Prayers From The Seaside

Today we want to once again borrow the prayers that we find in Scripture and that others have written down that somehow touch places in our hearts that we long to express to God.  We’ll read the 23^rd Psalm together as it affirms so many things that are true and solid about life with God today.  We’ll give thanks – and I’ll pause after each thanksgiving thought to give all of us a chance to add our own personal expression.  We’ll pray for guidance and then come together as a family to pray the Lord’s prayer.

Let’s pray:

Twenty-Third Psalm – Psalms 23: 1-6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil; for you are with me;

your rod and your staff–they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell

in the house of the Lord forever.

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done

for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation,

for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the

mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the

loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks that demand our best efforts,

and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us

 to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the

truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast

obedience by which he overcame temptation;

for his dying, through which he conquered death;

and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised

to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ

and make him known; and through him, at all times

and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

FOR HOLY THOUGHTS

O God, without whose beauty and goodness

our souls are unfed, without whose truth

our reason withers: Consecrate our lives

to your will, giving us such purity of heart,

such depth of faith, and such steadfastness

of purpose, that in time we may come

to think your own thoughts after you;

through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE

O God, by whom the meek are guided

in judgment, and light rises up in darkness

for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts

and uncertainties, the grace to ask what

you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom

may save us from all false choices; that in your

light we may see light, and in your straight path

we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive

those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil,

for thine is the kingdom and the power

and the glory, forever. Amen.