Prayer, a Whisper in the Waves

Praying in Raging Storms

Holy One, who sees each tear drop, hears every whisper, breath, and prayer.

We breathe with the hope of experiencing the fullness of life. Gracefully, we hold our breath and hold onto You Lord, our Savior.

Life is like waves that sometimes feel calm or turbulent. Prayer is a life jacket, an anchor, shelter and guide.

We park and pray.

Loving God, thank You for Your unconditional love. Your steady presence. Your grace and mercy are graciously received. Thank you for being our Help and Strength, our Shelter, Protector, the Wind beneath our wings and our Holy Guide. We need You every minute. May we also be present with You. Amen

A Prayer For Today

Please join me in virtual prayer at 1:11 pm in virtual prayer.

Dear God,

Today we come before you with open hearts and minds, seeking your guidance and wisdom. In a world full of challenges, we ask for your strength and courage to face whatever comes our way.

We pray for those who ask that we pray for them. You know their specific issues and you are aware of their needs. We pray for peace to prevail in our world and for love to conquer hate. We ask for healing for all those who are suffering from illness or pain, and for comfort for those who are grieving.

May we be guided by your light as we navigate the complexities of life. Let us be kind to one another, and show compassion to those who are struggling. Help us to be good stewards of the planet, and to care for all of your creatures great and small.

Grant us the wisdom to make good choices, and the grace to accept our mistakes. Above all, may we always remember that you are with us, every step of the way.

We pray this in your holy name.

Amen.

Plowshare Prayer Lyrics & Song by Spencer LaJoie

Have you ever heard or read prayers that speak to your heart and soul? I’ve written many prayers that soothed my aches and strengthened my relationship with the Holy One. Many of those prayers I haven’t shared with you. Those prayers are like lyrics associated with music I imagine. Lately, I have listened to prayers that are also songs. I feel as if I receive a double blessing. It soothes my heart and soul. I hope the Plowshare Prayer by Spencer LaJoie does the same for you too!

Let us park and pray this prayer at 1:11 pm. Listen and/or Read the Plowshare Prayer. Tap this link for the YouTube video.Let us pray and/or hear this prayer: https://youtu.be/MhOZv5i7CHY

Dear blessed creator, dear mother, dear savior
Dear father, dear brother, dear holy other
Dear sibling, dear baby, dear patiently waiting
Dear sad and confused, dear stuck and abused
Dear end-of-your-rope, dear worn out and broke,
Dear go-it-alone, dear running from home
Dear righteously angry, forsaken by family
Dear jaded and quiet, dear tough and defiant
I pray that I’m heard
And I pray that this works
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword against you and your heart, against you and your word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts that it might break you open, it might help you grow
I pray that your body gets all that it needs
and if you don’t want healing, I just pray for peace
I pray that your burden gets lighter each day
I pray the mean voice in your head goes away
I pray that you honor the grief as it comes
I pray you can feel all the life in your lungs
I pray that if you go all day being brave
that you can go home, go to bed feeling safe
I pray you’re forgiven, I pray you forgive
I pray you set boundaries and openly live
I pray that you feel you are worth never leaving I pray that you know I will always believe you
I pray that you’re heard
and I pray that this works
Amen on behalf of the last and the least
On behalf of the anxious, depressed, and unseen
Amen for the workers, the hungry, the houseless
Amen for the lonely and recently spouseless
Amen for the queers and their closeted peers
Amen for the bullied who hold in their tears
Amen for the mothers of little Black sons
Amen for the kids who grow up scared of guns
Amen for the addicts, the ashamed and hungover
Amen for the calloused, the wisened, the sober
Amen for the ones who want life to be over Amen for the leaders who lose their composure
Amen for the parents who just lost their baby
Amen for the chronically ill and disabled
Amen for the children down at the border
Amen for the victims of our law and order
I pray that you’re heard
and I pray that this works
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword against you and your heart, against you and your
word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts.

A Prayer for 2023

Almighty God, Holy Guardian of Life, Love, Hope, and Peace

Holy One, thank you for the gift of your presence in 2022, and throughout the years. 

Looking back, we are conscious of many memories.  We celebrated birthdays, and we wept and memorialized those who transitioned. There were times when illnesses recycled throughout our families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, as we wrestled with the Covid Virus. We gave thanks for healings, and the end of pain and suffering. Many learned to pray more than once and to patiently wait for Your answers. We have a storehouse of remarkable treasures and lessons learned in 2022.

We are reminded of the frailty of our lives and the importance of caring for one another through the simple practice of wearing a mask, sanitizing our hands, and exercising long distance affection. We thank You God, for Your steadfast response to our needs. We held onto a sacred time to park and pray at 1:11 pm. We were fully present with God as many of us prayed for those who are sick, shut in, shut out, and away from opportunities for healthy living. 

As we move forward to 2023, Merciful God, create in us a clean heart and a renewed spirit. We pray:

For all in need of healing and deliverance from sickness, challenges, and heavy burdens. 

For all God’s servants. For all who are vulnerable and lack resources for healthy living.

For all who are in the midst of warfare and dangerous environmental challenges.

For all who are resistant to God’s message of peace, love, justice, righteousness, and mercy. 

For all who need body, mind, and spiritual fuel for life’s journeys. 

For all who need strength, grace, mercy, peace, joy, safety, and a refuge from danger.

Merciful God give us each day our daily Bread, a fuel that supplies our specific needs.

Loving God, we are thankful for Your unconditional love and attention. O God, we find strength in our relationship with You.

In 2023, continue to fill us with Your love and compassion for one another. Nurture a desire for truth, liberty, justice, peace, and charity. Create in us a clean heart and a renewed spirit.  

May all desire to practice a common love, peace, mercy, and respect for one another. 

Gracious God, help us to fulfill Your Call as neighbors.

“To Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Loving God, may we understand and proclaim Your universal Call and Commitment to love God and to love one another as spoken by the Savior.  As God wills. Amen.

A Prayer About Prayer

A Prayer about Prayer
Gracious Love,
in whom we live and move and have our being,

Teach us how to pray as you would have us pray:
bring to mind what you would have us remember, and
give us the words to pray for what is needed.

Help us to feel your presence which is always with us.

Help us to trust that the words we use to offer our gratitudes and concerns are adequate,
and help us to trust that if we have no words,
and can only offer groans, or silence, or smiles
that your Spirit lifts these to you in all of their fulness.

Help us to trust that we feel called to pray, so that
we can tell you what is in our hearts and minds; and,
help us to trust that you also call us to pray so that
your Spirit moving within us
helps us to see as you see; to love as you love;
giving us the words to say what needs to be made real for the good of all.

Help us to trust that we are not the only one offering the prayers that are needed this day.
Help us to feel the presence of others in this room and across this land
who are also praying. Lifting up gratitudes; lifting up concerns.
Help us to feel our connection as part of the whole – so much larger than each of us alone.

Help us to trust that even before we began to pray,
you are already fully present seeking to make real
the responses that are needed to all the prayers we offer.

Grant us this day that our prayers are worthy of your goodness and your generosity.
That we have prayed big enough; that no one and nothing has been left out.

Grant us this day whatever we need to be able to live the lives that are the responses to our prayers.

Gracious one, we are grateful to you that we are not the first ones, nor the only ones, praying today.
We come before you as inheritors of a long tradition.
Over so many centuries, in so many languages, in so many ways,
people gather in community to pray.
In particular, we here today recall how many times, and in how many places,
people have gathered and shared with one voice
the prayer that Jesus teaches his followers to say …

Our Brother’s Prayer

Holy One, Holy Three
In whom we are one,

Fill our world with your wonder.

May the loving right-relations that you eternally are,
Be how we are here on earth.

May all living beings receive from their labour
All that is needed for the wellbeing of all.

Forgive us the harm our ideas and actions do,
As we receive healing from those wounded by
our stories, our laws, and our commerce.

Save us from trials that overwhelm,
And let us not be tricked into believing lies.

For the power and the glory of the kin_ship of all living things
Abide in you, now and for ever.

May it be so.

—————-

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Please credit the source as, “David Ewart, http://www.davidewart.ca, August 22, 2023”.

Writer’s note: I have no idea where this version of the Lord’s Prayer came from, so I apologise for not giving credit where credit is due. I know I’ve amended it over the years, but it is something that draws me back time and again. So I am using it as a framework for this week’s offering.

Our Father in Heaven,
and present on earth in your only Son and still imbuing us – when we let you –
with your ‘Ruach’ – your Holy Spirit.
Remind us constantly that You are parent to all Your children, whoever and wherever they are.

 Hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come, establishing peace and justice, hope and life for all.

Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and disturb us into awareness of the needs of others.

Forgive us our sins, our pride and our prejudices,
as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
especially keep our hearts and minds open
to see the good in others.

Deliver us from evil.
For the Kingdom: just and true,
the Power:  gentle and fair,
and the Glory:  shot through with the colours of love,
are Yours for ever and ever.
AMEN.

For all of us, whatever our needs, thanksgivings, and intercessions, let us bring them to God.
God hear us and answer the prayers – not necessarily the ones we are bringing but the ones we should be offering.

Wherever we are, on the mountain top or in the pits of life, there you are with us. You promised never to leave us alone – and you are faithful and true. So we give thanks that all is known to You.

We bring our burdens to you, faithful God; in your kindness,
hear our prayer.

For our sisters throughout the world when misogyny and sexual violence are seen as acceptable by too many men. We give thanks for the courage of so many women challenging this injustice, often at the cost of their lives. We name in particular all affected in India, Afghanistan, Iran, Alaska (USA), France, and South Africa.

God be near them.
God be near them.

We hold in the stillness before you the millions suffering from floods, hurricanes, and typhoons from Japan, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean communities, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Give strength, and help us provide urgently required medical supplies, food, and shelter for all those made homeless and made ill by the polluted flood waters.

God be near them.
God help us to think creatively how to help our brothers and sisters in need.

 Others are dying through drought, crops destroyed, and soil erosion by the triple-dip El Niño and La Niña effect.  The areas affected stretch from Peru, across South America, in West Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Tigray, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, and in a broad swathe across the continent of Africa and as far east as Siberia, Russia, China, Afghanistan, and as far south as Australia and as far north as the USA and parts of Europe, areas which used to be known as ‘bread baskets’ for their ability to feed their neighbours.

God be near them.
God help us to think creatively how to help our brothers and sisters in need and solve this crisis.

Holy One, our burdens and concerns are in danger of overwhelming us when the cost of living, food, fuel, and heating are going through the roof mainly through the machinations of man. We remember all those struggling to survive and longing for peace and being with loved ones again. In particular we remember the horrors being uncovered in the freed areas of Ukraine.

God be near them. Let your wisdom and compassion flow into those in power.
God hear us and help us to make peace and justice our task.

We recall your words calling us to be good servants and responsible stewards. You continue to invite us to come and work with you, reminding us of your promise to be always with us.

When children are able to be children:
Your joy, God, is at the heart of all things.

When adults walk together to respect, love, and care for each other and this beautiful but fragile planet:
Your joy, God, is at the heart of all things.

 We give thanks for the loving and faithful service of so many we take for granted who keep our communities functioning: the refuse collectors, the utilities workers, the postal workers, the list is almost endless. We give thanks for each one of them precious to us and even more precious in your eyes.

When anyone lives a life of service in self-less love:
Your joy, God, is at the heart of all things.

May we use the resources of your bounteous earth lightly and with thanksgiving, wasting none and sharing with all so we can become the community you created us to be, saved and freed by your beloved Son, Jesus, and empowered daily by your breath of Life – your Holy Spirit.

Set us on fire with your Love, Light, and Will that we can revel in your world, work for justice, love our neighbours and all that is created, and walk humbly and in joy with you, our God. AMEN.

The post World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 22 September 2022 appeared first on World in Prayer.

Click here for more prayers and additional resources on praying for the world.

What If?

The end of School Sponsored Prayer in Public School 

Fifty years ago, on June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayers unconstitutional in the landmark case Engel v. Vitale. The Court prohibited the recitation of a school-sponsored prayer in public schools  ending the Regents Prayer because it was recommended by the State Board of Regents. 

“What if we will, then God will.” This is an amazing agreement that calls us to make a decision.

God invites us to ask in prayer and God inspires us to expect an answer. Perhaps prayer in public schools did not totally end. Some students organized their own prayer groups and they continued to pray. Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11 pm every Monday and pray the Regents Prayer below. Let us end our prayers with, “Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayers!”

What if, we pray in these words and we repeat it until the prayer becomes a part of our being. It becomes a prayer that rings like a clarion call. What if God answers us? Let us pray and see.

Almighty God, we recognize our dependence upon You. We beg for Your blessings upon me, us, our parents, siblings, family, friends, neighbors, teachers, strangers, our Houses of Worship, our Country, nations and all who are in need. In our Savior’s Name , Amen.

Makes Me Holler!

woman in gray tank top
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Oh Lord, my heart is aching!

I can hardly catch my breath!

I’m speechless and shivering!

Makes me holler!

Can you hear me?

Makes me holler!

Cry and throw up both my hands!

But, hands are for praying.

Knees are for surrendering.

Heads are for bowing down.

Hearts are for humble adoration.

Ears are for listening to whispers in between our tears.

It’s so hard to be silent today.

I want to holler all day long!

But, I must park. I must pray to the Almighty.

I need you to join me.

Let’s park and pray at 1:11 pm everyday.

Pray ahead of the storms.

Pray before trouble and pray before evil is born.

Pray in the midst of heartaches and pray after it’s gone.

Let’s Pray, My God, have mercy on me, and on them.

Have mercy! Oh God, please have mercy on us.

Lord have mercy on all of us.

My Lord, please save the children!

Protect them from harm and from death!

Create in us a clean heart. A renewed spirit.

Deliver us from evil. Heal our sorrow.

Comfort the pain of trauma

My Lord, please save the children!

Protect them from harm and from death!

Watch over them all day and all night.

Keep them in Your loving sight. Amen.

Calling For A Cloud and A Fire

WP Images

How much O Lord? How much more must we endure? The burden of disappointment and despair weighs heavy on our minds and bodies. We don’t know how much more we can bear. We ask that you continue to be with us and shield us from the enemy. As you gave instructions to the Israelites and guided them with a cloud by day and a fire by night, lead us now so that we may grow and mature in the Christian faith.
“those that wait on the lord shall renew their strength…” (Isaiah 40:31)

Rev. Barbara Smith

One Million Lives

Light a candle to remember someone on this day of remembrance
https://gratefulness.org/light-a-candle/view-all

Holy One, we are grateful for You are a source of comfort.

We are saddened by the many lives lost due to the Covid – 19 Pandemic.

We are grateful for the precious memories that we hold close to our hearts.

Help us to celebrate their lives. Give us peace even in the midst our of grief.

Bless us with relief from this devastating pandemic.

Receive our prayers as we light a candle.

In our Savior’s name we park and pray at 1:11 and always. Amen

https://gratefulness.org/light-a-candle/view-all

Let’s Pray at 1:11 pm in God’s Garden

Even the Bee Clings to its source of life

Almighty God, You call us to “Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. God will not fail you or abandon you!” ⏤ Deuteronomy 31:6

Merciful God, it’s 1:11 pm! A time for our daily prayer. We enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving. You call us to bring our tired, and achy bodies to the throne of Grace and Mercy. We pull over, park, turn off the car engine, and sit behind the wheel. As we get accustomed to silence we listen to our breath. We place a hand over our heart and imagine pledging allegiance to the God of Grace and Mercy.

We pledge allegiance to You God Almighty who rescues us from our troubles.

Thank You! We love You. O God, we receive You. Please receive us.

Thank You for your love, compassion, and guidance.

Thank You for the ways You show up in our lives.

Thank You for watching over us, like Your sheep.

Help us enter Your presence and to draw strength from You.

Sanctify our time together as a rich opportunity to share our love.

We confess our emptiness when we try to live without You.

Merciful God, in the face of all that’s happening in our world, help us remember You.

Loving God we call on You in our days of trouble and You give us peace.

Gracious God, You know every pebble in the sand, every fish in the ocean and every inch of our being. You created even the dust under our shoes for a purpose. You taught us to shake off the dust and keep moving forward.

Almighty God, create in us, a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within each one. Psalm 51:10.

Dear God, hear our cries and comfort all who are grief stricken today.

Strengthen all who are too weak to care for themselves and others.

Satisfy the righteous desires of all who are in need.

Heal the sick, clothe the naked, recover those who are lost and release the captives.

Savior, we pray for deliverance from injustice, evil, wars and destruction.

Help us to respond to Your call to our time of daily prayer at 1:11 pm.

Thank You for being with us. You’re closer than our breath.

You are our Spiritual Bread of Life and more.

Almighty God, feed us and heal all of sickness and disease especially the Viral Pandemic. Fill us with Your love, life lessons, and wisdom.

Give us strength for each day, bright hope, and patience throughout our days.

Help us to confidently walk in the Light of Your Holy presence daily.

As we park and pray at 1:11 pm, we thank YOU for hearing our prayers.

Thank YOU for this new day. Thank you for opening new doors, and windows of opportunities. Praise YOU for those destined to be YOUR children and grow as spiritual siblings. We celebrate Your Gifts of love, abundant life, and confidence to embrace new surroundings, new opportunities, and new ways to glorify You.

We park and pray at 1:11 pm for ourselves, families, friends, neighbors, and strangers.

Gracious God, receive our spoken and unspoken prayers for those who asked for prayer, those we remember, and for all in need of prayer.

We offer our love, our praise, and our thanks.

In our Savior’s Name we pray! Amen.

A Birthday Prayer

Psalm 121:1

Dear Friends,

I was on a Social Media break. Now that I’ve returned, please receive my belated Birthday Blessings, Congratulations, Condolences, Thanks, and words of encouragement. Please know you’re in my thoughts and prayers at 1:11 pm each day. 

Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me. Here’s a gift for us to share. Let us pray:

Almighty God, thank you for being our constant companion. You’ve open doors and settled disagreements. You sent flowers along our path, and shared fragrances that caused us to be still and know the God of Peace is near. You call us to experience godly peace. Every day in your presence is a gift. Thank you for birthdays, prayer, gifts, and for satisfying our needs. I’m thankful for this time to celebrate my birthday today with my family, friends, Faith Congregations, fellow clergy, prayer partners at 1:11 pm, bloggers, and all. Almighty God, we pray for healing especially for all who are sick due to the Covid 19 Virus. May goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives. Bless us with renewed strength, guidance, grace, mercy, wisdom, and protection. Bless us with your favor as you heal our bodies, renew our spirit., May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us and establish the work of our hands. Yes, O Holy and Merciful God, establish the work of our hands. In Your name we pray. Amen. 🙏🏾🙏💕

Time Out!

Please stop what you’re doing at 1:11 pm. Declare a time out from whatever you’re doing. Pause for a moment and be present in body, mind, and spirit. Virtually, join with others who park and pray at 1:11 pm.

I wrote this prayer at the end of Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s three days of Confirmation Hearings. I needed a time out and I am certain she deserved the same. Let us welcome God’s Holy presence in our lives. Let us park and pray at 1:11 pm. 

Gracious, Loving, Holy, Merciful God, we enter your presence with praise and thanksgiving. You are a constant source of love, power, strength, and healing. Your peace calms raging seas and overcomes deadly forces. God, we need You today. God have mercy on us. Help us to overcome the pandemic nature of hatred that is killing the souls of nations throughout our world. 

Give us strength to peacefully overcome limitations, distrust, disappointments, and dissatisfactions. Help us to resist the temptations to allow hatred and fear to guide us and flourish in our heart. Holy One, arrest acts of aggressions. Arrest each situation and desire to stop a Black woman judge from being her great self in service for all people in our nation. 

God, it’s hard to recall a time of peaceful reflection. It’s hard to imagine the growth of a diverse nation of leaders in my lifetime. Too many are weighed down by a pandemic of racial discord. It becomes a deadly force that prevents a Brown and Black gifted person from being celebrated as a member of one nation under God.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a confident, intelligent, stately, and an accomplished woman of color whose brilliance is perceived as a threat. Her faith in God is familiar to many of us, and her desire to serve You and your children are not self- serving. She is faithful and faith filled. Thank You for her life. Loving God, help all who gather in her presence to hear her and to discern Your message for us. We pray for a Time Out so we may check out the righteous desires of the God we serve.

When books fall off the shelves, and the pages open to God’s plan we pray to You O’ God who prepares a place for her even in the presence of her enemies. God, anoint her with the oil of gladness. Deliver her from the depths of evil. For it is Your presence, Your power, Your love, and Your glory that is our hope and strength. We give thanks O God now and always. Amen.

A Prayer for Renewed Hope

 Rev. Cleo Graham

A National World Day of Prayer

Dear God,

She said she only had today.

She doesn’t have a tomorrow.

She said she can’t go on.

Her reality is the destruction that surrounds her. 

It’s the sounds of pain, suffering, babies crying, many people dying.

A panic-stricken mother frantically escaped a bombed hospital and delivered her baby whom she named Veronica, which means victory.

How shall we help her and others like her whose hope is lost? Help her parents, siblings, children, neighbors, strangers, friends, and those who will be born in a war torn country?

What can we give up, send, do without, live without and sanction? 

We fast and we pray to You Merciful God.

Almighty God, we depend on You. 

We need Your power for the death toll is rising .

We cannot watch the news without feeling as if there’s something we should do.

 We pray for our neighbors.

We pray for deliverance from evil. 

We pray that Your truth will prevail today.

We pray for Your Holy Healing Power.

We pray for Your Divine protection of human life and human rights.

We pray for Your Grace and Peace O Heavenly Father and Mother.  

We pray for surely You inspire and equip us to be Peacemakers. 

Help us to love our neighbors enough to end the massive destruction of lives

Help us to care for one another in Ukraine, Mississippi, Somalia, and elsewhere. 

We pray without ceasing on this 

National World Day of Prayer.

We Park and Pray at 1:11 pm, daily.

You give us hope and renew our strength. 

We give thanks and praise, to You Almighty God whose love endures forever.

We pray in Thy Holy Name.

Hear our prayers O God. Amen.

Take My Hand Lord

Take my hand Lord lead me to that blessed holy place where I can see a glimpse of the heavenly promise that you have made to your people.

Fill me with wisdom so that I may know which path to take.
Strengthen me so that my soul will not waiver but that I may be ready and able to do the work to which I have been called. It is your Holy Spirit that points me to the way of deliverance through your son Jesus Christ, my strength and my redeemer.

Take my hand Lord that I may be led out of the wilderness to a place of peace and joy. Amen

Rev. Barbara Smith

Ashes & Dust

As we begin the Lenten Season…

let us begin with prayer:

O Holy and Great God lead us through the wilderness as you led Moses and the Hebrew people. Let us use this time wisely to repent, reflect and recharge. Lead us in your righteousness and help us to make room in our lives for for Jesus. Amen

Rev. Barbara Smith

Aren’t They Women Too?

Sojourner Truth

She wore a Gray dress and a white turban when she delivered her infamous message, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Many wondered about the identity of this Woman of Color who competently stepped into a crowded space and asked the question. “Ain’t I a Woman?” It was a time when women, Colored people, and former slaves did not have a public voice.

Who was Sojourner Truth and who is she today? Who are the women who dared to change history? Let us remember them in our prayers as we celebrate their contributions during Women’s History month.

Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11 pm. Dear God,

We thank you for carrying her across each threshold of life. She wore a godliness on her face that frightened those who refused to let her speak before the crowd. But thank You Dear God for the many times when You ordered her steps. Thank You for putting wings on her back. You cause her to rise above the fray and transcend the bondage of enslaved people and overcome the ignorance of our times.

She was adorned with a halo around her head that appeared like a strobe light that shined along her path. Today, many of us imagine hearing her infamous message. “Ain’t I a Woman?” These words were spoken by Sojourner Truth (1797- 1883), born a slave in New York State. In 1827, she gained her freedom, and in 1843, she changed her birth name from Isabella to Sojourner to reflect her heart and Light inspired by the gift of Your Holy presence in her life. O God, Light of the world. Your Light shined everywhere she walked. You revealed to her, “There was no place where God was not.” As One who answered her prayers and our prayers. Thank you God.

You called Jarena Lee, a pioneer to preach the gospel. She claimed you approved her. We celebrate Women’s History this month and throughout the year. “For in Christ, there is neither male nor female. We are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

We remember Sisters of Mercy, Nurses and other volunteers who went throughout the land helping many who were stricken by yellow fever. These women carried the necessities of life to those who were in need. She prayed and saved many lives. Thank you God for being with Women throughout our history. We pray now and always. Amen.

It’s 1:11! Let’s Park & Pray🙏🏾🧎‍♀️

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

Sunday

O Lord, you have searched me known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.

Monday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

“Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Tuesday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.

Wednesday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

Thursday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.

Friday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.

Saturday

Almighty God, I enter Your presence with praise and thanks. Merciful God, receive my spoken and unspoken prayers. Holy One, attend to my needs, the needs of all people, creatures, and creation. Help me to recognize Your answers to my prayers and to accept Your will and Your ways. I pray my life is pleasing in Your Sight.

O that you would kill the wicked, O God,

And that the bloodthirsty would depart from
me those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
In Your Holy Name.Amen.

Psalm 139 NSRV

Remembering the Mountain

So if you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ
Colossians ch 3:I-3

As a child, I prayed this prayer in the morning before my bare feet touched the floor.

Good Morning God. Thank you for restful sleep. I’m ready to wake up and continue our story. A story about a dream that comes true. I want to live to see freedom, justice and for all people.

As a child growing up during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. era I saw MLK as someone who was bigger than life. His invisible wings and his prayerful messages were like a Balm in Gilead.
His comforting messages soothed tired and aching feet, torn and worn out from standing in lines, climbing, marching, running and occasionally kicking a can further down the road. I imagine it was a symbolic part of his journey.
Some days that was the only measure of success. But, King was raised on prayer.

Let’s remember Rev. Dr. Martin L. King today, who is out of sight but, never out of our minds. His impact on us is still alive. As we trace the ups and downs, twists and turns along his life journey with us let us remember that our story is connected with his story. His thoughts, his words, dreams and hopes are in the hearts and minds of those called and gifted with and no longer on the Potter’s wheel with today’s activists.

My feet are no longer dry, cracked and aching. I still dream and wonder. Are we free? Is that the mountain top over there? It’s High, Tiny, Hidden.

Let us park and pray at l:11pm about a hope for a dream to come true. Mmm want to live to see freedom, justice and equality for all people especially for Your brown people.
Bedtime, Now I lay me down to sleep. God I pray on my bended knees. I pray, have mercy O Lord please, cover us and give us restful sleep.
Shepherd, let your peace rest in me.

Let’s remember Rev. Dr. Martin L. King , as a great leader who is out of sight but, he’s not out of our minds. His influence is still alive. As we reflect on his life, his messages and journey, Let us remember that our stories are connected with his story. His thoughts, his words, dreams and hopes have impacted many lives. Although he’s no longer on the Potter’s wheel with today’s activist, he’s present in spirit. The history of his mighty works resonate truth to power. He fought many battles and risked his life.

My Childhood Prayer at Bedtime,

Now I lay me down to sleep. God I pray on my bended knees. I pray, have mercy O Lord please, cover us and give us restful sleep., May your peace rest in me. Amen. 🙏🏾 .

God Hears, Sees, and Remembers You*

Dear Beloved Community, Thank you for parking and praying at 1:11 pm with us.
🙏🏾 for God’s healing and peace in the new year.>>>

Beloved, I hope you know prayer can warm frosted hands and make a cold heart melt. Prayer reminds us we’re not alone. Let’s Park and Pray at 1:11 pm.

God, thank you for warming our thoughts with renewed hope.
Give us eyes to see in ourselves what You hope for us.
Kindle the fires that ignite our dreams.
Extinguish the torches that kill our faith.
Help us to find meaning, direction and purpose in the New Year star before each one of us.
Oh that you hold us and balance us in Your Holy Hands. Our hands are like the stars. Five fingers stretching, reaching , touching, balancing, holding, and carrying light in the midst of darkness.
Giving and sharing the gifts of God through prayer. To be Blessed & a Blessing. Amen
***
Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?” The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. God has seen that you give to the poor, and God remembers you. Acts 10:2 NCV

A Prayer Beneath the Christmas Tree

dad and daughter sitting and clapping near a christmas tree
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Lord, as we sit beneath our Christmas Tree, we surrender our lives to You.

We honor and adore You. Help us to remember to take time each day to rest, breathe, and pray.

We long to listen and hear You.

Help us to park, stop and pray during this Christmas Season and daily.

Help us remember the story about Jesus’ birth that renews life, and his power to overcome death. 

Spirit God, we celebrate our time with you.

Remind us to be grateful, thoughtful, forgiving and forgiven, loving and hopeful. 

As we receive Your blessings, may we also extend kindness and offer our hands to those in need.

Holy One, remind us that we are never alone.

Thank You for Your constant presence in our lives, especially during sickness, sadness, gladness and joy.

Thank you for our past, this Christmas Day and the days ahead.

Thank you for a renewed spirit, a blessed hope, peace, and unconditional love.

You are the Gift that is everlasting.

In Your Name I pray. Amen

Waiting, Watching, and Wondering

Are you feeling impatient today?

Does the act of waiting six feet apart in long lines make you anxious?

Consider using this time as an opportunity to connect with the Holy.

Imagine each person in line as a candle light.

Each lit candle represents Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

As you wait and watch the line grow longer, try to wonder about God.

Now, take a deep breath. Feel the invisible power fill every inch of your being.

You are parked and ready to pray. Let us pray.

Holy One. Almighty and Merciful God, praise and thanks for your loving presence.

Let your Light of Love shine and remind us of your unconditional love.

Bless us with your Light of Hope that strengthens our faith.

Give us sight to see your Light of Joy in each day.

Fill us with your Light of Peace and Patience regardless of our circumstances.

Help us to embrace your ways and to live according to your will.

May your will be done in us and through us.

Gracious and Loving God, as we wait, watch and wonder, we thank you for hearing our prayers.

In Your Holy Name. Amen.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” Romans 8:26–27 NSRV

A Prayer of Thanksgiving 2021

A Park and Prayer of Thanksgiving 2021

These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray. Accept them when I place them on the altar, O God, my Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar.  Psalm 19:14 MSG Adapted 

As we prepare for this time of Thanksgiving, let us park and pray at 1:11 pm and anytime.

O Lord, on this Thanksgiving Day receive our spoken prayers and the silent meditations of our hearts. 

Giving thanks to You, O God for Your Holy presence and for all who are present in body, mind, and spirit. As we remove our masks and lay our hands across our hearts, we look upon the creases of our smiling lips. 

We embrace the power gratitude that fills this moment. 

We thank You, O Lord For each smile that will carry us throughout our days.  

We look upon the feast before us. we give You thanks. 

For the hands that prepared it. For the planters who sowed the seeds and all who tended the gardens, we give thanks. 

We give thanks for those who filled the shelves in our grocery stores.

We give thanks with a grateful heart.

We pray Lord have mercy on those who do not have a seat at the table. 

Merciful God, we pray for an immediate end to hunger, poverty, and injustices.

We pray for Your blessings. 

We give thanks as Your Holy presence shines brightly upon our heads and fills each heart with Light and Love. 

As we touch the edges of our lips, and we are reminded that God smiles upon our faces as often as the sun shines. 

When the clouds roll back and our cup overflows with rain, we remember the sorrowful times in our lives. We remember our loved ones who entered eternal peace. We give thanks for their memories and for their impact on our lives.

We thank You for Your blessings, and for Your presence in our lives. 

O God, our Holy Savior, receive the silent prayers of our hearts and minds… 

We ask for your blessings on this food, our time together and our relationship with you and with one another. In our Savior’s name we pray, “Amen.” (CDG)

Keep the Faith

Let us Park and Pray at 1:11

“It is the mystery of the unknown that fascinates us; we are children still, wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling to the familiar things we call our own, and with the other, resolute of will, grope in the dark for what the day will bring. – Henry W. Longfellow.

Prayer

Almighty God, I pray that thou wilt help me to correct my life today that I may know a better way tomorrow; and may I be mindful and try to do right. Grant that I may be patient and kind if I may be sick or in need, and always keep uppermost the faith of deliverance and eternal care. Amen.

https://www.youdevotion.com/prayer/september/13

🙏🏾 The 911 Prayer 20 yrs 🙏🏼

On the 20th anniversary of 911, I revisited my prayer. I prayed for the lives lost, injured and changed. It felt like multiple catastrophic storms. Yet, something amazing occurred. Let us virtually pray this prayer at 1:11 pm.

Almighty God, we remember the ripple effects of our nation under attack, and the struggle to catch her breath. Gracious God, we remember 9/11, the sounds, sights, and deadly effects. Prayerfully, we remember the heroes, lives lost, wounded, rescued, and saved. We prayed for all concerned.

Merciful God, we remembered Your loving kindness. Your blessed hope and renewed peace that was evident over time. Your presence reminded us that every breath is a prayer. We pray, to You O God, whose time is endless, love is unconditional and whose mercy and grace are matchless gifts.

We give thanks as You call us to remember that love never dies. On this 9/11 day of remembrance, we prayerfully reflect on all whose lives that were threatened by deadly forces.

We take time to pray, “O God, whose time is endless, whose love is unending and whose mercy and grace are matchless gifts. You continue to breathe new life into dry bones. You teach us to honor the sanctity of life. You inspire us to cherish our relationship with the Divine Spirit and with one another. We give thanks for each and every day.

On this 9/11 day of remembrance, we prayerfully reflect on loved ones, friends, first responders, strangers, neighbors,and all who were affected by the deadly forces and devastation of 911. We are grateful for two decades of relative calm in our nation. We thank you O Holy One, and we ask You to settle our hearts and minds. Bless us with Your Peace and teach us how to hold onto the peace You give us.

Merciful God we”Park & Pray @ 1:11pm. Amen

Welcoming the AAWIM & You

Park and Pray at 1:11 welcomes

African American Women In Ministry

Dear Park and Pray at 1:11 pm, thank you for following this blog and for praying at 1:11 pm with us. Please join me in welcoming a community that will join us in our virtual 1:11 prayers.

They minister to those in need while facing the same challenges as the communities they serve. They are the heart of a ministry of love and justice that shares peace and promotes unity.

The African American Women in Ministry is a community of ministers in the United Church of Christ dedicated to support one another in their Call and walk with God. “To do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with their God.” (Micah 6:8) AAWIM Founders and Spiritual Mother Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk, Spiritual Mother Rev. Bernice Powell, Jackson, and AAWIM members around the nation and in parts of Africa will join Park and Pray at 1:11 pm.

Let us welcome AAWIM ❤️🙏🏾🕐 to Park and Pray at 1:11 in spirit

Let us Pray at 1:11 in spirit.

Loving God, Great God we are thankful for you.

We see Your garden as a place to learn how to live in peace among many diverse flowers, weeds, and seeds in. community.  As we walk on green grass, over hills, through valleys, and fall into the murky waters that remind us of our troubled past, help us to make the Peace you give us a lasting impression in our lives. Help us to use this Peace in our spoken words and behaviors. God, help us to hold onto an awareness of Your presence that gives us Peace. May that same awareness remind us that you are closer than the breeze that touches our lips.

You are our Breath of Life and our Bread of Life. Holy One, help us to rise above all that breaks into our peace. This peace that you give us, may we hold onto it throughout our days. May nothing or no one steal our God-given Peace. Like the risen Spirit, may our lives rise like blades of green grass piercing through pressed soil. Grass and grain that feeds Your creatures.

We are like trees, bushes, branches, flowers that also, breakthrough deep soil, overcome dirt, wrestle with thorns, and overcome the poverty of tainted spirits that bruise our beings. Help us hold onto the Peace You give us. May we learn from nature how to have perfect peace. Help us to be attentive to the seeds that grow in our garden of life. Help us to select with care all that we pick and plant in our garden of life. May we weed and cultivate our lives through prayer, in communion with You and Your community. Listen O Holy One to the prayers of each person.  (Silent Prayers)

We park and pray at 1:11 pm for our sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, partners, spouses, friends, associates, coworkers, neighbors, and foes,  We pray for all who are on our Prayer List that the righteous desires of our hearts and minds are fulfilled.

May Your bountiful Sunlight be an unlimited blessing for all who call on your name.  May the visions of the streams of water, refresh and renew us.

Thank you for Your love that shines on our gardens and grows new life, new flowers, new trees, and leaves that glorify Your  Name and Spirit. Please Dear God, receive our prayers to keep us safe, especially those doing the work of Justice in the local and national settings. We especially lift up prayers for, AAWIM Founders, leaders, and their communities. Prayers for all who visit Park and Pray at 1:11. Thank you Holy One for receiving all our prayers spoken and unspoken on our minds and in our hearts. In Thy Holy Name. Amen.