilman
January 12, 2001
All living substance, all substance of energy, being, and purpose,
are united and share the same destiny.
All people, those we love and those we know not of,
are united and share the same destiny.
Birth-to-death, we share this unity with
the sun, earth, our brothers and sisters, strangers,
flowers of the field,
snow flakes,
volcanoes and moon beams.
Birth-Life-Death
Unknown-Known-Unknown
Our destiny: from unknown to unknown.
May we have the faith to accept this mystery and build upon its everlasting truth.
- "A Common Destiny" - David H. Eaton
January 11, 2001
Water flows from high in the mountains.
Water runs deep in the Earth.
Miraculously, water comes to us, and sustains all life.
Water and sun green these plants.
When the rain of compassion falls,
even a desert becomes an immense, green ocean.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
January 10, 2001
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.
- The Bible, Revelation 3:20
January 9, 2001
Earth cure me. Earth receive my woe.
Rock strengthen me. Rock receive my weakness.
Rain wash my sadness away. Rain receive my doubt.
Sun make sweet my song. Sun receive the anger from my heart.
- Nancy Wood
January 8, 2001
Dear Lord, the Great Healer, I kneel before You, since every perfect gift must come from You.
I pray, give me skill to my hands, clear vision to my mind, kindness and meekness to my heart.
Give me singleness of purpose, strength to lift up a part of the burden of my suffering fellow men, and a the realization of the privilege that is mine.
Take from my heart all guile and worldliness, that with the simple faith of child, I may rely on you.
- Mother Teresa Source
January 7, 2001
Hear our prayer O Lord...
for animals that are overworked, underfed, and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put to death....
And for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.
- Albert Schweitzer Source
January 6, 2001
Again did the earth shift
Again did the nights grow short,
And the days long.
And the people of the earth were glad
and celebrated each in their own ways.
- "Solstice" Diane Lee Moomey
January 5, 2001
Have no fear for what tomorrow may bring.
The same loving God who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
God will either shield you from sufferings, or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
- St. Francis de Sales Source
January 4, 2001
I wasn't able to update. Sorry!
January 3, 2001
The long-awaited rain has just fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
Have carved their way to where the wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rain I have been carried here to where the river flows
My heart is racin' and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice telling me it's time to
Take a leap of faith
So here I go
I'm diving in
I'm going deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush
Lost in the flow
In over my head I wanna go
The river's deep
The river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swim
I'm diving in
There is a supernatural power in this mighty river's flow
We can bring the dead to life, we can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing worth living and dying for
But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves be swept away into this holy flood
So if you'll take my hand and close your eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let's go
- From "Dive" by Steven Curtis Chapman
January 1-2, 2001
I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I was out of town for the holiday.
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