Prayers For Courage And Hope (1)
Prayer
Gentle Words In A Raging Storm
Prayers for all occasions
O God of Hope,
the turbulent waters of life wear us out.
Our arms are sore, our breath gone; we can swim
no more.
It seems often to be just that moment you choose
to invite us to walk on the water,
to do the impossible,
to go beyond what we think we can do,
to risk the unknown, the unfamiliar, the unexpected.
We are, like Peter, humans of little faith.
We may puff it up so that it supports us for a while,
but then our faces turn blue and we blow it out
with exhausted relief!
Teach us to learn our limitations so that we will
call on your unlimited power.
Take from us our indignation and arrogance and give
us the humble but uplifting power of acceptance.
Show us, when we forget, the strength that comes from
relationship, from community, from a helping hand.
May we be open to your creative activity in our lives
which introduces new options,
paints with bright colors,
dances to a different tune.
We are all handicapped by our fear, our lack of faith.
Save us, O Lord, from sinking in courage,
from drowning in our despair.
Give us your hand and we will walk with you,
even upon the waters! Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (2)
Up from the underneath we come, O God,
up from the agony of guilt,
the gulf of loneliness,
the paralysis of fear,
the emptiness of sorrow
into the warm light of day,
into the light of truth and forgiveness,
reassurance and comfort,
celebration and joy.
Our days are clouded by timid souls, trite sayings,
false promises, and prophets of doom.
How grateful we are for the clear, ringing voice of
the children of God,
people of faith and real hope,
people who do not shrink before a challenge but ignite
others with their persistent trust in God.
How thankful we are for people who love easily, quietly,
and universally all who call upon their concern.
How blessed we are for people who look beyond their
own suffering long enough to see the hurt of others,
who courageously leave their own loneliness to embrace
the lonely,
who quiet their own doubts by comforting the fear
of others,
who look to you with an undying, indestructible
conviction of hope.
Thank you, Lord, for the courage of ordinary people
who inspire our own. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (3)
O God, who sees into our hearts,
you know how we struggle for dignity,
how we work for self-esteem.
And you know how fragile we are in courage and
confidence.
Perhaps the world IS too much with us!
We are keenly aware of its warring, hatred, insatiable
greed, strutting pride ...
and we get caught up in it,
making its values our own.
In fear we abandon our faith in the power of love
and bow before the missiles of madness.
In self-contempt we ignore your forgiveness and seek
to prove ourselves worthy,
to justify our mistakes and acts of stupidity
and defend our devotion to prestige and wealth.
Give us the courage to work creatively for peace
in ourselves, our homes, our nation, and in the world.
Give us the confidence to be self-sacrificing instead
of self-expanding,
to give ourselves away to others,
to enjoy the generous expression of your love.
And give us faith to see beyond sight and sensibility
a vision of your kingdom on earth -- the kingdom of
the heart. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (4)
O Lord, how we seek to be faithful
and yet how we are easily distracted from your vision.
We are so impatient with your promise of new life.
We want it now, not tomorrow.
We want it for ourselves, not just for our neighbors.
We want the triumph of Easter without the tragedy
of Good Friday.
We want the prize without the race.
Give strength to our fainting heart,
courage to our fading will,
faith to our shattered hope.
May we seek your way and not our own.
May we discover your kingdom in self-sacrifice,
instead of building our kingdom through
self-gratification.
May we not seek happiness but joy.
May we not seek the detachment of pleasure
but the painful involvement in the suffering of others.
May we not expect life to be fair
but may we strive for justice.
May we trust you to take care of us
while we pledge ourselves to caring for others.
For this is the faith we seek,
to which we have been called
and for which we have been born anew in that Spirit
who keeps us faithful. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (5)
In the eye of the storm
we hear your gentle words, O Lord.
Though the earth trembles,
though the tempest of human strife rages on,
your calming Spirit speaks of hope.
You show us how a heart filled with your
forgiving love has no room for hatred, vengeance,
and violence.
Drenched in the waters of our baptism,
nourished by the bread of life,
healed by the cup of salvation,
quieted by your still, small voice,
we can walk in the thunder,
dance like daisies in the rain,
soar through the flash of lightning,
and look for the coming of the sun.
Forgive our languid faith,
the fear that submits to false security
and turns away from the source of life.
Help us hang on to that which is true,
the only one who can create life out of death,
new life in the old,
life that lasts,
our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May we, like Jesus,
face all peril with a prayer,
a prayer that has power to restore
our sinking souls. Amen.
the turbulent waters of life wear us out.
Our arms are sore, our breath gone; we can swim
no more.
It seems often to be just that moment you choose
to invite us to walk on the water,
to do the impossible,
to go beyond what we think we can do,
to risk the unknown, the unfamiliar, the unexpected.
We are, like Peter, humans of little faith.
We may puff it up so that it supports us for a while,
but then our faces turn blue and we blow it out
with exhausted relief!
Teach us to learn our limitations so that we will
call on your unlimited power.
Take from us our indignation and arrogance and give
us the humble but uplifting power of acceptance.
Show us, when we forget, the strength that comes from
relationship, from community, from a helping hand.
May we be open to your creative activity in our lives
which introduces new options,
paints with bright colors,
dances to a different tune.
We are all handicapped by our fear, our lack of faith.
Save us, O Lord, from sinking in courage,
from drowning in our despair.
Give us your hand and we will walk with you,
even upon the waters! Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (2)
Up from the underneath we come, O God,
up from the agony of guilt,
the gulf of loneliness,
the paralysis of fear,
the emptiness of sorrow
into the warm light of day,
into the light of truth and forgiveness,
reassurance and comfort,
celebration and joy.
Our days are clouded by timid souls, trite sayings,
false promises, and prophets of doom.
How grateful we are for the clear, ringing voice of
the children of God,
people of faith and real hope,
people who do not shrink before a challenge but ignite
others with their persistent trust in God.
How thankful we are for people who love easily, quietly,
and universally all who call upon their concern.
How blessed we are for people who look beyond their
own suffering long enough to see the hurt of others,
who courageously leave their own loneliness to embrace
the lonely,
who quiet their own doubts by comforting the fear
of others,
who look to you with an undying, indestructible
conviction of hope.
Thank you, Lord, for the courage of ordinary people
who inspire our own. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (3)
O God, who sees into our hearts,
you know how we struggle for dignity,
how we work for self-esteem.
And you know how fragile we are in courage and
confidence.
Perhaps the world IS too much with us!
We are keenly aware of its warring, hatred, insatiable
greed, strutting pride ...
and we get caught up in it,
making its values our own.
In fear we abandon our faith in the power of love
and bow before the missiles of madness.
In self-contempt we ignore your forgiveness and seek
to prove ourselves worthy,
to justify our mistakes and acts of stupidity
and defend our devotion to prestige and wealth.
Give us the courage to work creatively for peace
in ourselves, our homes, our nation, and in the world.
Give us the confidence to be self-sacrificing instead
of self-expanding,
to give ourselves away to others,
to enjoy the generous expression of your love.
And give us faith to see beyond sight and sensibility
a vision of your kingdom on earth -- the kingdom of
the heart. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (4)
O Lord, how we seek to be faithful
and yet how we are easily distracted from your vision.
We are so impatient with your promise of new life.
We want it now, not tomorrow.
We want it for ourselves, not just for our neighbors.
We want the triumph of Easter without the tragedy
of Good Friday.
We want the prize without the race.
Give strength to our fainting heart,
courage to our fading will,
faith to our shattered hope.
May we seek your way and not our own.
May we discover your kingdom in self-sacrifice,
instead of building our kingdom through
self-gratification.
May we not seek happiness but joy.
May we not seek the detachment of pleasure
but the painful involvement in the suffering of others.
May we not expect life to be fair
but may we strive for justice.
May we trust you to take care of us
while we pledge ourselves to caring for others.
For this is the faith we seek,
to which we have been called
and for which we have been born anew in that Spirit
who keeps us faithful. Amen.
Prayers For Courage And Hope (5)
In the eye of the storm
we hear your gentle words, O Lord.
Though the earth trembles,
though the tempest of human strife rages on,
your calming Spirit speaks of hope.
You show us how a heart filled with your
forgiving love has no room for hatred, vengeance,
and violence.
Drenched in the waters of our baptism,
nourished by the bread of life,
healed by the cup of salvation,
quieted by your still, small voice,
we can walk in the thunder,
dance like daisies in the rain,
soar through the flash of lightning,
and look for the coming of the sun.
Forgive our languid faith,
the fear that submits to false security
and turns away from the source of life.
Help us hang on to that which is true,
the only one who can create life out of death,
new life in the old,
life that lasts,
our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May we, like Jesus,
face all peril with a prayer,
a prayer that has power to restore
our sinking souls. Amen.
