Prayers for all occasions
Prayer is an important and integral part of the Christian faith. We pray to communicate with God, to seek God’s direction for our lives, and so our relationship with God will grow and become stronger.
God hears and answers all prayers and we should pray that His will be done. However, He may not answer in the way we expect or desire.
Jesus prayed and he wants us to pray too; He taught us how to pray by providing us with a model, the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Luke 11:1-4 / Matthew 6:9-13). The table below provides some thoughts to help you to use the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ as a model for your own prayers.
| Matthew 6:9-13 (New King James Version) | ||
| 9 | In this manner, therefore, pray: | |
| Our Father in heaven, | Open your prayers with praise to God, recognising that God is our Father | |
| Hallowed be Your name. | Hallowed meaning holy. Thank God for his grace and blessings He has given us.Praise God by telling Him He is holy and worthy of our praise. | |
| 10 | Your kingdom come. | Pray that people will come to know Jesus and look forward to Jesus returning to the earth as prophesied in the Bible. |
|
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. |
Pray that God’s will be done in our communities, country and the world. | |
| 11 | Give us this day our daily bread. | Pray that God will provide for your needs and the needs of others. |
| 12 |
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. |
Confess your sins and pray for forgiveness, at the same time forgive others.Debt meaning we owe something, or ‘sin’. We all need continual forgiveness for the debts (sin) in our lives.
Jesus died for us knowing we could never repay Him, so He is asking us to forgive others when they debt again us. |
| 13 |
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one. |
Ask God to help us stay away from temptation which leads us to do wrong. |
| For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. | Finish your prayer by acknowledging that God is in control and praising Him. | |
Prayers for reflection
Prayer of a Seventeenth Century Nun
Lord,
Thou knowest better than I know myself,
that I am growing older and will some day 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 the 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 grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains,
but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility,
and a lessening cocksureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memory of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet.
I do not want to be a saint
(some of them are so hard to live with)
but 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 me, O Lord,
the grace to tell them so.
A Prayer to Draw Closer to God
Gracious God,
Send us anywhere in this world you would have us go,
only go thou with us.
Place upon us any burden you desire
only stand by us to sustain us.
Break any tie that binds us
except the tie that binds us to thee.
And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us now and for evermore.
Collect for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
The Book of Common Prayer (1662)
O God,
who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
Grant to us such strength and protection,
as may support us in all dangers,
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer of St Richard of Chichester
Thanks be to thee, O Lord Christ,
for all the benefits which thou hast given us;
for all the pains and insults
which thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful redeemer,
friend and brother,
may we know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly;
for thine own sake.
Prayer of St Ignatius Loyola
Teach us,
good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for any reward
save that of knowing that we do thy will.
A Prayer for Peace
O God, source of all holy desires, right counsels and just actions, grant to your servants that peace which the world cannot give, so that our hearts may be wholly devoted to your service, and all our days, freed from dread of our enemies, may be passed in quietness under your protection.