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A Selection of Prayers for different times and occasions
These prayers have been selected especially to help you if you do not know what to say. They are changed to suit the time and the season and the church's year.
The season of Lent is next. This year Ash Wednesday is on 9th March this year and is a Day of Prayer throughout the churches of the Diocese of Hereford. Mosytt will be open all day for private prayer, meditation or just peace and quiet. Why not take a short time out on this day to pop into your local church or one near where you work. You will find a list of churches open and with their own special services here.
Below you will find a varoety of prayers to help you. Read and choose to suit yourself!
A Simple Prayer in Troubled Times
God of love,
turn our hearts to your ways;
and give us peace.
Amen.
The prayer of St Richard of Chichester
Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ.
For all the benefits which thou hast given to me,
For all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.
A prayer of The Venerable Bede
I pray thee, merciful Jesus,
that as thou hast graciously granted me
to drink down sweetly from the word
which tells of thee,
so wilt thou kindly grant
that I may come at length to thee,
the fount of all wisdom,
and stand before thy face for ever.
A prayer of St Hugh
Help us, Lord,
with whatever we own,
with whatever we do,
with whatever we are,
to make a loving response
to your great love,
Maker, Redeemer, Sustainer of all.
A prayer used by the Iona Community in Scotland
Bless to me, O God, the earth beneath my feet,
Bless to me, O God, the path whereon I go,
Bless to me, O God, the people whom I meet,
Today, tonight and tomorrow. Amen
A prayer of St Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; 
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
A prayer of pilgrimage to the Holy Land
May the babe of Bethlehem be yours to tend;
May the boy of Nazareth be yours to friend;
May the man of Galilee his healing send;
May the Christ of Calvary his courage lend;
May the risen Lord his presence send;
And his holy angels defend you, to the end.
A Prayer for Peace
O God, who would fold both heaven and earth in a single peace:
Let the design of thy great love
lighten upon the waste of our wraths and sorrows:
and give peace to thy Church,
peace among nations,
peace in our dwellings,
and peace in our hearts:
through thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
A prayer for Pilgrims
Teach us, O God ,
to view our life here on earth
as a pilgrim's path to heaven,
and give us grace to tread it courageously
in the company of your faithful people.
Help us to set our affections
on things above,
not on the passing vanities of this world,
and grant that as we journey on
in the way of holiness
we may bear a good witness to our Lord,
and serve all who need our help
along the way,
for the glory of your name. Amen
Prayers for those who have lost a loved one.
O God, who brought us to birth,
and in whose arms we die,
in our grief and shock
contain and comfort us;
embrace us with your love,
give us hope in our confusion
and grace to let go into new life;
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Father, you know our hearts and share our sorrows.
We are hurt by our parting from those whom we loved:
when we are angry at the loss we have sustained,
when we long for words of comfort,
yet find them hard to hear,
turn our grief to truer living,
our affliction to firmer hope
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for the financial situation
Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayers for those worried about debt
VERSES FROM PSALM 107
Let us give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
bound fast in misery and iron.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death,
and broke their bonds asunder.
Let us give thanks to the Lord for his goodness
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he has broken the doors of bronze
and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.
A Short Prayer
Make your ways known upon earth, Lord God,
your saving power among all peoples.
Renew your Church in holiness
and help us to serve you with joy.
Guide the leaders of this and every nation,
that justice may prevail throughout the world.
Let not the needy be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Make us instruments of your peace
and let your glory be over all the earth.
A prayer for "Moody Monday"
Hello God,
You know me. Don't you? I'm not just a person on a bus or a train.
I'm not just another face on CCTV; or just another login name.
I'm me, and I have stuff going on.
Love life issues; bills to pay. Egos at work to deal with; an overflowing inbox.
So please, give me strength. Guide me to focus on what's really important. And help me make the most of every moment of this new day in this new month.
Thank you.
Amen
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you
for all the benefits that you have won for us,
for all the pains and insults that you have borne for us.
Most merciful redeemer,
friend and brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
Amen.
after Richard of Chichester (1253)