21st Century – Page 7 – A Collection of Prayers

A Prayer Reflection on Psalm 73

comeuntome Lord Jesus,
your parting words to your disciples
were, “Surely I am with you always,”
and then you ascended
to sit at your Father’s right hand.

“Yet I am always with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
With your guidance you lead me,
and afterward, you will take me to glory.
Who else is there for me in heaven?
And besides you, I desire no one else on earth..”

You came to bear our infirmities,
griefs, and sorrows.
You healed many people of their sicknesses
of body and spirit,
and you restored sinners
with your words of forgiveness:
“Neither do I condemn you…”
“Take heart! Your sins are forgiven..”

“My flesh and my heart fail,
but God is the rock of my heart
and my portion forever.“

Draw me nearer to you.
Fix my heart on your Word,
your commands,
your forgiveness,
your promise.

“Those who are far from you will perish…
As for me, God’s nearness is good for me.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so that I can tell about all your works..”

Remind me of your Word, your presence,
…and that nothing else matters.

A Prayer in Need: Lord, Have Mercy

Lord, have mercy.

In all our needs…
In all all our hurts…
In all our anxiety…

Lord, have mercy.

With all our questions…
With all we know…
With all we don’t know…

Lord, have mercy.

For healing…
For peace…
For a stronger trust in your Word and promise…

Lord, have mercy.

To calm our doubts…
To soothe our fears…
To bear our griefs and carry our sorrows…

Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort, forgive, strengthen and heal us by your grace.

Amen.

Quote: “When ‘Lord, have mercy’ is all you can say, it’s what you must say.”

A ‘Mass’ of Prayers

Kyrie

Father,
do not look on my many sins,
but in your mercy
provide for all my needs,
food, clothing, shelter,
for I cannot survive without these,
or without you.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus,
you gave yourself for us all
as the Lamb of God
to bear our sins.
Remember me, whom you bought
with your own blood.
Christ, have mercy.

Spirit,
keep breathing into my heart
the Word of your Gospel.
Light that flame of faith in my heart,
and keep it burning.
Strengthen, counsel and comfort me.
I need your power to live connected to God.
I need your power to make my light shine.
Lord, have mercy.

Gloria in Excelsis

Glory to you, O Lord,
heavenly king, almighty Father.
You dwell above all things
yet you looked down on me in love
and gave me peace and goodwill
in your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord.
My praise is so weak.
I am so distracted.
But still, I lift my voice to praise and thank you
for your grace, mercy, patience and love.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
You came as promised to bear my griefs,
carry my sorrows,
and bear the sin of the whole world
like a sacrificial lamb.
You became what you were not,
human, weak, poor, despised,
to make me what I was not,
a child of God, holy and blameless in your sight.
You know human weakness first hand.
Hear my prayers, and bring my needs
to your Father in heaven.

Glory to you, Holy Spirit.
You are living and active
and so is the Word you inspired
the Apostles and Prophets to write.
Write your Word in my heart.
Be the lamp to my feet and the light for my path.
Live in me. Move me. Govern and guide me
so I live to your glory,
and not to my own,
so in your time
I may enjoy your glory forever.

You alone, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
are holy, exalted, and worthy of all praise,
now and forever.
Amen.

Credo

I believe, Lord.
Help me overcome my unbelief.
Your Word
is set before my eyes
and falls upon my ears.
I know it.
Still, help me overcome my doubts.
The world around me
is setting its own truth
before my eyes
and into my ears,
and its false truths are everywhere.
Yours is only in your book.
Turn my attention
back to your book.
Strengthen my faith.
Move me to accept your truth as fact
and to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye
to the lies from without
and the lies from within.
Finally,
send your Holy Spirit
to do his work
to govern and guide
and strengthen me
day by day
so that I always trust
every Word,
every promise,
every fact
your Spirit moved
the holy men to write,
and that my trust
may show
in all I say
and do.

Sanctus

Dirty, broken, hurting
is all humanity.
All the earth is full of sin and pain.
But you are holy.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah couldn’t bear to look at your glory,
but you lifted him up
and purified his lips.
You, Christ, have come to us
once in human flesh and blood,
now in ink and paper,
water and Word,
bread and wine,
your body and blood,
to purify us
so that we may stand
in your presence.
Hosanna!

Agnus Dei

O Jesus,
the pain you suffered on the cross
was all mine.
It was my sin you carried,
along with that of the whole world.
What mercy!

O Jesus,
the pains I suffer now,
all griefs, all sorrows,
is all my fault,
and it weighs heavy on me.
You alone can carry it,
in fact, you have already taken it away.
And you tell me to come,
in all my weariness
with all my burdens,
and you promise
to give me rest and refreshment.
What mercy!

O Jesus,
on that cross,
you said one word.
One sweet word.
A word just as momentous
as “Let there be light.”
That one word was
tetelesthai.
“It is finished.”
You paid for my sin.
You brought me to your Father.
You made me your own.
I need to do nothing
but trust you.
What peace!

For a prayer reflecting on the “Nunc Dimittis,” see https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/prayer-reflecting-on-the-nunc-dimittis

A Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

The following post-communion prayer combines elements of three prayers which seemed to have a common source.

Almighty God,
our heavenly Father,
gracious and merciful Lord,
we give you thanks and praise
for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet
that you have given us to eat and to drink
in the body and blood of your dear Son,
Jesus Christ.
With this, your sacrament,
strengthen and keep us in the true faith
all the days of our life.
Give us refreshment from our labors
with the peace of your forgiveness,
and comfort us in every trouble
until we eat and drink it anew
in your kingdom
at the marriage supper of the Lamb;
your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Written for A Collection of Prayers combining elements from: Common Worship, (Church of England) Funeral Eucharist, Lutheran Service Book (LCMS © 2006), Christian Worship Supplement (WELS © 2008)

Printed as a paragraph:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, gracious and merciful Lord, we give you thanks and praise for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet that you have given us to eat and to drink in the body and blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. With this, your sacrament, strengthen and keep us in the true faith all the days of our life. Give us refreshment from our labors with the peace of your forgiveness, and comfort us in every trouble until we eat and drink it anew in your kingdom at the marriage supper of the Lamb; your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I haven’t been able to identify a single source that contains all the content of this prayer. One older source that may be the source of this prayer is “O sacrum convivium” https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/o-sacred-banquet/

Hope that Comes from God’s Promise

O Father in heaven,
look upon all your people
who struggle
with anger, anxiety,
doubt, frustration,
guilt, hopelessness,
loss, memories,
lack of patience,
pain, regret,
sadness, selfishness,
temptation and weakness.

Your holy Word tells us
“All things work together
for the good of those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.”
And that means that you make all these things work
for your good purpose in our lives,
even when we do not understand.

Remind us of your invitation,
“Cast all your cares upon me,”
and of your assurance that goes with it,
“because I care for you.”

…through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Paul C. Stratman, 2017

“All things work together…” is a reference to Romans 8:28

“Cast all your cares… is a reference to 1 Peter 5:7

Refresh Us with Living Water

womanatwelljtissot1890 O Lord, we hear.
You made us,
you formed us in the womb,
and you promise to help.
Refresh us
with the Living Water
of the Word of Jesus.
Pour out your Spirit on us
and on those who hear
the Word from our lips.
Make us grow
in wisdom,
knowledge
and faith.
We are yours.

Source: Paul C. Stratman, based on Isaiah 44.

Bind Up Broken Hearts

christhealingthesick O Jesus,
anointed by your Father
with his Spirit of power,
bring your good news to us,
bind up our broken hearts,
proclaim liberty to us captives,
open our prisons,
loosen our bonds,
proclaim your grace
and favor to us,
year by year,
day by day,
hour by hour,
that you alone
can and will
set everything right.
Comfort us in our sorrows,
and adorn us
with your holiness,
goodness,
righteousness,
and joy.
Amen.

Source: Paul C. Stratman, based on Isaiah 61.

Comfort and Strengthen Your People

In response to a prayer request.

Heavenly Father,
comfort and strengthen your people.
Send your Holy Spirit
and move us to believe
the promises in your Holy Word
that you do not leave
or forsake your people,
even when they suffer
from illnesses, weaknesses,
and oppression by the powers of darkness.
By his holy life,
death and resurrection,
your Son Jesus
has already overthrown
the powers of the devil.
Strengthen our faith in Jesus,
who alone can win the victories over sin,
Satan and temptation,
that we may share in his victory
and enjoy his glorious freedom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Paul C. Stratman, for N. and A Collection of Prayers.

A Prayer for the Baptism of Our Lord

O Lord Jesus Christ,
in order to fulfill all righteousness,
you were baptized by John in the Jordan.
Clothe us with this same righteousness,
that as your baptized people,
we, too, may be called beloved children of your Father,
and because of you, know he is well pleased with us;
through your mercy, O our God,
you are blessed,
and live and govern all things,
now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Paul C. Stratman, written to imitate the style of a Mozarabic Collect.

Prayer for the Baptism of Our Lord by Paul C. Stratman is under under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for permission for any commercial use.

“in order to fulfill all righteousness” is a reference to Matthew 3:15

“Clothe us with this same righteousness” is a reference to Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27

“we, too, may be called beloved children of your Father” is a reference to John 1:12, 1 John 3:1

“and because of you, know he is well pleased with us” is a reference to Romans 3:21-22

The Blessing of a Nativity Scene

This rite is available as a pdf file here: the-blessing-of-a-nativity-scene

All gather around the nativity scene.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
The Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the second chapter.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³And everyone went to register, each to his own town. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family line of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, his wife, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.

⁶And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified! ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: ¹¹Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” (EHV)

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ.

Let us pray.
God of glory, when the set time had fully come, you sent your only Son to be born of the virgin Mary, and made the good news of great joy about his birth known to shepherds, who then spread abroad the news about the holy Child.

Bless us as we remember his birth. Speak to our hearts with the news of his birth, and continue to renew our faith with the peace of his gospel. Move us to respond and to share this good news with those around us with the message of your love reflected in our lives, and also in word, art and song; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

A Christmas carol reflecting on the birth of Christ may be sung.

All Scripture is from The Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version. www.wartburgproject.com