Week Of Prayer – Week 7
July 4 – Prayer to be Filled
Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face, turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
July 5 – Prayer for Seeking
O Lord my God, I believe in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can, insofar as you have given me the power, I have sought you. I became weary and I labored. O Lord my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking you. Grant that I may always and ardently seek out your countenance. Give me the strength to seek you, for you help me to find you and you have more and more given me the hope of finding you. Here I am before you with my firmness and my infirmity. Preserve the first and heal the second. Here I am before you with my strength and my ignorance. Where you have opened the door to me, welcome me at the entrance; where you have closed the door to me, open to my cry; enable me to remember you, to understand you, and to love you. Amen.
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
July 6 – Prayer- Let Me Know You
I beg of You, my God, let me know You and love You so that I may be happy in You. And though I cannot do this fully in this life, yet let me improve from day to day till I may do so to the full. Let me know You more and more in this life, that I may know You perfectly in heaven.
Let me know You more and more here, so that I may love you perfectly there, so that my joy may be great in itself here, and complete in heaven with You. O Truthful God, let me receive the happiness of heaven which You promise so that my joy may be full. In the meantime, let my mind think of it, let my tongue talk of it, let my heart long for it, let my mouth speak of it, let my soul hunger after it, let my flesh thirst after it, let my whole being desire it, until such time as I may enter through death into the joy of my Lord, there to continue forever, world without end. Amen
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
July 7 – Prayer of St. Patrick
Saint Patrick (c. 390–461) was born in Scotland and was imprisoned and taken to Ireland when he was about sixteen years old. He returned to Scotland, only to have a dream in which the people of Ireland called out to him, “we beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once again.” He did return, and although the details are obscure and the legends are large, he wandered and ministered in Ireland for over thirty years, converting the nation.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim, In obedience of angels, In service of archangels, In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preaching of the apostles, In faith of confessors, In innocence of virgins, In deeds of righteous men.
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 From snares of the devil, From temptations of vices,
From everyone who desires me ill, Afar and anear, Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
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 every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Saint Patrick c. 390–461
July 8 – Prayer- The day is Past and Over
The day is past and over;
All thanks, O Lord, to Thee!
We pray Thee that offenseless
The hours of dark may be.
O Jesus, keep us in Thy sight,
And guard us through the coming night.
The joys of day are over;
We lift our hearts to Thee,
And call on Thee that sinless
The hours of dark may be.
O Jesus, make their darkness light,
And guard us through the coming night.
Lord, that in death I sleep not,
And lest my foe should say,
“I have prevailed against him,”
Lighten mine eyes, I pray:
O Jesus, keep me in Thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night.
The toils of day are over;
We raise our hymn to Thee,
And ask that free from peril
The hours of dark may be.
O Jesus, keep us in Thy sight,
And guard us through the coming night.
Be Thou our souls’ Preserver,
O God, for Thou dost know
How many are the perils
Through which we have to go.
Lord Jesus Christ, O hear our call
And guard and save us from them all.
Anatolius, 6th century
July 9 – Prayer- Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace
The anonymous text that is usually called the Prayer of Saint Francis or Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace is widely known. It is often associated with the Italian Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1182 – 1226), but it is missing from his writings. The prayer in its present form has not been traced back further than 1912 but is still a powerful prayer to express to the Lord.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
July 10 – Blue Grass Prayer
As we prepare for worship, let us pray this prayer for one another in the Body of Christ.
“O Glorious One, we pray that we would bring you glory by completing the work you have entrusted to us. As we go about your ministry and mission, may we know the full measure of Jesus’ joy. As we go about your work in a hostile world, we plead that you would protect us from the evil one who wants to destroy your work in us. And by the power of your word, we ask you would make us holy, a pure bride for our coming Groom. Keep us in love and unity with one another to be a positive witness to the world so they might believe that Jesus is the way to life. We deeply desire to be known as your people so that we can always be with you and see your glory both on earth and in heaven. Amen.”