A Funeral Prayer

This is the prayer that is used at the closing of many Lutheran funeral services. It is included in “Minsterial Acts” published by the AFLC.

“Almighty, everlasting God, because of our sin we must die and return to the ground, so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Grant us a true faith in Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our offenses, was raised again for our justification and reigns to all eternity. Help us by Your grace that we may die daily unto sin and live according to Your Holy Will, so that when the hour of death shall come, we may be prepared through faith in Your Word for a peaceful departure. Receive our souls unto Yourself, and grant that at the last day our bodies may rise again from the grave unto everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

For more posts about prayer see:

Eleanor Roosevelt — A Wise Prayer

An Ignatian Prayer

Samuel Johnson’s Prayer of Confession

Litany of Humility

A book I am reading mentioned this litany, written by an early twentieth century Spanish Catholic cardinal, Rafael Merry del Val y Zuluenta. I looked it up and found it very moving. Maybe we should each be inspired to write our own prayer, asking that we be delivered from our personal besetting desires and fears.

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus. (repeat after each line)
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (repeat after each line)
That others may be esteemed more than I ,
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should.

For more about humility see these posts:

The Gift of Humility

Rest in Humility

Remembering to be Humble

A Prayer Confessing our Sins

This prayer was used for confession of sins at the Lutheran church I recently attended. It certainly touches on some of my besetting sins, so maybe you will see yourself in it as well.

Almighty God, merciful Father,

We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have done things we should not have done, and we have failed to do the things we should have done. We have been impatient. We have grumbled. We have been critical of others and we have been difficult. We have used coarse language and have taken Your name in vain. We have sought and received Your forgiveness and, then, we have refused to forgive our neighbor. Father, forgive us, renew us, and lead us so that we may be merciful, even as You are merciful. Amen

For more prayers see:

Martin Luther’s Prayer about the Word

A Prayer of Surrender

A Penitent Prayer

Martin Luther’s Prayer about the Word

Dear God,
let your Word
shine in our hearts
by your Holy Spirit.
Make it
so bright and warm
that we always find
our comfort and joy
in it.
Amen.

Source: Martin Luther, translated for A Collection of Prayers from Die Gebete Luthers, #195.

For more prayers see:

Prayer to the Holy Spirit #2

A Prayer of Surrender

A Penitent Prayer

A Prayer of Surrender

The Covenant Prayer by John Wesley

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit thou art mine, and I am thine.

And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen

 

In 1775,  a covenant service was introduced by John Wesley and became an important part of spiritual life in the Methodist Societies. This renewal service was a time for the Methodists to gather annually in a time of self-examination, reflection, and dedication, wholly giving up themselves and renewing covenant with God. Repentance through confession and commitment was a key focus of the service, demanding humility.  The prayer above is used during the service which is usually held on the Sunday nearest January 1st.

For another prayer of surrender see:

The Serenity Prayer in Action

What to Change

 

 

A Prayer to be part of Christ’s Victory

“Teach us how to fight by faith against the power of sin, in the confidence that Christ has purchased our forgiveness and secured the triumph of all who trust in him.  Turn every evil design of the devil into sanctifying schemes of love.  Deliver us from his deceptions.  Keep the beauty of Christ clear in the eyes of our heart.  Make us instruments of Satan’s defeat until you come and slay him by the breath of your mouth.  Make us valiant in delivering others by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, your great gospel.  In Jesus name we pray, amen. ”

John Piper from Seeing and Savoring Jesus

A Prayer for One Another

So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household.  Ephesians 2:19

I found this short prayer that describes how we, the household of God, should treat one another.

Lord, We beseech You to bless and prosper this Your household. Grant us sweet reasonableness in all our dealings with one another; make us large-hearted in helping and generous in criticizing; keep us from unkind words and unkind silences. Make us quick to understand the needs and feelings of others, and grant that living in the brightness of your presence, we may bring sunshine into cloudy places.

Amen

Where Am I Going–a quote by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to love as Christ loved does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. ~ Thomas Merton

A Family Prayer

This prayer by Rev. R.H. Raasch is from The Lutheran Prayerbook.

O Lord, I thank you for my family.  You have created our lives and intentionally brought us together to live in our home.  It is within the family relationship that we learn how to share Your gifts of love, forgiveness and mercy.  It is here, in our home, that we learn to be patient, as You are patient;  compassionate, as You are compassionate;  and caring, as You care for us.  Bless our relationships that we may serve You here in our home and when we go out into Your world.  In the mighty name of Jesus we pray.  Amen

A Prayer in Remembrance of Baptism

Lord God, I am your child.  I call you Father because you are my Father.  You named me with your own holy name even before I could speak.  You made me your own before I could move a hand to help or prevent you.  You insisted on having me even though you knew the end of my life as well as its beginning, its shame as well as its glory, its failures as well as its achievements, its bad as well as its good.

Why, Father, should I persist in resisting you?  Why should I insist on my own way instead of knowing your way of grace and love?  Why should I obey my own whims instead of letting your grace in baptism have its way with me?

Forgive me, Father, for so often wandering into a far country away from you, your forgiveness, your joy, your promises, your love in Jesus Christ.  Help me to live in the freedom of my baptism, by the faith you have given me, in the life which you daily renew by your gracious forgiveness.

I am baptized.  I belong to you, God.  Amen

Taken from the Lutheran Via de Cristo Pilgrim’s Guide