Prayers for Life

God, I long to blend in and fit amongst my peers. My heart deeply desires acceptance and community. Guide me to those who also hope for companionship – may I offer to others the community I crave

Like a mother hen, you gather me close under your wings. Under your protection, I find rest and comfort. Your nearness is balm. Your love, the best medicine.

Smooth the seas of my roiling thoughts, speak peace over me. Guide my heart to your path of peace.

May I always remember your love and care for me so that I can make my entire life a prayer of thanksgiving.

Holy Spirit, hear the longing of my heart for family healing, and carry my prayers forth when they are beyond utterance.

God of love, bless the members of my family in all their strengths and weaknesses. Pour out your spirit upon us all so that your peace and charity may guide the way we serve and speak to one another.

I remember the promise given to us in Philippians, the promise of a peace that passes all understanding. I imagine myself experiencing that serenity amidst the choppy waves of a ship at sea .

I ask for the grace of peace and deepening love, in my marriage or the marriage of a loved one. I ask also for the grace of joy, for the gift of being fully seen, fully known, and fully accepted within marriage.

Lord, you knit me together in my mother’s womb, and you know the desires and movements of my heart. I approach you in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, presenting my requests to you.

Jesus, you know, your time, like ours, was filled with violence, hate and suffering. You lived under a repressive regime. May I be a steward of mercy and peace in our suffering world.