Book of Daily Prayer (21-25)

21. Send over us your Spirit

Father, without you we stand alone, unable to break the barriers which separate people unwilling to rise above all that is small, powerless to be free and to be ourselves.

Send over us your Spirit, the spirit who gives strength and guidance as we build a new brotherhood and sisterhood here on earth.

Now, as always, this world seeks newness and vitality which only your touch can bring.

This work you have put into our hands, and we are glad.

May everything we touch in these next days and months come alive with the power of your love, that thus we Brothers and Sisters may truly be your people, giving praise and witness to you always. 

22. Prayer of an evangelizer

Lord God, who cares about each and every one of us in the world, I invite you to live in me today, to move in my actions and speak in my words.

Through Jesus your Word made flesh, you allow me once again the privilege and the power of making real your dream that all may be one and find life in your name.

Touch me with your Spirit today so I may have your life in my life, your Word in my mouth, and courage to move in your world, loving your people as my people. 

Enfold me in your grace to protect me from my fears, my pride, and my desire to control others. Make me a blessing, not a burden, to those I meet today, and a faithful witness to your Good News in a world full of bad news. Here I am; Lord, send me!

23. Serenity prayer

God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change; COURAGE to change the things I can; and WISDOM to know the difference. 

24. Living one day at a time

Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. 

25. Slow me down

Slow me down, Lord; ease the pounding of my heart, by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tension of my nerves and the muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memories. Help me to know the magical, restorative power of Thy touch. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations, slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pet a dog.

Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, so that I may know that the race is not always to the swift. There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak, and know it grew great because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord. Inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values.