Do you sometimes have trouble finding the right words when you pray? I know I do. That’s why I love to use The Lord’s Prayer as a guideline—after all, it is the Lord Himself who teaches us how to pray.
It might be a bit unusual to find nothing but a prayer here. I wrote this prayer recently for our Anglican Church in Arnhem Nijmegen, and we prayed together online, which is a strange but beautiful thing in these Corona times. So, feel free to use this prayer in your (possibly online) community.
It can be very helpful to use this prayer for Contemplative Writing.
May this prayer find its way till the ends of the earth and God’s Kingdom come!
(You can pray the letters in bold together out loud.
You can assign somebody to read the rest, or read it silently).
Let us pray using the words which our Lord has taught us.
- Our Father in Heaven,
We praise You as our Father, and we thank You for our adoption as Your children. It is pure grace and a marvelous mystery. We pray that You teach us how to grow in our understanding of this great gift. Help us to look to You and to trust in You as our heavenly Father.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer
- Hallowed be Your Name.
We have come together here to praise Your glorious Name. You have brought us together, and we ask you for an awareness of Your Holy presence here among us. Help us to glorify Your name in all we do.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer
- Your Kingdom come,
We thank You for the Church, Your body in this world. Today, we gather in all different places, and though we are many and scattered, yet we are One, because we belong to You. May Your Kingdom come through the words and deeds of Christians throughout the world.
Hear our prayer
Dear Lord,
We pray for the poor in spirit, We thank You for affirming that theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We pray for those who mourn, who lost loved ones, either through a divorce, a sickness, distance, or death. We thank You for promising that they will be comforted. Comfort those who mourn, oh Lord.
We thank You for the meek; may their lives be an example for us. They will inherit the earth.
We pray for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. We pray for Christians who face persecution and oppression for the sake of Your Kingdom. Give them the grace of perseverance, and inspire us towards the same. There is so much injustice, Lord; give us eyes to see it and courage to stand up against it. We thank You for your promise that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. Fulfill Your word, dear Lord.
In Your Mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for the merciful, for doctors, nurses, and for everyone who is involved in the battle against Corona in one way or another. We thank You for saying that they shall be shown mercy. We believe you, Lord, and we look forward to seeing this fulfilled.
We pray for the pure in heart, wherever they are on Your good earth. You see the desires of our hearts; purify our thoughts and make us holy so that we can see You, Lord our God and Redeemer.
We pray for the peacemakers; may there be more of them so we can see more of Your children around us.
We pray for those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Lord, You know all those who suffer in hidden jails in closed countries where injustice is a daily fact. Lord, in your mercy, show them Your love. May they be aware of Your love surrounding them.
We pray for those who are insulted, for those who are persecuted and falsely accused of all kinds of evil because of You, our King. We pray their perspective may be that they have a great reward in heaven, as you promised. We pray that they may be encouraged by beautiful hints, whether big or small, that you are the Author of their lives. Encourage them, Lord.
The only thing that we can do here is pray for all Your people on this earth. We bring them before Your throne and trust them to Your tender care.
We pray for countries that are hardly mentioned in the news despite the difficulties they face.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
- Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Lord of heaven and earth, we pray that Your will be done. Shape in us the intention and ability to be instruments in Your hands.
We do not always recognize Your will in the midst of difficulties.
Give us peace when we struggle,
Give us strength when we feel weak.
Give us hope when we lose sight of Your Goodness.
Give us courage when we feel afraid.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer
- Give us today our daily bread
- And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
We pray that You provide for our needs, and we pray for hearts and opportunities to help those who need it. We pray for the ministry among those who are poor, hungry, and destitute.
We know that every good gift from You is grace because we have sinned in word, deed, and thought. We ask forgiveness. We pray that You teach us to forgive those who have wronged us. Help us to be gracious, as You have been merciful to us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
- Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
We pray for Your protection from the powers of darkness. Help us to fight the good fight and to stand firm in the faith. Deliver us from evil in its many different forms. We pray for deliverance from the plague of the Corona virus. We pray for healing and for wisdom for medical professionals and the government. We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, and spirit. May they experience Your healing, Your presence, and hope.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
May the earth be filled with Your glory as the water covers the sea. As we continue our worship today, we realize that we are not alone. Together with all Your holy angels and with all those who have gone before us, we praise You:
- For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
P.S. Is there anything you want to discuss about this prayer? Why not share?
This prayer is exceptionally good for Contemplative Writing, either with a few others or alone.
Kind regards,
Janneke
P.S. Do you know that we’re already in days 67-74 of the 100 words a day /100-day Challenge?
In this post, I play with a Rule of Life.
This is around the topic: Dear Ones Around you. (Hold On)
Just wait till I let you in on my list of inspiring books on this topic…
So, stay tuned if you made it this far and are still interested.
Well done!
Till next week.