PRAYERS for ANGLICAN PRAYER BEADS and OTHER READINGS

I have been collecting written prayers for the possibility of using them with prayer beads and meditation.  I offer them here for use by anyone who would like to use them, and hope I have included the correct authors and references for them all without breaking any copyright laws.  They are in no particular order, and I will continue to add to this list.
 
PRAYER STEPS:
1.  Every morning wake up.
2.  Ask Jesus what he is doing that day—not what he wants you to do, but what he is really 
     doing.
3.  Go and join him.

 

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying.  He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.  He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
Samuel Chadwick

Wesley’s Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
(as used in the Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936).
 

A Prayer from City on our Knees, by Tobymac

Dear Loving God,

Help us to remember, when we begin to lose hope,

That all the darkness in the world is just a speck in your light,

A light that fills the universe.

When pain and confusion invade our lives,

Let us not rely on our own resources.

Instead, lead us to seek answers on our knees.

Lord, show us your way.

Lord, lead us to your destination.

We thank you for being our beacon of hope,

A beacon we can always see, if we will only look.

Amen.
 

A Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;

Teach me to serve you as you deserve,

To give and not to count the cost,

To fight and not to heed the wounds,

To toil and not to seek for rest,

To labor and not to seek reward,

Except that of knowing that I do your will.

Amen.

The Prayer of Saint Patrick

From “The Breastplate,” a prayer of protection that Patrick taught his disciples.

 

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the Threeness,

Through the confession of the Oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment day…

Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

 

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.
 

By Howard Thurman
In the quietness of this place,
Surrounded by the all-pervading 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.

From Trinity UB Church Directory - 1925

Keep us, O God, from pettiness; let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.
Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense and face each other with frankness, without self-pity or prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgment and always generous.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses straight forward and unafraid.
Let us take time for all things.  Make us grow calm, serene and gentle.
Help us to know that little things cause difference, big things create unity.
And may we strive to know and touch the common human heart,
And, O Lord God, fill us with they love and help us to be kind.
 
Three Prayers of John Wesley 
O God, seeing as there is in Christ Jesus
an infinite fullness
of all that we can want or desire,
May we all receive from him,
grace upon grace;
grace to pardon our sins,
and subdue our iniquities;
to justify our persons
and to sanctify our souls;
and to complete that holy change,
that renewal of our hearts,
Which will enable us to be transformed
into the blessed image
in which you created us.
O make us all acceptable to be partakers
of the inheritance of your saints in light.
Amen.

O LORD God Almighty,
Father of angels and men,
We praise and bless your
holy name for all your goodness
and loving kindness to humanity.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and for your unceasing generosity to us
throughout our lives;
But above all, we bless you for your great love
in the redemption of the world
by our Lord Jesus Christ.
We bless you for bringing us safe
to the beginning of a new day.
Grant that this day we fall into no sin,
Neither run into any kind of danger.
Keep us, we pray,
from all things hurtful to body or soul,
and grant us your pardon and peace,
So that, being cleansed from all our sins,
We might serve you
with quiet hearts and minds,
and continue in the same until our life's end,
through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Redeemer.
Amen.

Now, to God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved;
to God the Son, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood;
to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts, be all love and all glory in time and to all eternity.
Amen.

Pastoral Prayer for Ordinary time by Dow Edgerton, Chicago Theological Seminary
God of all good gifts, we give you thanks and praise.
For the light you have given,
light at morning and evening,
light for seeing, light for walking,
for the lights of knowledge, and of faith,
the light of guidance, the light of wisdom,
the light of truth,
For the light you have given, we give you thanks and praise.

For the dark you have given,
the dark where birth comes from,
the dark where we are renewed each night,
the dark of marvelous dreams,
the rich dark of solitude and prayer,
the darkness of the Word on the page,
the dark that shades us, the safe shadow of your wings
where your people sing for joy,
For the dark you have given, we give you thanks and praise.

For the work you have given,

the work together and the work alone,
the work of thought and the work of our bodies,
the work of justice and the work of love,
the work that gives a life,
and the work which costs a lifetime,
For the work you have given, we give you thanks and praise.

For the grace you have given,
the grace of Water, Word, and Table,
the grace of sister and brother,
the grace which calls us away,
and the grace which calls us home,
For the grace you have given, we give you thanks and praise.

Whatever we do in faith, hold it in your own hands.
Whatever we do in hope, see it through with your own eyes.
Whatever we do in love, keep it holy in your own heart.
Build us, we pray, into a holy city, a city of refuge,
a city of safety, a city of justice, a city of rejoicing,
a city of peace.
Befriend us now and forever,
Guard and defend us now and forever,
We ask it in Jesus' name.  Amen. 

Prayer of Confession by Pat de Jong, Senior Minister, First Congregational Church in Berkeley, and trustee of Pacific School of Religion
Sustaining God, keeper of the night and light of our mornings, hear our prayer as we open our heart to your tender mercy. You call us to become pilgrims, to follow you on the journey
of faith. We would find it easier to follow if so much were not at stake! But you promise that you will be with us and that our needs will be met. When we cling to our possessions,
trusting in them for security, you lead us into unfamiliar places, asking that we trust in you. Your way is challenging; forgive us our complacency. Your love makes demands; forgive us our anxiety. Guide us with your mercy and forgive our hesitant steps toward the promise of a new dawn.  Amen.

1. From the United Methodist Book of Worship
As you have made this day, O God, you also make the night.
Give light for our comfort.
Come upon us with quietness and still our souls
That we may listen for the whisper of your Spirit
And be sensitive to your nearness in our dreams.
Empower us to rise again in new life to proclaim your praise,
And show Christ to the world.  Amen.

2. From the United Methodist Book of Worship (Psalm 141:1-2)
I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;
Give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
And the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
 
3. From the United Methodist Book of Worship
New every morning is your love, great God of light,
And all day long you are working for good in the world.
Stir up in us desire to serve you,
To live peacefully without neighbors,
And to devote each day to your Son,
Our savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.
 
4. From the United Methodist Book of Worship by Masao Takenaka
Eternal God, hallowed by your name.
Early in the morning, before we begin our work, we praise your glory.
Renew our bodies as fresh as the morning flowers.
Open our inner eyes, as the sun casts new light upon the darkness.
Deliver us from all captivity
Like the birds of the sky, give us wings of freedom to begin a new journey.
As a mighty stream running continuously,
Restore justice and freedom day by day.
We thank you for the gift of this morning,
And a new day to work with you.  Amen.

5. From the United Methodist Book of Worship
O God, you have ordered this wonderful world
And know all things in earth and in heaven.
Give us such faith that by day and by night,
At all times and in all places,
We may without fear commit ourselves
And those dear to us to your never-failing love,
In this life and in the life to come.  Amen.
 
6. From the United Methodist Book of Worship
God of us all, your love never ends.
When all else fails, you still are God.
We pray to you for one another in our need,
And for all, anywhere, who mourn with us this day.
To those who doubt, give light;
To those who are weak, strength;
To all who have sinned, mercy;
To all who sorrow, your peace.
Keep true in us the love with which we hold one another.
In all our ways we trust you.
And to you, with your Church on earth and in heaven,
We offer honor and glory, now and forever.  Amen.
 
7. From the United Methodist Book of Worship
God of love, we thank you
For all with which you have blessed us
Even to this day:
For the gift of joy in days of health and strength
And for the gifts of your abiding presence and promise
In days of pain and grief.
We praise you for home and friends,
And for our baptism and place in your Church
With all who have faithfully lived and died.
Above all else we thank you for Jesus,
Who knew our griefs,
Who died our death and rose for our sake,
And who lives and prays for us.  Amen.
 

8. From the United Methodist Book of Worship

Holy God, before you our hearts are open
And from you no secrets are hidden.
We bring to you now our shame and sorrow for our sins.
We have forgotten that our life is from you and unto you.
We have neither sought nor done your will.
We have not been truthful in our hearts,
In our speech, in our lives.
We have not loved as we ought to love.
Help us and heal us,
Raising us from our sins into a better life,
That we may end our days in peace,
Trusting in your kindness unto the end;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with you
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever.  Amen.

A Prayer  by Christina Hutchins
Great God of the old and the new, take our lives and make them like new wine. Refresh our spirit. Disturb our apathy. Strengthen us with your courage, for we seek to be new people. Be with us as we worship, for your presence gives us joy. Pour through our work and play all the days of our lives. Amen.