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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 24, 2015 9:28:21 GMT -5
Lord God, I thank you for all the love you have shown me: the love of family, the love of friends and fellow believers, and above all the inestimable love of my Lord Jesus Christ, which showers me and washes away the soil of this world. Like a great waterfall it gushes without ceasing, overwhelming every sin and pain the world can dish out.
Forgive my failures to love you fully in return, Lord. Forgive me for all the times I have disappointed those who love me or have disappointed you by failing those who might not even know who I am, but whom you have given me to love or help. Where I have brought sadness, anger or pain into the world, I pray that you forgive me, even if those who I have hurt will not or cannot.
And lead me henceforth to follow your example in all that I do, showing forth your love and grace in my every word and act. Let me be as constant and steadfast as Christ, even to the point of pain and death, should I ever be called to such sacrifice. Let me wash the feet of the world as you did, Holy Lord, for if there was no humility too great for you in your life, who am I to puff up in pride?
And I pray that you will accept my small and tarnished loving without judgment, but by your grace; and that your Holy Spirit will guide me in my imperfect love, to strengthen it, that you may show through me to the word exactly who you are.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 25, 2015 5:41:13 GMT -5
Father, I ask you to help me to be generous when I think of the attitude and actions of others. Forgiving someone isn't an easy option, and I know that forgiveness isn't somehow pretending that something wrong hasn't happened. For what I have done wrong, forgive me Father. Let me remember your words, that as we forgive others, so shall we be forgiven, and to live in obedience to your word.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 26, 2015 7:25:52 GMT -5
Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage; I humbly pray that we may always prove ourselves a people who remember your favor and are glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way.
Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought here from so many different lands and languages. Grant the spirit of wisdom those to whom we entrust with the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to your law, we may demonstrate your praise among the nations of the earth. In times of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in days of trouble, do not let our trust in you fail; all which I ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 27, 2015 7:54:50 GMT -5
Father, may our human family not become separated from you by building barriers of race, color, class, or beliefs. Inspire us to recognize that we are all made in your image and likeness, so that we may grow in appreciation of all people, and encourage each other to grow in pride in who we are and who we are called to be. May we recognize your Son in our midst, and live truly as brothers and sisters. I pray this in the name of Christ, in remembrance of His love for the Samaritan woman at the well.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 28, 2015 7:59:00 GMT -5
Lord, I come before you today and I thank You for all the blessings that You have given me. Many times my life is so full of busy work that I neglect my relationship with You: for that I am truly sorry. I know that You never neglect me, for if You did my very life would cease to be. Continue to pull me to Yourself, guide me in my journey, and hold me close in Your bosom until the day I come home to be with You forever. Be with me, and with those who pray with me, for although we are in different places around the world, we gather spiritually in Your name. May we feel your presence among us. In Jesus precious name I pray.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 29, 2015 7:21:57 GMT -5
God, as you gave us the sun to lighten our days, so you have given us your Word to lighten our minds and our souls. I pray that you will pour out on me your Spirit as I pray today, that my heart and mind may be opened to your Word, and that I may learn and accept your will for my life.
Shine within my heart, loving God, the pure light of your divine knowledge; open the eyes of my mind and the ears of my heart to receive your Word, this day and always,
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 30, 2015 8:42:58 GMT -5
Compassionate Lord, Your mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge; ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You completely, admire You fully.
Through grace let my will respond to You, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Your free love alone enables me to serve You. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Your choice gifts; here is my blind understanding, chase away its mists of ignorance.
Amen.
from a Puritan prayer, 18th century New England.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 1, 2015 7:25:59 GMT -5
Dear Holy God, I remember today all those who spend their lives denouncing Christ; the sarcastic atheists who make fun of believers; the people whose careers are built on trying to discredit your Word; and all those who follow false, dead-end religions. Help me to expunge any anger I may feel when attacked by such people, or when I hear their misguided words. Let your Spirit be strong in me, to educate my tongue, if I am called upon to respond to one of them; and let me always answer in love and serenity.
Most of all, heavenly Father, forgive them; if it be Your will, bring the light of your salvation to them, heal them of their bitterness and self-absorption, that any and all of them might find the beauty of life in Christ, and be torn away from the clutches of Satan. In the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 2, 2015 8:17:15 GMT -5
O blessed Christ, my teacher, my savior, my God: You have commanded me to love others as myself. Yet it is so easy to find the faults in others, for I see their outside and compare it against what is inside me. I have inflated my goodness and importance in my own mind, but have judged others for the smallest shortcoming, and I am filled by foolish pride.
I vow by this prayer that I will strive to follow your Word, to forgive all who have injured me, to turn loose the petty resentments and grudges that poison the world with hatred, and to overlook the faults of others; and I ask to be pardoned wherever I have done injury to my brothers and sisters, who are your beloved children even though they, like me, are sinners. And I vow, when I fall short of your commandment, to seek out and confess my wrongdoing. Forgive me, Holy Christ, and help me to ever amend my life; this I pray, with faith in the grace you have promised to the penitent sinner.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 3, 2015 8:06:31 GMT -5
Heavenly Father, give me grace to endeavor after a truly Christian spirit to seek to attain that temper of forbearance and patience of which my blessed savior has set me the highest example, and which, while it prepares me for the spiritual happiness of the life to come, will secure the best enjoyment of what the world can give. Incline me, O God, to think humbly of myself, to be severe only in the examination of my own conduct, to consider my fellow creatures with kindness, and to judge of all they say and do with that charity that I would desire from them myself. In Christ's name I pray,
Amen.
Prayer Not to Judge Others (by Jane Austen)
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 4, 2015 8:00:31 GMT -5
O God, the creator and preserver of all mankind, I humbly pray to you for all sorts and conditions of humanity; that it might please you to make your Word known to them and bring your saving health to all nations. In particular I pray for the entirety of your church, in all of its many forms; that it may be guided and governed by your Holy Spirit, and that all who profess your name and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth. May all of us live in that unity of spirit which our faith in Christ provides to us, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.
Finally, I commend to your fatherly goodness all those who are ill or in distress, in their mind, body, or circumstances. May it please you to comfort and relieve them in accordance with their needs, giving them patience during their suffering, and a fortunate outcome to all of their problems. And this I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, who was always pleased to relieve the suffering of those he encountered.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 5, 2015 8:03:00 GMT -5
Heavenly Father, I have spent my life constantly wanting more. Let me be content. If I am having trouble paying my bills, let me look to those who live in cardboard shacks without clean water; if my vision is poor, let me help the blind; if my mobility is impaired, let me visit a prison filled with those who can walk and run; if I envy the young, let me pray for those who were killed by their mothers in the womb.
I too often look to those who have something I do not, or more of something I want; let me give thanks for the great bounty you have showered upon me, oh Lord, remembering in my envy and pain that all I have is a gift from you. In the name of Christ I pray,
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 6, 2015 4:30:17 GMT -5
Heavenly God, you are the King eternal, immortal and invisible. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God; the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In times long past did you lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands: Yet they will perish, but you will endure; yes, all of them will grow old like a garment, as a coat you will change them, and they will be changed; but you are the same, and your years will have no end.
You alone are God, and do not change; and because of this, we may hope to be preserved. Are you not from eternity, O Lord our God, our Holy One? The everlasting God, even the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who does not faint nor grow weary? There is no searching out your understanding, mighty Lord, but by our praise we may glorify your Holy Name, now and all our lives.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 7, 2015 5:04:16 GMT -5
Almighty God, who alone gave me the breath of life, and alone can keep alive in me the holy desires your Spirit brings; I pray to you, in the name of your infinite compassion, to sanctify my thoughts and endeavors this day; that I may not begin to act without a pure intention or continue it without your blessing. And grant that, having the eyes of my mind opened to behold things invisible and unseen, I may in heart be inspired by your wisdom, and in work be upheld by your strength, and in the end be accepted by you as your faithful servant; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 8, 2015 6:39:42 GMT -5
Lord God, let me not put my trust in the words of men, for their minds are weak and their tongues are tainted by the world. Let me not put my trust in the thoughts of my mind, for I am filled with sin and self-deceit; but let me test everything having to do with faith against our only true teacher, Jesus Christ, and the true Word of God that He inspired the apostles to write in the Bible.
In Christ's name, I pray,
Amen.
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