Advent Prayer

Lord Jesus, come Yourself, and dwell with us, be human as we are, and overcome what overwhelms us. Come into the midst of my evil, come close to my unfaithfulness. Take my sin, which I hate and which I cannot leave. Be my brother, Thou Holy God. Be my brother in the kingdom of evil and suffering and death. Come with me in my death, come with me in my suffering, come with me as I struggle with evil. And make me holy and pure, despite my sin and death, in Jesus' name.

If you have loved and been loved in return, you have some idea of what the promise of eternal life is.

from Healing the Original Wound  Reflections on the Full Meaning of Salvation: How to Experience Spiritual Freedom and Enjoy God's Presence  by Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. from  Minute Meditations

“The sinner who feels within himself a total deprivation of all that is holy, pure, and solemn because of sin, the sinner who in his own eyes is in utter darkness, severed from the hope of salvation, from the light of life, and from the communion of saints, is himself the friend whom Jesus invited to dinner, the one who was asked to come out from behind the hedges, the one asked to be a partner in His wedding and an heir to God… Whoever is poor, hungry, sinful, fallen or ignorant is the guest of Christ.”

— Matthew the Poorr

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is one of the oldest of Christian prayers,

dating in its original form to the words the two blind men

cried out to Jesus in Matthew 20:31. It was formalized

by the Orthodox Churches in the 5th century.

 

Contained in the prayer is a uniquely clear

summation of the Christian faith:

Jesus the man is declared by name to be the Christ,

the annointed one of God,

as well as being the Lord of our lives;

he is declared to be the Son of God,

and therefore divine; he is declared to be

in the position of judgment and mercy,

and we confess to be sinners requiring His grace. -

The Jesus Prayer Project

OrthodoxWiki

Whatever a man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself.

 -- Saint Cyprian of Carthage




Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, 
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.

St. Patrick

Covenant Prayer

...what if where you are now is all there is? What if there is no big paycheck at the end of your labors, no big promotion, no big recognition, award, or honor? Are you still willing to be faithful and obedient?...

 H/T Mere Comments

I am no longer my own, but thine. 

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. 

Put me to doing, put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. 

Let me be full, let me be empty. 

Let me have all things, let me have nothing. 

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. 

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. 

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

From John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 

the longing of God

Blaise Pascal once said the now-famous words: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which [can] be filled . . . only be filled by God.” St. Augustine once prayed, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” In Revelation 21 we see the end of human longing—the heart at rest in relationship with its Creator in His eternal kingdom.... More


more from Our Daily Journey

Ascension Day

...On the day Jesus was taken into heaven, the work God sent him to accomplish was finally completed.  The ascension was a living and public declaration of his dying words on the Cross: It is finished. Ascending to heaven, Jesus furthered the victory of Easter—the victory of a physical body in whom God had conquered death.  Because of the ascension, the incarnation is not a past event.  Because of the ascension, we know that the incarnate Christ who was raised from the dead is sharing in our humanity even now.  And just as the men in white informed the disciples, so we carry in our own flesh a guarantee that Christ will one day bring us to himself.  It is for these reasons that N.T. Wright affirms, "To embrace the Ascension is to heave a sigh of relief, to give up the struggle to be God (and with it the inevitable despair at our constant failure), and to enjoy our status as creatures: image-bearing creatures, but creatures nonetheless."(1)  

Truly, Ascension Day, a holy day falling inconspicuously on a Thursday in May, is the bold declaration that we are not left as orphans.  In the same post-resurrection body he invited Thomas to touch, Jesus is accessible to the world today.  He ascended with a body, he shares in our humanity, extending his own body even now, and he is coming back for those in bodies.  Christ is preparing a room for us, and we know it is real because he himself is real.  Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (New York: Harper Collins, 2008), 114. 

© 2008 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. All Rights Reserved. 


REad the whole thing..

The Rest of the Studies

Well, my exercise, at least in so far that I posted it here, was, well, lacking.
Such is the story of my discipleship. But I keep walking. Perhaps even struggling. But for now, that is enough.

the rest of the prayer studies: Covenant Prayer, The Prayer of Adoration, The Prayer of Rest, Sacramental Prayer, Unceasing Prayer, The Prayer of the Heart, Meditative Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, Praying the Ordinary, Petitionary Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, Healing Prayer, The Prayer of Suffering, Authoritative Prayer, Radical Prayer

can be found here