Prayer takes the mind out of the narrowness of self-interest, and enables us to see the world in the mirror of the holy.  For when we betake ourselves to the extreme opposite of the ego, we can behold a situation from the aspect of God.  Prayer is a way to master what is inferior in us, to discern between the signal and the trivial, between the vital and the futile, by taking counsel with what we know about the will of God, by seeing our fate in proportion to God.  Prayer clarifies our hope and intentions.  It helps us discover our true aspirations, the pangs we ignore, the longings we forget.  It is an act of self-purification, a quarantine for the soul.  It gives us the opportunity to be honest, to say what we believe, and to stand for what we say.  For the accord of assertion and conviction, of thought and conscience, is the basis of all prayer.

 

 Prayer teaches us what to aspire to.  So often we do not know what to cling to.  Prayer implants in us the ideals we ought to cherish.  Redemption, purity of mind and tongue, or willingness to help, may hover as ideas before our mind, but the idea becomes a concern, something to long for, a goal to be reached, when we pray: “Guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking guile; and in the face of those who curse me, let my soul be silent.”

 

Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

 

O God, deliver us from words and deeds that provoke discord, prejudice and hatred.
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O God, deliver us from suspicions and fears that stand in the way of reconciliation.
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O God, deliver us from believing and speaking lies about other peoples or nations.
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O God, deliver us from cruel indifference to the cries of the hungry and homeless.
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O God, deliver us from all that prevents us from fulfilling your promise of peace.
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Deliver us from our brokenness, we pray, O God, and by your grace

and healing presence deliver us to You.

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O Creating God, deliver us to still waters and green pastures.
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O Risen Christ, deliver us to the freedom and forgiveness we find in you.
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O Jesus, deliver us to the tough task of loving our enemies.
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O Servant of All, deliver us to joyful service in your name.
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O Holy Spirit, deliver us now and in the days to come, to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.  Deliver us to the wholeness of justice and to the power of your peace.
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Closing Prayer

 

Charge our lives and our churches with the power of
your peace, O God. Overcome our fears and self-deceptions with the
promise of your presence. Make us signs of your generosity and justice.
Light us each day with hope, we pray, so that we may walk in your
truth and be love in your Name. 

 

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