I pray hope is not like some distant relative

I pray hope is not like some distant relative you see once and a while.
I pray that whatever concept of God we have that the spirit of inclusion is somewhere in the midst.
I pray for the poorest nations.
I pray for Jazz.
I pray for everyone to recognize the Holy Spirit is alive and well and not on holiday.
I pray for relief.
I pray for vigilance.
I pray for laughter.
I pray for humankind to be kind.
I pray for my daughters, your daughters, your sons.
I pray because sometimes that's all I know to do. --Jeff

Prayer and affirmation for parents of special needs children

God, today, my entire being cries out to You on behalf of my precious son. May my loving supplication carry with it the hopes of other parents of special needs children.

One of the biggest difficulties of raising special needs children is having to fight for them all the time--either with various systems or against other people's limited and limiting views. May we change the way our culture perceives these children. May we change public policy and education, for all children.

Someone said to me, "Maybe instead of advocacy, you should go back to art history." She said, "A friend of mine had a Down syndrome child and it took over her life; she disappeared." I believe her friend didn't vanish but was transformed. Sometimes you wake up and you have only one road in front of you and only you can walk it. What is the alternative--give up on your child? Sometimes transformation is the only choice.

Friends who are surprised by my new discipline of exercise and running ask if I'm training for something. I say, "No," but that's not true. I am not training for an athletic event. I am not training to fight the New York City Board of Education, although I will. I am not training to knock out a meaningful place in this world for my son
and other kids who are different, although I will do my damnedest.
I am not even in training for my own sanity, although sanity is a
good thing.

I am training to be able to hold my whole self entirely still, a translucent speck in the infinite mirror of the Universe, and say, "Yes, God, I will." I am training to live the life I have been called to live, as well as I can: to transform. I pray that all parents of special needs children can find their way toward whatever transformation they may need.

--Susan

posted on my son's birthday

Soften our hearts

Dear Lord, you have given us a leader

who speaks with your compassion.

Help him and all our leaders

stay the course they have set themselves

to help the people of this country

to care for each other and

for the many who are in trouble now.

Soften our hearts so that we respond

to others as your son has taught us.

Keep our president and his family

safe from any who would hurt them.

Lord, hear us and help us. --Patsy

Psalm 72 is my prayer, too (ref. Jan. 28 post)

Psalm 72 is my prayer too. I pray that as our President begins his formidable charge to help restore our nation and help its people, as well as to negotiate peace and help to reconcile nations, he will look to You, seek Your guidance, and follow Your Will. I especially pray for the safety and well-being of President Obama and his family.

--Jacqueline

For those who read this site or send prayers: a love note from the blogger

When you send me prayers, I read them, then I pray them. I pray for you. When I post your prayers, I read them again. I pray them. I pray for you. When I check how the page looks after I post your prayers, I pray them. I pray for you.

Those who read the site--I pray for you whenever I open it. Those who "follow" it--I pray for you by name. I pray for all of you when I run in the park, which is about every other day.

I am just a middle-aged woman, sitting at a computer in a room the size of a small suburban walk-in closet, in a rented apartment in a 2-family house in Queens, praying for you. I will continue to pray for all of you for the rest of this 100 days.

I encourage you not just to read this site but to pray it. May we all find a new richness of spiritual experience. May we all feel closer to God, to one another, and to creation. May we find the will to change things that we can change and the means to do it.

May God bless you and keep you. --Susan

I pray that...

I pray that President Obama and his family be kept safe from all harm.

I pray for a rapid turnaround for our economy: specifically that people be able to find gainful employment and/or keep their businesses running, so that they may keep their homes from foreclosure or keep their rent payments up to date, afford their medical insurance, put food on the table, and enjoy comfortable retirements.

I pray that employers will do whatever they can to keep workers on the payroll.

I pray that Unemployment Insurance benefits be extended through the end of 2009 for the long-term unemployed.

I pray for government protection against all new foreclosures without the need for homeowners to file for bankruptcy. I pray, too, that banks cease their practice of falsely claiming that homeowners are in foreclosure as a prerequisite to renegotiating high mortgage rates. This unfair practice ruins homeowners' credit ratings.

I pray that additional funding be approved for Section 8 housing and that applications be reopened for new applicants. Renters need government protection to keep roofs over their heads, too.

I pray for consumer confidence so that shoppers will stimulate the economy.

I pray that people will find it in their hearts to donate food to food pantries and houses of worship and that they make time to volunteer in homeless shelters and "soup kitchens".

I pray for a successful mediation in the Middle East, leading to a full truce and, miracle of miracles, lasting peace in the region. I pray, too, that President Obama will be able to bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and yet secure the safety of our nation.

I pray that President Obama can keep acts of terrorism from our shores.

I pray that the Obamas adopt their dog from an animal shelter, spurring new interest in rescues, relieving overcrowding in shelters and alerting the American public to the horrors of puppy mills. In fact, I pray for new legislation shutting down all puppy mills.

--Andrea, NY Episcopal Cursillo 74

Prayer for the President, Excerpted from Psalm 72

God's expectation of those in state leadership

Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king's son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

May he deliver the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
May he have pity on the weak and the needy,
and save the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence may he redeem their life;
and precious may their blood be his sight.

Amen to the Biblical expectation of a king, a leader, a president from a God whose primary concern is for those who are needy, poor and fatherless.

--Kristellys, New Horizon United Methodist Church