Prayer for the Day - March 2015

[MajestyJo]

MARCH

It is not only amidst our joys and hopes
but also in our grief and anguish, Lord,
that you are with us.
Sustain us today in your love.

As the month of March begins, we can
pause for a moment in silence to think
of some of the signs that remind us that
winter is past, and spring is upon us -
signs such as daffodils and other bulbs
that have flowered…
(pause)

Let us pray:
Lord of life,
we give you thanks
for the beauty of creation,
and we rejoice
when we see signs of new life.
May we be Spring to others
and never Winter.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

The story of Jonah and the whale is found in the Old Testament. It is probably best read as a parable - a story with a message.

“I could die with anger,” said Jonah. But God
said: “You are angry - not at the loss of a
single person - but at the loss of a plant
that you only cared for because it was doing
something for you. Learn the lesson
that I care for and treasure all people -
without exception. Learn the lesson that,
unlike you, I’m not prejudiced against people
who are different from you. Learn the
lesson that I’m more kind and merciful
than you will ever be. Learn from your experience.”

My prayer is that we may we learn from our experiences in today. mj

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Lord, you have watched me grow
in my mother’s womb,
and I know that you love
all that you have made.
Help me to transform
my difficulties and disabilities
into opportunities for growth.
Shine the light of your Spirit on me
that I may grow
as the person you are calling me to be.
Inspire me
to develop the talents
you have given me
for the benefit and the service
of those people
you have placed in my life.
May each of us
become a blessing for others.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Father,
into your hands I place my successes.
Into your hands
I also place my failures,
and I pray that, through your Spirit,
I may face the challenges of life
with courage and determination.
Help me to think anew
and see things more broadly
than in terms of “success”
and “failure”.
Lead me always to trust
and place myself confidently
in your hands.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let’s pray:

in the words of St Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument
of your peace:
where there is hatred,
let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning
that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray that people be inspired to
appreciate all that is good and beneficial
around them. Let us pray that good
decisions be reached concerning the environment
- decisions that look to our
heritage as well as to our needs.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.

Let us pray for those who are concerned
about their health and their future. We
pray for people in physical pain, for those
who make little progress, and for those
who will never get better.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer

Let us pray for all who are sad, and for
all who have had bitter experiences in
their lives. Let us pray that we may be
protected from all that may harm us.
Lord, in your mercy - hear our prayer.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Speak to him, all people of the earth,
because his love is great
and he is always faithful.
(Psalm 117)

[MajestyJo]

Prayer for March 8th

Let’s remind ourselves in silence that God is with us and we are in his presence…

(pause…)

[MajestyJo]

Let’s pause and think for a moment how
small we are in the Universe, yet we can
read in the Bible that God has written
the name of each of us on the palm of
his hand…
(pause…)

Let us pray:

Lord God,
Creator of light,
at the rising of your sun each morning
let the greatest of all lights - your love
- rise, like the sun, within my heart.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray
that each of us develops
the skills and talents
we have been given,
and that we remain open and sensitive
to all that is around us.
Lord, hear us - Lord, graciously hear us.

Let us pray that we may live in such a way
that we use things and love people,
instead of using people
and loving things.
Lord, hear us - Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray that we may value and treasure
all who come into our lives
- not just for what they can do,
but for who they are.
Let us pray that we live in such a way
as to express appreciation
by the way we look at people
and in what we say.
Lord, hear us - Lord, graciously hear us.

[MajestyJo]

Let’s reflect and pray:

I shall pass through this world but once.
Therefore, any good that I can do,
any kind act that I can perform
for any fellow-creature,
let me do it now.
Let me not delay or omit it,
for I shall not pass this way again.

(attributed to Stephen Grellet)

Eagle,-- A Sacred Messenger from Heaven and, the, Eye of the Sun. The eagle lives in the spirit realm and it carries prayers to the Creator and returns with a vision. The eagle possesses healing spiritual power and their magical feathers assist medicine men and women in connecting with Spirit for healing. Eagles will mate on the wind and they symbolize the power of creation when released from the confines of the Earthly realm,with a lesson of staying grounded when soaring high.,The eagle teaches that with limited vision we may not see the things that lie before us and how to look at life from a higher perspective.

From Spirit Walk Ministry

http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/eagle.htm

[MajestyJo]

In Amsterdam, the capital of Germanoccupied
Holland in the Second World
War, Anne Frank and her family and four
other Jews hid from the Nazis in concealed
rooms in what had been her father’s
offices. For more than two years
they were secure there, unknown to
those who worked in the building, except
for a friend who arranged to get food
to them. They were betrayed in 1944,
and all eight were sent to the death
camps. Only Anne’s father - Otto Frank -
survived and returned.

Anne died of typhus in the concentration
camp of Bergen-Belsen on this day,
12th March, 1945, aged 15. Only weeks
later the camp was liberated.
3 Anne Frank’s story is now known to millions
across the world because of the diary
that she kept about her innermost
thoughts during those years in hiding.
Her father discovered the diary on his
return to their hiding-place, once the war
ended. ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ has sold
25 million copies, and has been printed
in over 50 languages.
T
his is an excerpt from Anne’s diary,
dated Saturday 15th July 1944:

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped
all my ideals because they seem so absurd
and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep
them, because in spite of everything I still
believe that people are really good at heart.
I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation
consisting of confusion, misery, and
death. I see the world gradually being
turned into a wilderness. I hear the everapproaching
thunder, which will destroy
us, too. I can feel the suffering of millions
and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think
that it will all come right, that this cruelty,
too, will end, and that peace and tranquility
will return again. In the meantime, I must
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped
all my ideals because they seem so absurd
and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep
them, because in spite of everything I still
believe that people are really good at heart.
I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation
consisting of confusion, misery, and
death. I see the world gradually being
turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever approaching
thunder, which will destroy
us, too. I can feel the suffering of millions
and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think
that it will all come right, that this cruelty,
too, will end, and that peace and tranquility
will return again. In the meantime, I must
uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will
come when I shall be able to carry them
out.”

Let us pause for a moment in silent
prayer, thinking of all who suffer prejudice
and persecution because of their
race, colour, religion or political views…

(pause…)

God our Father,
you call each of us by name
and you know
the innermost thoughts
that we keep to ourselves.
Stay with us, day by day,
in good times and in bad.
Empower us with your Spirit
that we may grow in character
and develop a true sense of values
and ideals
through following Jesus,
your Son and our Brother.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Let us pray:

Lord,
inspire us to act justly, love tenderly,
and walk humbly with you, our God.
Breathe upon us your Spirit of peace
that we may be
bearers of reconciliation
wherever you place us.
May there be peace in our hearts,
in our homes, in our land,
and between all people.
Amen.

[MajestyJo]

Born on this day in 1879 was Albert Einstein,
who became one of the most brilliant
scientists. He found that his studies
of science led him closer to God, and he
wrote:

“The most beautiful thing
that we can experience
is the MYSTERIOUS.
It is the only source of true art and science.
And those to whom this emotion is a stranger
- those who can no longer
pause in WONDER
or stand wrapt in AWE -
they are already dead:
their eyes are shut.”


Let us pray:
Father, preserve in us
a sense of wonder
at the marvels of life.
May all that we see around us
lead us to you. Amen.

[MajestyJo]

I can think of times
when others have let me down.

I remember when I have let others down.

I can think of times
when people expected too much of me.

I remember
when I haven’t expected enough
of myself.

I can think of times
when I haven’t felt appreciated.

I remember when I haven’t praised others
for the good use of their talents.

And so we pray:

May we learn
to value and appreciate one another,
bringing out the best
in those around us.
May what is not good
die within us,
and may we bring life to all we meet.
Amen.