Prayer of Distraction

My prayer for today is that no thing will have such brilliance as Christ,

That no interruption will seem as a discontinuity, but rather a leading of the Spirit,

That no memory will seem as a wound, but as a reminder of God’s healing,

That no fear will seem as a fortress against hope, but as an occasion for God’s deliverance,

That no attraction will seem as an allurement from righteousness, but as a celebration of the beauty of God’s creation,

That no conversation will seem as idle words, but as a moment for God to speak,

      That my heart will be still in the peace of God,

            That my mind will be clear with the light of God, and

                  That my soul will be satisfied with the goodness of God.

Amen.

  
 
Prayer of Dazzlement

For the birth of new hopes,
      I give thanks, O God.
In the hope of new beginnings,
      I wait for what emerges.
In the hope of deeper insight,
      I reflect on where I’ve been.
In the hope of life more simple,
      I say No to all but Your best for me.
In the hope of overcoming the snare of sin, next time,
      I seek to be honest with myself, this time.
In the hope of You, and only You,
      I open my arms for embrace.
May I see Your face in all that rises to meet me today,
      Your path in all my journeys,
      Your light in all my decisions,
      Your grace in all my shadows;
      Your eyes, beholding me in love.
Amen.

 
 
Prayer of Discipleship

Take, Lord, all my liberty,
      my memory, my understanding
            and my whole will.
You have given me all that I have,
      all that I am,
            and I surrender all to Your Divine will.
Give me only Your love and Your grace.
      With this I am rich enough,
            and I have no more to ask.
Amen.

Ignatius of Loyola

 
 
Prayer of Disillusionment

My God, so fair,
that lays on my thoughts
and the altar of my heart.
Are you truly God, my Lord?

My god, so fair
that lays now on my thoughts
and my heart’s altar, in dust.
Where are you, my true God, my Lord?

  
 
Prayer of Death

Lord Christ, my musty gray Savior of the Dead, stand at my door today. Visit me in your grave clothes and beckon me to your station in death. I embrace your cold arms. Bid me die with you—not for the sake of new life, but for the sake of pure death.

For by knowing you in death, I may know you in true life.

By knowing you in the grave, I may know you in the resurrection.

By knowing you in emptiness, I may know you in fullness.

Into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Amen.

 
 
Prayer of Desire

Dance with me!
Hold me in your embrace as we step
      through swirling galaxies,
Dizzy with love and the
      scent of your breath.

Lay with me
      under clouds of stars
      with the breeze of starlight
      and your fingers through my hair.

Gaze with me;
      eyes filled with laughter
      swollen with tears
      raining sweet drops of passion.

Stay with me!
Let our moments never cease
      but fill with love and hope,
Resting on the air
      of our living.

Amen,
      Amen.

 
 
Prayer of Destiny

Christ has no body now but yours;
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
He looks with compassion on this world;
Yours are the feet with which
He walks to do good;
Yours are the hands with which
He blesses all the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Attributed to Teresa of Avila

  
     
Copyright © 2004-2011 by Mark Sibley Jones