PRAYING
FOR THE EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace
J Philip
Newell
Saturday Prayers
Blessed are the
peacemakers for they are born of God. Matt.5:9
2.22.17 Saturday Morning Prayer of Awareness
The peace of
morning’s stillness
The peace of new
beginnings
The peace of
heaven’s kiss
To welcome us to
this day
To root us in this
day
To free us for this
day
That we may grow
with the greening earth
That we may grow
from the ground of glory
That we may grow in
grateful wonder of You
Gracious Giver of
this day
Great Giver of this
new day.-JPN
“The peace of heaven’s kiss…that we
may grow in grateful wonder of You”. What poetry!
I can only imagine the gentleness, the tenderness, behind a kiss from
God, a kiss from heaven. And then the
wonder, the thankfulness, the joy, that grows from such a touch. I think of a mother bending over to softly
touch lips to the skin of a newborn as the infant wakens for the day.
Such is our parent God welcoming us to each new morning. Such is the peace that comes from such a
kiss.
My eyes flutter open
As a kiss tenderly
Touches my forehead
And heaven welcomes me
To the wonder and joy
of a new day.
Good morning, God.
Tender
God…may your kiss waken me to the wonder and joy of this Life. Amen.
2.23.17 Saturday Morning Prayer for the Life of the
World
To the home of
peace
To the field of
love
To the land where
forgiveness and right relationship meet
We look, O God,
With longing for
earth’s children
With compassion for
the creatures
With hearts
breaking for the nations and people we love,.
Open us to visions
we have never known
Strengthen us for
self-givings we have never made
Delight us with a
oneness we could never have imagined
That we may truly
be born of You
Makers of peace. - JPN
“Visions we have never known, a oneness we
cannot imagine”. Dream big. God has the big picture, and that picture
includes our dreams, our visions, our actions.
God thinks big and desires each one of us, however small or
insignificant we might feel, to take small actions toward peace. Rick and I are heading south today. May we be open to the land and to the people
we encounter. May we look for places and
communities in need of reconciliation and love.
I cannot fathom
God's vision for unity,
for the Oneness of Love
that springs forth from
mid-wives of Peace.
God
of Peace…use us, strengthen us, to be mid-wives of peace. Amen.
I am going to focus on healing here. The love of neighbor, the love of our fellow human beings, whether we know them or not, whether we agree or not, will heal some of the brokenness in our world. If we approach each day with a love of life, gratitude for all our many blessings, it makes us more accepting, more tolerant, more eager to love our neighbors, to love our enemies. This is a kind of medicine we can all practice, the kind of healing we are all capable of bringing about.
I wrote
yesterday a little about the two Matthew scriptures, so today we’ll focus on
the Quran verse, ‘God invites you to the home of Peace’. Peace is where we want our hearts to take up
residence, the kind of home that welcomes all and extends hospitality to
whoever walks through the doors. What
kind of home have I built? In what kind
of house do I reside? To use the verse
from Psalms, do I have a home where I practice righteousness and greet visitors
with a symbolic kiss of peace? I like to
think people are comfortable in our home, but how well do I extend the
invitation to outsiders?
It is because we
long for peace that we pray.
Created as one soul
Peace be ours
God of Creation….May peace be ours as we fly
together. Amen.
2.24.17 Saturday Morning Prayer of Blessing
May the love of
life fill our hearts.
May the love of
earth bring joy to heaven.
May the love of
self deepen our souls.
May the love of
neighbor heal our world
As nations, as
peoples, as families this day
May the love of
life heal our world.-JPN
I am going to focus on healing here. The love of neighbor, the love of our fellow human beings, whether we know them or not, whether we agree or not, will heal some of the brokenness in our world. If we approach each day with a love of life, gratitude for all our many blessings, it makes us more accepting, more tolerant, more eager to love our neighbors, to love our enemies. This is a kind of medicine we can all practice, the kind of healing we are all capable of bringing about.
We need not anatomy lessons
or medical school diplomas
to practice the
Medicine of Love
and heal our hurting world.
or medical school diplomas
to practice the
Medicine of Love
and heal our hurting world.
God of healing…help me practice the medicine of
LOVE. Amen.
2.25.17 Saturday Scriptures
Love and
faithfulness will meet. Righteousness
and peace will kiss. Ps.85:10
Love
your neighbor as you love yourself. Matt
22:39
God
invites you to the Home of Peace. Quran-Jonah 10.25
God
makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
Ps.46.9
Love your enemy and
pray for those who harm you. Matt 5:44
God
created us as one soul and as one soul God will bring us back to life. Quran-Luqman 31.28
Love God.
Love my neighbor.
Love my enemy.
Insert the key and
With hospitality
Welcome Peace to the
Home of my heart.
With hospitality
Welcome Peace to the
Home of my heart.
I wrote
yesterday a little about the two Matthew scriptures, so today we’ll focus on
the Quran verse, ‘God invites you to the home of Peace’. Peace is where we want our hearts to take up
residence, the kind of home that welcomes all and extends hospitality to
whoever walks through the doors. What
kind of home have I built? In what kind
of house do I reside? To use the verse
from Psalms, do I have a home where I practice righteousness and greet visitors
with a symbolic kiss of peace? I like to
think people are comfortable in our home, but how well do I extend the
invitation to outsiders?
God
of Peace…May I practice Your Hospitality within the home of my heart. Amen.
2.26.17 Saturday Evening Prayer of Awareness
It is because we
long for peace that we pray.
It is because we
hope for wholeness that we hunger.
It is because we
need forgiveness that we seek new beginnings.
So we come
Entering the depths
of our soul to plead for peace
To summon wholeness,
to beg for forgiveness
Of ourselves and
one another and thus of You
Soul within our
soul
Light within our
longings. -JPN
With humble spirit
I seek forgiveness.
With the blessing of grace,
Peace enters my soul
Then extends outward to all.
Unifying
God…Light within our longings a desire for peace. Amen.
2.27.17 Saturday Evening Prayer for the Life of the
World
Created as one soul
Made in the holy
image
Our deepest desires
are Your desire
Our first instincts
are Your instincts.
Renew in us our
sacred longings
Revive in us our
first thirsts
That wars may cease
And the human soul
be one
That wars may cease
And the human soul
be one.-JPN
My soul longs
for the holy blessing
of God-grace
that brings all souls together
in wholeness and unity.
Holy
God…May we thirst for peace, may we drink of reconciliation. Amen.
2.28.17 Saturday Evening Prayer of Blessing
Peace be ours
The peace of the
One be ours
That we may be one
and many
That we may be
bound and free
That we may be
prisoners to love and fly like doves.
Peace be ours
The peace of the
One be ours
That we may be one
and many
That we may be
bound and free
That we may be
prisoners to love and fly. - JPN
One in wholeness,
one in diversity.
Interwoven lives,
But freely unique.
With the common thread
Of Creator Love,
May Peace be ours
As we live together.
All
quotations are from PRAYING with the
EARTH: A Prayerbook for Peace by John Philip Newell. William B Eerdman’s Publishing Company,
2011.
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