Prayers for Everyone

Prayers can be offered by one or more persons. Whether we’re praying alone or with others, we are always in Circle with those we love, including the One who has countless Names: a few are, the Divine, the Beloved, the Beloved One, the Holy One.
(Bold said together if more than one person in the Circle)
     Opening Prayer
Holy One, be present with us today. We ask that you walk with us through our daily journey. Encircle us with your presence; for you are our light in the darkness and our assurance in fearful times. When we are uncertain of your presence, we look for you in the rising sun, the changing moon, the singing birds, the gentle animals, the tree’s shade, for all of nature mirrors your calming love.
Holy One, hear our prayers and be present with us today.
     A Reading--Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent and The World Wisdom Bible: A New Testament for a Global Spirituality, both edited by R. Shapiro, contain readings from many traditions, for example, you might use one of these:
            Where can I escape from Your spirit?
            Where can I flee from Your presence?
            If I ascend to heaven, you are there.
            If I descend into Sheol, You are there.
            If I take wind at dawn and come to rest on the western horizon,
            Even there Your hand will guide me;
            Your right hand will hold me close.
            If I say, “Darkness will conceal me, and night will hide me from You,”
                        Dark is not dark for You;
                        Night is as bright as day;
            Darkness and light are the same. (Hebrew Bible, Psalm 139:7-12)

     People were bringing even infants to Jesus that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (New Testament, Luke 18:15-17)

     I am not talking of a reunion with the Beloved since I have never been away from the Beloved. (Unnamed Sufi poet.)

     I am the same to all beings. I favor none, and I hate none. But those who worship Me devotedly, they live in Me, and I in them. Even the most sinful, if they worship Me with a whole heart, shall be considered righteous, for they are treading the right path. In them they shall attain spirituality, and Eternal peace shall be theirs. (Bhagavad Gita 9:29-31).
     Silence following the reading—(start with one minute and slowly increase to five minutes. Set your phone with a gentle chime allowing your mind to rest into the silence.)
     Following silence: A prayer for safety in uncertain times:
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And fire with all the strength it hath,
And lightening with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their paths,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness;
All these I place,
by the Divine’s help and grace
between myself, and the powers of darkness!
(slightly adapted from “St Patrick’s hymn before Tara.” Most likely a pre-Christian fragment; “Yeats the Poet” by Edward Larrissy, 24-25.)
     Prayers and Intercessions
Beloved One, we thank you for your love and presence in our life, our home, our world.
You are the Beloved.
We love you for the feast that is life;
Friendships and laughter,
Intimacy and trust,
Moments of discovering deep truth,
Hidden potentials we never knew we had,
And beauty--
Serene beauty and rugged beauty,
The world you have crafted.
And the words, the sounds, the colors
With which people reflect and explore life.
You are the Beloved and we love you for not leaving us alone.
(adapted from “The Iona Worship Book”)
Beloved One, we thank you for your love and presence in our life, our home, our world.
 
Beloved One, we seek your guidance;
Through the troubling days we face.
We pray for our leaders,
Grant them wisdom.
For the uncertainty we encounter,
For the difficult decisions we must make.
Beloved One, we seek your guidance.
 
Beloved One, we pray for humankind.
For those who are suffering from illness. (Mention those who are on your heart)
And those who care for them. (Mention caregivers and medical professionals you know)
We pray for those who have died. (Mention those you know who have died.)
And those who grieve their loss. (Mention those who are grieving.)
For our health. (Mention your own name(s).)
And the restoration of health for all our planets inhabitants.
Beloved One, we pray for humankind.
 
Beloved One, we pray for Mother Earth.
To restore her wholeness,
To renew her well-being,
To refresh her air, her water, her plants, her animals.
Beloved One, we pray for Mother Earth.
      Add your own prayers. What’s on your mind? Who is on your mind? What do you need?
      Closing Prayer
We pray that the Divine will be present
In the darkness before dawn,
In the waiting and uncertainty
Where fear and courage join hands,
Conflict and caring link arms,
And the sun-rises over barbed wire.
We pray that the Beloved One is with us;
The Divinity who sits down in our midst to share our humanity.
We affirm a faith that takes us beyond the safe place
Into action, into vulnerability,
And into the streets.
We commit ourselves to work for change,
And put ourselves on the line,
To bear responsibility, take risks,
Live powerfully and face humiliation;
To stand with those on the edge,
To choose life
And be used by the Spirit
For the sake of the Holy One’s suffering world. Amen.
                        An Interfaith Prayer of Faith (adapted from “The Iona Worship Book”).

                           Mother God mandala created by Joanne Priest