Morning Opening

This the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24


Today is the day you made, O God. My heart rejoices in this day and the opportunities it holds for me to experience more of Your loving presence. I open my spirit to You, and I give thanks for Your life that fills every cell of my body and life. I open my eyes to You, and I give thanks for Your light that warms and brightens my day. I open my heart to You, and I give thanks for Your life that fills me with compassion, understanding, and peace. I open my soul to You, and I give thanks for Your presence in my life and in the lives of the people I hold dear. Thank You, God, for all that You are and for the blessings that fill every moment of eveyday. In Jesus Name, Amen
OLP

Gracious God

O gracious God, who so generously lavishes our lives with goodness, create in our hearts a deep center of gratitude, a center that grows so strong in its thanksgiving that sharing freely of our treasures becomes the norm and pattern of our existence. Remind us often of how much you cherish us, of how abundantly you have offered gifts to us, especially in the hours of our greatest need. May we always be grateful for your reaching into our lives with surprises of joy. Amen.

OLP

CREATE IN ME

A Prayer from God's Word

O loving and kind GOD, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. For I admit my shameful deed-it haunts me day and night. It is against YOU and YOU alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. YOU saw it all, and Your sentence against me is just. Create in me a new, clean heart, O GOD, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. Don't toss me aside, banished forever from Your presence. Don't take Your HOLY SPIRIT from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey YOU.
Psalms51:1-17 TLB

Sharing The Path

Dear lord,

It is so easy for me to pray today, Lord I want it all and I want it now. Forgive me for treating you as a divine waiter to fetch what I need and carry away my refuse. May I have the patience to wait upon you and renew my strength. May I have the patience to wait and see that you are indeed good. May I have the patience to wait while you unfold the day replete with opportunities to serve you. May I have the patience to share my path with others and to know that they are travellers upon their own journey; And to offer only Inspiration,
so that they may focus upon their rightful destination

In Your Name, Amen

Strong Presence

Eternal God, we confess that we do not always find life easy. May your presence in us be so strong today that our faith comes alive with meaning, power, and strength. Lift our eyes to the risen Christ who gives us courage to pick up our crosses to follow Him. Help us today to bring light to the dark places in our homes, community and country. Help us to bring hope where there is fear, compassion where there is empathy, and redemption where there is division and victory where people expect defeat. In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

VMM

PRAYER QUOTE



"The reason why we obtain no more in prayer is because we expect no more. God usually answers us according to our own hearts." 
Richard Alleine

Morning Call

I call upon you, O Lord.
In the morning you hear me;
in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting. . .Psalm 5

I lift my heart to you, O Lord,
to be strengthened for this day.
Be with me in all I do, my God;
guide me in all my ways.

I will carry some burdens today;
some trials will be mine.
So I wait for your help, Lord,
lest I stumble and fall.

I will do my work, Father,
the work begun by your Son.
He lives in me and I in him;
may his work today be done.

FRD

All Is Calm

Creator God,
Allow me the silence to calm my soul;
The presence of mind to know when you communicate with me
and the wisdom to know when to communicate with others
In the name above all names,
Amen

Denise

PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against You, others and myself. I call upon You, Jesus, and ask You to forgive me from all sin. Especially in the realms of unforgiveness, any word curses against myself or anyone, rebellion and/or strife. I apply the blood of Jesus over myself." In 1 John 1:9 You say, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So I thank you Jesus that I am forgiven! 


Cath

Lead Me, Guide Me

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” —Psalm 32:8

Sometimes, Lord, it’s so hard to see. We squint and struggle to make sense of what you’re showing us. Help us know when you are guiding us, Lord, and when we are clutching at the wrong answers. Help us know, as this peace process unfolds, how to best follow your voice, how to love each other with your perfect love, and how to continue to turn to you and, when it’s your will, to wait until the time you choose to answer our prayers. Thank you for teaching us how to live in your care and respond to your voice.

Help us today not be too quick with our human judgments. When we’re deciding whether to go to the store or stay home, work or play, study or sleep, be diligent or procrastinate lead us to ask God what God wants us to do. We can ask God what God thinks, and then listen.

Beloved, remember that the more we turn to the Lord for the small stuff in life, the more clearly we will hear him in the midst of big stuff.

The Neutral Zone of Prayer

Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Have you ever prayed for something and it seemed like God was on vacation and allowed your prayer to linger in Heaven’s In-box too long? You felt like life gave up on you and God had forgotten about you. No matter how much you prayed, begged, or read the Bible, there seemed to be no response from God.

Not only is this a frustrating time but it is also a frightening time, because it is a time between something, knowing, and the belief that prayer has been answered. The Frustration that comes when your situation seems out of control while you await an answer or resolution to your condition can cause you to wonder if God is really even there or cares at all about what you are experiencing.

When the Apostle Paul wrote Romans 12:12, the people must have been experiencing a neutral zone moment in their lives. This group of people who were experiencing suffering and persecution, and Paul had to encourage them to remain “Faithful in Prayer.” Every once in a while we have to be reminded to continue to pray even when our prayers don’t seem to be answered or when we think God has taken a vacation during our most critical time of need.

One of Paul’s most consistent roles was to encourage the people. He had to reassure them of God’s steadfast love and protection. I hope whenever we are in our neutral zones in life, when we feel that nothing is happening, and we think God does not hear us, we remain faithful in prayer.

Often, I am reminded of how much God really cares and how many times God truly answers my prayers. Sometimes I have to slow down, live a little and look around me to see God’s answered prayers in my life and the world around me.

Remember, it may be your request, but eventually, Gods answer will always be Gods plan and will for our life. God does answer our prayers, even when it appears or feels like God is silent, when we pray, God hears and God answers.

Rev. Nigel Felder
Louisville, Kentucky

A Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else-not only in this world but also in the world to come.

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (NLT)

Ephesians 1:15-23

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Gracious God, you create us and love us; you make us to live together in a community. We thank you for Martin Luther King, Jr. and all your children who have been filled with your vision for our lives and who have worked to make bring your vision into reality. Fill us with your vision. Guide us to live by your vision, working to build the beloved community where everyone is welcomed, all are valued, power is shared, privilege is no more, and all your children know wholeness and well-being. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.


PRAYER OF COMMEMORATION

Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sources unknown

A Prayer for People of Haiti Still Trapped in the Rubble

O God, Creator and Sustainer of all that is, we come to You in reverence and humility thanking You for the great privilege of prayer. With our hearts heavy from grief and our minds filled with questions, we come to you! Once again and, as always, we need Your grace and mercy. God, we trust Your wisdom in all things.

Our hearts are filled with anguish for our sisters and brothers who are trapped in the rubble in Haiti who are still hoping and praying to be found before their spirits leave their bodies.

O God our Keeper! Your Word tells us, if we make our beds in Sheol, You are right there. So, show Yourself, manifest Your Presence to our sisters and brothers who are right now still trapped debris. Glorify Yourself in the rubble!

O God our Comforter! Wrap your loving arms around our Haitian sisters and brothers who are longing for to see their family members and loved ones again.

O God our Sustainer! Empower and strengthen rescue workers, keepers of the peace, medical personnel and preachers of your Gospel with your Holy Spirit.

O God our Peace! Breathe on Haiti.

O God our Healer! Heal broken bodies, troubled minds and sorrowing hearts.

O God our Joy! Penetrate the grief, pain and sorrow by the great power of your Presence that all may know, even in tragedies, that you are the Lord.

In Jesus’ holy name, AMEN

Roderick Dwayne Belin
www.iBelin.me

HELP HAITI

You can help now at www.ame-church.com. Remember they will help today and they will need help in the months to come. Recovery will not be over night but over time!

A Prayer for our Sisters and Brothers in Haiti

Almighty GOD, Alpha and Omega of our lives, we thank you for life and the opportunity to live it one second at a time. We Praise YOU and we magnify your Holy Name.

GOD we call upon YOU to have mercy on our sisters and brothers in Haiti. We ask that YOU will use your Almighty Power to send help and cease the catastrophic conditions that have fallen on these your children. We pray for the many families and individuals that are facing an acid test of faith and iife; for those who have died; for those who have survived this horrific earthquake; we pray for the agencies and individuals who are responding to the needs of our people.

Heavenly Father, we pray that all Christians, all people of faith and each member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church will open their hearts and pray; make contributions in whatever forms possible and share with their friends, families and others the needs of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

O LORD, we continue to give YOU the honor, glory and praise in the majestic name of JESUS the CHRIST.
Amen, Amen, Amen

Sister Joyce Bracy Vaughan
Connectional Lay Organization Chaplain

HELP HAITI

As we're praying for the people of Haiti, you can help now. Go to www.ame-church.com. Bishop Sarah Davis of the 16th Episcopal District is preparing now to go to Haiti to assess the damage. Go to www.ame16th.com for more information. We are encouraging all people of faith to lift an offering and donate today. They should be back up today. We may not be able to help everyone but YOU can help someone. Thanks!

VMM



*Photo Ivanog Demers/AP

Good Gifts

Glorious God, thank you for the good and perfect gifts you have bestowed upon us. Forgive us when we take credit for our talent and abilities. Forgive us when we pat ourselves on the back instead of thanking you for fighting our battles.

Help us today and everyday to be grateful for the gifts you have generously given. Help us to share them with those who have stumbled along the way. We know that except for your grace, we would be the one drinking from the cup of disappointment and despair. As You have shared with us, so shall we share with each other. In Jesus name, Amen.

PRAYER QUOTE

“If prayer is to mean anything, you have to believe in it.”

Theodore Parker Ferris

Generous God

You are a generous God! You grant us bread when we are hungry, water when we are thirsty. Feed us today, Bread of Heaven until we want no more. Feed us until we want no more. Grant us fresh grace and new mercies. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation. Renew our spirit and quench the fiery darts of the enemy today and everyday. In these uncertain times, help us to trust you more fully, living one day at a time, loving and serving where we can. Encourage our hearts with the knowledge that we are precious to you, through Jesus Christ, Amen.

You Know Everything

Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. You see me, know all my actions. Even before I speak, you already know what I will say.
You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. Psalm 139: 1-5

In the name of Jesus, help me to take full advantage of the good and perfect gifts you have bestowed upon me and by your power strengthen my weaknesses. With your help, discouragement and temporary setbacks will not overtake me. Lift my eyes to the horizon to see victory waiting in the wings. Amen.

Tune Our Hearts

Lord, we gather together today to worship. We come with many needs but we come needing our hearts to be tuned to sing and speak your praises. We come to worship you in spirit and in truth.

We pray today for the vulnerable. People who are chronically ill, moody, poor, ignorant, marginalized, ostracized, bitter, angry, feeble, the burdened, beleaguered and the put upon. We pray for people hounded by bills and bill collectors that may manage well what they have and that they receive wise and good counsel and relief. We pray that this uncertain economy may be a blessing in disguise and change us for the better. We stand on your word that says to us, you have given us the ability to create wealth. So be it!

It's a new Year Lord, so continue to be with us with your protecting presence to guard and guide. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.

Let the Sunshine!

Let us proclaim together that this is the day, the Lord has given to us. We are glad! We throw back the covers of the night to greet the dawn as greedy morning glories welcoming the sun. Let the sunshine in!

Thank you Lord for another day of living. Help us to receive this day with all its uniqueness. It is unlike any other day we have ever lived. Grant us the ability to appreciate its freshness. Help us to allow the unexpected pleasures of peace, power and joy to over take us.

No matter what happened yesterday, the creative power of your Spirit dwells within us to make all things new. May we have the discernment to see the new thing you are doing in us and in the world. May we be your willing instruments in the coming of your kingdom, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Words Matter

Gracious God, today forgive me for the moments when I’ve used words in a manner that did not honor you. My words were not as pleasing, as I wanted them to be. Negative rolled off my tongue instead of positive. Cutting remarks slashed their way to the heart of others. Truth that should have been spoken in love was spoken in anger. The push to have the last word has alienated me from friends and family.

Lord, help me today to use my words for right and good things. Help me to be slow to speak and swift to hear. Show me how to repair the breach in my relationships. In the name of Jesus, help me to change what I think because it will change what I say, lest I sin against you. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Amen.

The Blame Game

Father, forgive me for participating in the blame game, blaming you, my friends, family, co-workers, employers and my circumstances for my mistakes, mishaps and misery. Forgive me for justifying my actions by blaming others. Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.

I acknowledge that you have opened doors for me when access was denied. I confess that you have made a way for me when the way was impossible. I rejoice that you have heard and answered my prayers.

Fill me and move me when frustration threatens to paralyze me. Let my life be as a single string producing clear and characteristic notes of grace that changes the tone of my environment to a joyful noise. In Christ name, Amen.

Make Plain

Eternal Spirit, come knock on the door and give us grace to open. Come to us in stimulating thoughts, clear insights, and illumined faith, in moving gratitude that makes us humble, in penitence that cleanses us, in a sense of vocation, that challenges us. Come to us in a fresh vision of Christ, his grace and mercy, his call to our consciences, and his appeal to our strength.

Let the light shine on all of us today, making plain some answers to our questions, some assurance for our doubts, some strength for our weakness, some vision for our duty, and may we be the more valiant and triumphant spirits because we have worshipped, in the Spirit of Christ, Amen.

Harry Emerson Fosdick

PRAYER EXPERIENCE

Every year I find that I am motivated to pray more. Yet, in a few days or weeks I've lost my enthusiasm. Motivation is the ignition but it is our habit secures the discipline. Thanks for the encouragement.

CJB

Cast the Vision

“As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it. It is not for us to stalk the vision, the vision is stalking us.”
A Native American saying.

God of the old and the New Year, calm our fears about an uncertain future. Imbue us with power not our own and strengthen our resolve to enable a favored and fabulous future.

We will be still today to see the vision stalking us. We will be silent to hear your still small voice unfold its mysteries. We will be open to your instructions on how to enable the vision. We will write the vision and make it plain. We will be patient and even if it tarries we will wait for it, not run ahead of the vision stalking. And, so be it.

Habakkuk 2: 1-3

A New Year's Prayer

Dear Lord, please give me…
 A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;
 A work to do which has real value,
 without which the world would be the poorer;
 A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
 An understanding heart;
 A sense of humor;
 Time for quiet, silent meditation;
 A feeling of the presence of God;
 The patience to wait for the coming of these things,
 With the wisdom to recognize them when they come. In Jesus name, Amen.

Anonymous