do you have a favourite prayer?

[ZTay]

I always like to send people to their bibles whenever I can with the hope that once they are there they might tarry! But here it is:

"O send out your light and your truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto your holy hill, and to your tabernacles."

[papillondemai]

I like the following one that we used to say for Grace. It goes something like this:

Thanks for the bread
Thanks for the meat
Good God
Let's eat.

[cacian]

I like the following one that we used to say for Grace. It goes something like this:

Thanks for the bread
Thanks for the meat
Good God
Let's eat.

interesting it makes me think and what if you are a vegetarian

[Bonsai Ent]

I'm fond of this one by Thomas Merton


Dear God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself...
and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But, I believe this: I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
I hope I have that desire in everything I do.
I hope I never do anything apart from that desire.
And, I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road...
though I may know nothing about it at the time.
Therefore, I will trust You always for though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because
I know You will never leave me to face my troubles all alone. Amen

[Nick Capozzoli]

The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:13). This is the answer Jesus gave when He was asked how we should pray.

It is a beautifully simple prayer. Very few words, all significant.

This may seem like an all-comforting "feel good" prayer, but it has a rather hard edge in the lines:

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

We should think about what this sentence means. It seems to mean that God will forgive our sins against Him, but
as a condition requires that we forgive the sins of others against us, or perhaps that He will forgive us only in
proportion to our forgiveness towards others.

Many of us say this prayer without thinking about this as we forgive those who trespass against us qualifier...
I certainly did that for many years.

[cacian]

The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:13). This is the answer Jesus gave when He was asked how we should pray.

It is a beautifully simple prayer. Very few words, all significant.

This may seem like an all-comforting "feel good" prayer, but it has a rather hard edge in the lines:

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

We should think about what this sentence means. It seems to mean that God will forgive our sins against Him, but
as a condition requires that we forgive the sins of others against us, or perhaps that He will forgive us only in
proportion to our forgiveness towards others.

Many of us say this prayer without thinking about this as we forgive those who trespass against us qualifier...
I certainly did that for many years.

interesting quote this because to me it should say:
if you trespass then someone will trespass back on you which means no need for forgiveness.

the idea that one can trespass then ask for forgiveness because someone else has trespassed on them is a double edge sword in other word hypocrisy.

in other words:
don't do and I won't be done to you and god is left out of it.

[Gladys]

From Soren Kierkegaard the intimate prayer:

Thou loving Father, everything goes wrong for me and yet Thou art love. I have even failed in holding fast to this--that Thou art love, and yet Thou art love. Wherever I turn, the only thing that I cannot do without is that Thou art love, and that is why, even when I have not held fast to the faith that Thou art love, I believe that Thou dost permit through love that it should be so, O Infinite Love.

[Melanie]

Winonna sings the prayer, "I Can Only Imagine":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Klrc0YuikM

"I Can Only Imagine"

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

[cafolini]

Clues are not dues. I can only imagine. An imagination without knowledge is like a toilet without water. The Grace of God be with you in this genuine mystery.

[cacian]

Clues are not dues. I can only imagine. An imagination without knowledge is like a toilet without water. The Grace of God be with you in this genuine mystery.

funnily enough imagination is not taught it is free given. it is up to imagine the way we want to. no need of education when it comes to imagination and that is the beauty of it.

[cafolini]

funnily enough imagination is not taught it is free given. it is up to imagine the way we want to. no need of education when it comes to imagination and that is the beauty of it.

Still a toilet without water. That's the ugliness.

[Melanie]

“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess:

Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity.

Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. But thou knowest, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends.

Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains -- they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing.

I will not ask thee for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint -- it is so hard to live with some of them -- but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces.

Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so.

Amen”
― Margot Benary-Isbert

[Calidore]

“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess:

...

― Margot Benary-Isbert

Whoops.

[Melanie]

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean living."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I'm worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.

[YesNo]

Last week I was reading Pam Grout's E-Squared, 2013, which contained experiments one could do to show that "your thoughts create your reality." Some of the experiments I tried actually worked.

Anyway, she had this to say about prayer, page 84:

People often tell me, "I dont pray. It's a waste of time. It's like believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy." My response? It's impossible to stop praying. Can't be done.

I think her point was that our thoughts are prayers, no matter how foolish or profound. So for each of us our favorite prayer would be what we think about the most.