General Chat

Eh? What sarcasm....where?

That was lovely Joy, thank you :-)

I also downloaded the PDF of the prayers.....great introduction I thought.

By whom?.....I must have missed it.

Me too.......whatever it was :-S


Never mind.......a new day and a new prayer.......good morning everyone :-)


O God, our Father, we know that the issues of life and death are in your hands, and we know that you are loving us with an everlasting love. If it is your will, grant to us to live in happiness and in peace.

In all our undertakings,
Grant us prosperity and good success.

In all our friendships,
Grant us to find our friends faithful and true.

In all bodily things,
Make us fit and healthy,
Able for the work of the day.

In all the things of the mind,
Make us calm and serene,
Free from anxiety and worry.

In material things,
Save us from poverty and from want.

In spiritual things,
Save us from doubt and from distrust.

Grant us
In our work satisfaction;
In our study true wisdom;
In our pleasure gladness;
In our love loyalty.

And if misfortune does come to us, grant that any trial may only bring us closer to one another and closer to you; and grant that nothing may shake our certainty that you work all things together for good, and that a Father’s hand will never cause his child a needless tear.

Hear this our prayer, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.


- William Barclay.

I was studying my navel last night trying to work out what Sandie thought I had said that was sarcastic. The only possible thing was when I commented about all these baptisms and said "Font of ev'ry blessing" would be a suitable hymn.

If that offended Sandie or anybody else, that was certainly never my intention. Just a light whimsy :-)

Love these Barclay prayers - good Scottish sense. I have followed Selwyn Hughes "Thoughts for the Day" for many years. Example:

"Would you like your life to be free of those potentially frustrating situations that block your way or impede your spiritual development? Then let me say at once, you could be worse off without them. The obstacles and opposition you face can turn out to be prods - prods toward your spiritual growth. A minister friend of mine who was going through a period of great difficulty once asked me to pray with him that God would remove all the obstacles from his ministry. I put my hand lovingly on his shoulder and replied: "If He does, it will make your ministry less effective." He saw the point, and instead asked me to pray that God would help him to die to his own concerns. I did, and from that day to this, his ministry has flourished and become extremely fruitful. And so, my friend, can yours.

Prayer:
O Father, more and more the conviction grows that it is not what happens to me, but what I do with it, that is important. Deepen this conviction within me so that it becomes a controlling one - today and every day. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

Good morning all and thank you for starting my day
so beautifully.

Emma

I too, am enjoying the daily prayers. Thank you Cynthia and John and everyone.

I keep written prayers at hand for when I am feeling particularly anxious. I know that anxiety is a problem for many, particularly as we grow older and face new challenges. If I sit quietly for a while and concentrate on the words of comfort, it will usually stop the anxiety from overtaking me.

It was Mother's day here in the US yesterday, as well as being Ascension Day. My children all came to see me. My eldest boy (should say 'son' - he is 51, but will always be my boy), surprised me by sliding into the pew next to me, at church. He and his family are members of a different church, but occasionally he'll show up to worship with his mum! I so love all my children.

Ruby.

"There is no love between I and John but for Cynthia's sake please keep out the sarcasm." being straight after my post made me wonder what I had said that could be be interpreted as being sarcastic.


Thank you, Susan, my pleasure.

*O Father, more and more the conviction grows that it is not what happens to me, but what I do with it, that is important*

Yes....good thoughts,


Ave Maria with a voice to to sooth the soul......sung by Mirusia Louwerse

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=related&v=sZoZwdesumY

Good morning everyone - I hope you all have a good day. :-)


O God, our Father, in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus you have given us the remedy for sin. In him you have opened to us the way to forgiveness for all our past sins, and you have given us the strength and the power to live in purity and in truth.

Help us to put away all evil things.

Silence the evil word;
Forbid the evil deed;
Break the evil habit;
Banish the evil thought;
Take away the evil desire and the evil ambition;
and make our lives to shine like lights
in this dark world.


Help us to live in purity.

Make all our words so pure
that you may hear them;
Make all our deeds so pure
that you may see them;
Make all our thoughts and desires so pure
that they may bear your scrutiny.
And so grant that we, being pure in heart
may see you.


Help us to live in truth.

Grant that we may never speak or act a lie;
That we may never be misled by false or mistaken
beliefs;
That we may never evade the truth,
even when we do not want to see it.


Grant us at all times
to seek and to find;
To know and to love;
To obey and to live
the truth.


This we ask for the sake of him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, even for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.


- William Barclay


Cx :-)

Many thanks for prayer from Wm Barclay, Cynthia. Thought from Selwyn Hughes who died 7 years ago and was described by George Carey as one of the giants of faith in our generation:

"If it pleases the king ' let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it." (Nehemiah Chapter 2 v.5)

SH' s comment. "Every Christian has the responsibility of coming before God to seek to discover just what it is that the Lord wants to achieve through his or her life. And as we are faithful in reading His Word, obeying His commands, and communing with Him in prayer, we can expect Him to reveal those special plans for our lives. Take our reading today: Nehemiah served the king faithfully, but when he heard about the disgraceful condition of God's city, Jerusalem, he caught a vision of rebuilding the walls. God then worked in the king's heart to give him a desire to assist Nehemiah in achieving that vision. Have you caught the vision of what God wants to achieve through your own individual life and witness on this earth? If not, why not?"

SH's prayer:
Gracious Father, give me, I pray, a clear picture of what You want to achieve through my own personal life and witness for You. I have kept myself in the dark too long; now I want to step out into the light - Your light. Amen.

Good morning and thank you Cynthia and John.

Emma

:-D :-D @ Emma. Hope you have a lovely day today. Same goes for all on Genes chat - whatever their religious or non-religious views might be :-) :-)

Good morning - albeit a very wet morning here...... :-D


If anyone else has a favourite prayer or quote they would like to share with us, please do......... :-)


For today...

O God, you are our refuge.

When we are exhausted by life’s efforts;
When we are bewildered by life’s problems;
When we are wounded by life’s sorrows;
We come for refuge to you.


O God, you are our strength.

When our tasks are beyond our powers;
When our temptations are too strong for us;
When duty calls for more than we have to give it;
We come for strength to you.


O God, it is from you that all goodness comes.

It is from you that our ideals come;
It is from you that there comes to us the spur of high desire and the restraint of conscience,
It is from you that there has come the strength to resist temptation,
and to do any good thing.


And now, as we pray to you,

Help us to believe in your love,
so that we may be certain that you will hear our prayer;

Help us to believe in your power,
so that we may be certain that you are able to do for us above all that we ask or think;

Help us to believe in your wisdom,
so that we may be certain that you will answer,
not as our ignorance asks,
but as your perfect wisdom knows best.

All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

~William Barclay, from A Barclay Prayer Book


Cx :-)

Good morning - at least it isn't raining and my decorator has arrived :-D

Thinking of all members who are having 'one of those days' - with love.



O God, you are our refuge

When we are exhausted by life’s efforts;
When we are bewildered by life’s problems;
When we are wounded by life’s sorrows:
We come for refuge to you.


O God, you are our strength.

When our tasks are beyond our powers;
When our temptations are too strong for us;
When duty calls for more than we have to give to it:
We come for strength to you.


O God, it is from you that all goodness comes

It is from you that our ideals come;
It is from you that there comes to us the spur of high desire and the restraint of conscience.
It is from you that there has come the strength to resist any temptation,
and to do any good thing.


And now as we pray to you,

Help us to believe in your love,
so that we may be certain that you will hear our prayer;


Help us to believe in your power,
so that we may be certain that you are able to do for us above all that we ask or think;

Help us to believe in your wisdom,
so that we may be certain that you will answer, not as our ignorance asks,
but as your perfect wisdom knows best.


All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

- William Barclay


Cx :-)

:-D :-D Great way to start the day :-D

Respecting One Another

God our Father
you call each of us by name,
and you treasure each of us individually
as though no-one else exists,
Inspire us
to respect and value
each person who comes into our lives this day.
Amen.

:-)

From prayers about friendship......


And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 42:10

Thank you.........friends are, indeed, very precious.

:-)

Good morning. I must get myself into action and tidy out the school bags which we give to our pre-schoolers on Sunday mornings. I bring them home every couple of weeks to sharpen crayons etc.

Each bag has two books in it - we use board books for ease of cleaning. One is a faith book and the other is a story book. They also have a lacing card (brilliant for keeping tiny hands busy and little mouths closed), and an assortment of jumbo crayons.

As they arrive, each child is handed a bag and given a new picture to colour in. We try and vary the pictures according to the church season or weather season.

At the back of church, I keep a small pile of 'touchy feely' but not noisy play books to hand out to any child who is getting restless.

I usually get a wink and a nod from a couple of the choirmen who want to colour pictures during the sermon.......tuts.... :-D


Anyway, to start the day.......................

William Barclay's Personal Prayer

O God, grant that today
I may not disappoint any friend;
I may not grieve any loved one;
I may not fail anyone to whom I have a duty;
I may not shame myself.

Grant that today
I may do my work with honesty and fidelity;
I may take my pleasure in happiness and purity.

Grant that today
I may lead no one astray;
I may not make goodness and faith harder for anyone.

Help me today
to be a help and example to all;
to bring strength and encouragement wherever I am:

Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.