A Prayer seeking guidance

Matter of life and debt?

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And another website containing prayers for those worried about debt

Lord God, your will is to bring hope and a future to all your people.
Trusting in your steadfast love,
we ask your guidance as we work out a household budget.
Help us to learn to let no debt remain outstanding,
except the debt to love one another,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Verses from Psalm 139

O Lord, you have searched me out and known me;
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark out my journeys and my resting place
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Where can I go then from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead me,
your right hand hold me fast.

A Prayer for wise financial stewardship

Lord Jesus Christ,
by taking human flesh you sanctified material things
to be a means of your grace;
grant us wisdom in our attitude to money,
and a generous heart in the use of the resources entrusted to us,
that by faithful stewardship we may glorify you. Amen.

Adapted from a prayer from the C of E Central Board of Finance
© The Archbishops' Council

Prayers for those worried about debt

Father, we pray for the many who are trapped by growing burdens of debt,
who see no way out, and who despair for their future:
give them courage to tackle the problems they face,
clarity in taking decisions which will turn their situation around,
and faith that, as they cry to you in their trouble,
you will deliver them from their distress;
through Jesus Chrst our Lord. Amen.

God of power,
you are strong to save
and you never fail those who trust in you.
Keep under your protection all who suffer as a result of debt:
help them through their time of darkness,
give wisdom to all who seek to help,
and bring them to know true freedom
in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers of pentitence

Let us confess to God the sins and shortcomings of the world;
its pride, its selfishness, its greed;
its evil divisions and hatreds.
Let us confess our share in what is wrong,
and our failure to seek and establish that peace
which God wills for his children.

Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy
forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly,
love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God.  Amen.

May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.   Amen.

Prayers for a troubled world 

GOD of love, turn our hearts to your ways; and give us peace. Amen.

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.

                                                           St. Francis of Assisi

A Prayer For Refugees

ALMIGHTY and merciful God,
whose Son became a refugee and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today are fleeing from danger,
homeless and hungry.
Bless those who work to bring them relief;
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts;
and guide the nations of the world towards that day when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mercy

LORD,
remember Christ your Son
who is peace itself and who has washed away our hatred with his blood.
Because you love all people, look with mercy on us.
Banish the violence and evil within us,
and in answer to our prayers restore tranquility and peace. Amen.

A Prayer for the Leaders of the Nations

O GOD our heavenly Father,
whose love sets no boundaries and whose strength is in service;
grant to the leaders of the nations wisdom,
courage and insight at this time of darkness and fear.
Give to all who exercise authority determination to defend the principles of freedom, love and tolerance,
strength to protect and safeguard the innocent and clarity of vision to guide the world into the paths of justice and peace.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Reconciliation

GRACIOUS God,
ruling the earth and its people not by terror but in love;
we worship you.
We confess that too often our words hurt others and our deeds are selfish;
forgive us.
In this time of uncertainty and fear,
help us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us,
in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Lord, Sometimes I'm Afraid To Pray

Lord, sometimes I'm afraid to pray.
It scares me,
this whole business of talking to you.
Listening to you.
Who am I ...?
And what does it mean?
It's a heavy thing, Lord,
to be in contact with you.
It would be all right
if I could just use the passkey,
open the letterbox,
drop in my requests,
like a mail order catalogue,
and wait for the parcel to come.

But when I pray
I hear you talking back to me.
I hear you saying
„You've used the words.
Now what are you going to do about it?"
Confronting, searching.
I think of Jesus, in the garden.
I catch a glimpse of what prayer meant to him.
Sweat ... like blood ...
Agonising, painful.
Prayer from the depths of his being
whether for others, or himself.
Prayer beyond easy words.
Commitment.
To the cross. And beyond.

Lord, teach me to pray
in his name.
In his spirit.
Not only believing prayer.
Not simply believing you'll do something about it.
But identifying prayer.
Putting myself into it,
standing alongside you, Lord
and committing myself to do all I can
to bring about what I'm praying for.

Lord, help me.
When I pray for peace, help me not to create dissension.
When I pray for my neighbour stir me up to help him.
When I pray „Your Kingdom come" inspire me to
share in its building.
Help me put my will where my mouth is.
And not to shift onto your shoulders
the things I can do something about myself.

Eddie Askew  (Disguises of Love)

A Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila

Lord,
Thou knowest better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking
I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to
straighten out everybody's affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody;
helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom,
it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord,
that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person
is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.

St. Teresa of Avila

Lord it's so easy to give in

Lord, it's so easy to give in.
To let the clouds gather
dark and threatening,
whipped up by the winds of my own fear.
Mists of my own making
blotting out the light and warmth of your presence.
So easy, in mouth-dry anxiety,
to feel alone.
Abandoned. Unprotected.

To roll in nettlebeds of self-pity,
the pain spreading as vision contracts,
until my horizon is described
by the jangled nerve endings of my despair.

Estranged. Alien.
Each accustomed act, new,
unknown, frightening.

And yet, Lord, you are near.
I hold on to your promise
„For I am with you, always."
Always. Unconditional.
Words echoing
through the deep caverns of my doubt,
sometimes distant, sometimes near.
I reach out
feeling in the dark for reassurance.
And we meet. Touch.
Your hand held out too. First.
I hold on, warming my cold, fearful fingers
in the glow of your presence.
I hear your voice,
speaking my language.
Words I understand.
And I realise
there are no stange lands to you.
Your presence everywhere.
Your presence, home.
Thank you.

Eddie Askew  (No Strange Land)

Thank You

God,
thank You for giving me another day.
Let me face my troubles today
-the big and the small -
with a happy heart
filled with Your unending love.
Let me appreciate the moments of joy
 You send me this day.
 Let me see the cares of others
as an opportunity to bring
Your great compassion to those who most need it.
And God, I know that You see and know all things
- all of the world's loveliness, and all of its harshness, too.
So on this day that You have given me,
 I ask that I may bring Your joy with me
as I share myself with others.
And I pray that You will be warmed
by the happiness of Your children.
Finally, God, let me never forget
that in all things, in gladness or sorrow,
You who are all love and joy and hope
are always by my side.
Amen.
The Christophers

This Day...

This day, Father,
may my eyes be opened
to see the beauty
in all that is ordinary - yet special -
around me.
May the glory of all that you have made
remind me of your presence
and lead me closer to you.

May my horizon this day, Lord,
not be so foreshortened that I notice little.
Instead, open my eyes
that I may see afar and above
as well as in front and beneath me.
Lead me to keep my life in perspective and balance
and discover that the thread of your presence
is interwoven through the events and people of this day.

Lead me this day, Lord,
not only to be of service to others
but to ensure
that I find quiet moments
for myself and for you.
(Author unknown)

In Praise of God

You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, Merciful Saviour.