#NewYearPrayer
Lord of time and eternity,
at the turning of the year
we ask your blessing
upon us and all the world.
Turn our hearts to your heart,
our wills to your will.
Fill us with desire
for peace and justice,
integrity and truth.
Give us a passion to pursue
the common good.
#MorningPrayer
Encourage us, Lord;
inspire us to be who we are:
your family, bound together
and united in your love.
As your church,
founded and built upon you,
keep our hearts open
to your working in us
and through us,
that we may with joy
share the riches
of your love
with all.
#MorningPrayer
Fill us with wonder, Lord,
at the joy of your incarnation;
that you, eternal Word,
author of all Creation,
should humble yourself
to become human,
that we may see your glory
in ways we can
begin to comprehend,
and be raised to life
by your own
death-defeating
love.
#MorningPrayer
Help us, Lord, to grow
in our relationship with,
and our love for you;
let that be seen
in our character,
our words,
our actions.
Give us such depth
of trust in you,
that we may
know to our core
the certainty of your love
and share with all
the joy of your kingdom.
#MorningPrayer
Strip us, Lord,
of all that gets in the way
of our simple trust in you,
our loving Father.
Take from us all reliance
on position or power,
cleverness or cunning,
and give us instead
a joy and peace
at knowing
your presence
and your love,
that we may relax
into you.
#MorningPrayer
Help us Lord, to live fully
in the light of your incarnation;
illumine our lives by your Spirit,
fill us with your love and life
that the joy of your presence
may shine out from us
in all we do, say and are,
blessing our neighbours
near and far,
leading all to you.
#MorningPrayer
Fill up our faith, Lord,
that we may both
hear your call upon our lives
and respond with joy and courage,
living your love for all.
Even in the face of
injustice, oppression or hostility,
may we, like Stephen,
like #DesmondTutu,
witness to you
with all that we are.
#MorningPrayer
May we come
with excitement and great joy
to wonder and to worship
at the great gift of your incarnation,
Lord God of all creation,
who for love of us became human
that we may be
encountered, encouraged,
surprised and saved
by the love that makes us
whole and free.
#MorningPrayer
O Emmanuel, come anew
to dwell among us and within us;
refresh and revitalise your Church,
deepen our desire
for the things of your kingdom,
and refocus our lives
on what you count as important.
Help us never to let our issues
obscure your story;
show us your way.
#MorningPrayer
Infuse our lives
with your love, Lord,
that the ways
of your kingdom
become simply part
of who and what we are,
and never a mere list
of rules to be kept
and burdens to be carried.
Focus our hearts and minds
on you, the ground of our being;
lead us into true life.
#MorningPrayer
Deepen our love for you, Lord,
that we may never direct it
towards other things,
other people,
other ideas.
May we never be
possessed by possessions,
whether material, reputational,
positional or ideological.
Let us rather be possessed
by your Spirit
and your love.
#MorningPrayer
Help us, Lord, to rejoice
that it is not for us to judge
who is and who is not
welcome in your kingdom;
help us also to retain
our childlike sense
of wonder and joy
at your presence
and your love,
and simply
to share that
with others,
that they
may be drawn
to you.
#MorningPrayer
Protect us, Lord,
from the temptation
to reduce your word
to mere words,
to constrain your teaching
to mere rules.
So infuse us with your Spirit,
who inspired
the prophets and teachers of old,
that we may reveal your kingdom
in all that we are,
by the love we show.
#MorningPrayer
Fix our eyes, our hearts,
our minds, our lives
on you, Lord;
keep our focus
on you and your kingdom,
that we may not
fall into the temptation
to worship anything else
or anyone else.
Fill us full of your love,
that we may point to you.
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, give us the grace to be forgiving,
to recognise in others the same
weaknesses, vulnerabilities and fragilities
that we ask you to take account of in us.
Help us let go of selfishness,
not to bear grudges;
help us also
not to leave others
having to forgive us.
#MorningPrayer
Fill us with wonder and delight, Lord,
at the glory of your kingdom
and our invitation to be part of it.
May we never lose
the excitement of our inclusion;
may it spur us on to share
your invitation and welcome with all,
and to live out your love
for all the world.
#MorningPrayer
Help us, Lord,
to use the freedom
we have in you,
to be a blessing
to the people and communities
of which we are part.
May we be the salt
which makes life taste good
and the light
which shows the way,
as we reflect
your light and love
into the world,
to your glory.
#MorningPrayer
Fill us with your love, Lord,
that we may see the world
and each other
through your eyes,
with a heart that is open
to your perspective,
and a mind that yearns
for your wisdom.
Mould our ways to your ways,
our thoughts to your thoughts.
Make our goal,
your kingdom.
#MorningPrayer
Fill us with your grace Lord,
that we may have
insight to perceive
the signs of your kingdom,
and courage to embrace them.
Give us a desire
not to hold onto you for ourselves,
but to reveal you to others.
May your presence among us
drive out fear
and increase love.
#MorningPrayer
Give us insight and vision, Lord,
that we may truly see you as you are,
and respond with all that we are,
to the core of our being
and the centre of our will.
Save us from
recasting you in our image;
give us strength to follow you,
the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
#MorningPrayer
We are blessed, Lord,
to be counted worthy
to be in your presence
and to serve you.
Help us to be good stewards:
not just of what we have
and what were are,
but of your love,
that we may tend and nurture
its home in our lives,
so that all
may encounter
and know it.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, give us
wisdom, understanding,
insight and discernment
that we may see clearly
the signs of your presence
and your kingdom
all around us.
Keep us true to your gospel;
may the seeds of your kingdom
take root and grow in us,
flourishing for the blessing of all.
#MorningPrayer
You call us to be with you, Lord,
as you are always with us.
Give us the faith
to rest in you,
to be nourished by you,
to welcome your presence,
your peace,
your calling,
your challenge
as you pitch your tent
in the ground of our being
and dwell with us,
within us.
#MorningPrayer
Give us boldness, confidence and assurance
in our relationship with you, Lord,
that we may be prepared
to wrestle with our faith,
to interrogate your word and your call
in pursuit of truth and understanding.
May our lives be marked
by a passion to know more of you.
#MorningPrayer
Fill us so completely
with your Spirit
and your love, Lord,
that what comes from
our hearts, our mouths, our wills,
is all of you and your kingdom.
May your light
shine so brightly within us,
that we are beacons of your love
for the world,
guiding many
to find you.
#MorningPrayer
You call us, Lord,
to follow you,
to sit with you,
to be fed by you.
Give us faith and resolve,
that we may follow your call.
You also send us out;
we may feel that
the ocean is big and stormy,
and our boat is small.
Remind us of your
presence,
power,
and promises.
#MorningPrayer
Save us, Lord,
from a preoccupation
with our own self-image,
from focusing so much
on our own ego
and our standing with others,
that we forget your kingdom
and our standing with you.
Give us instead a passion
for truth and love,
that we may show
your image
to all.
#MorningPrayer
Teach us, Lord,
to watch and listen for you,
to be open
to your presence among us.
Teach us to focus
not only on the ways
we expect to meet you,
or those that cannot be ignored,
but make us open and ready
to encounter you
in the quiet, hidden ways
of your kingdom.
#MorningPrayer
Teach us, Lord, to know
the surpassing value
of your kingdom,
and of our being
counted worthy
of a part in it.
Teach us also
to recognise its treasure,
your presence among us.
Remind us that the ordinary
is charged with your glory;
open our hearts
to encounter you.
#MorningPrayer
Let the seeds of your kingdom
be sown, embedded
and nurtured in us, Lord;
help us to encourage their growth
by our openness to you and to others.
May we never seek
to engineer the kingdom
in our own image,
but rather allow you
to reveal your image in us
day by day.
#MorningPrayer
Till the ground
of our lives, Lord;
make us good soil,
ready to receive and nurture
the seeds of your kingdom.
Give us understanding,
that we may embrace
your word to us;
give us perseverance,
that we may stay true
to your call;
give us a passion
to be your people.
