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Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Matins (Morning Prayer)

Word of God, as the Most High, our one hope,
Everlasting light of heaven and earth,
We break the silence of the peaceful night;
Saviour Divine, cast thine eyes upon us!

Pour on us the fire of thy mighty grace,
That all hell may flee at the sound of thy voice;
Banish the slumber of a weary soul,
That brings forgetfulness of thy laws!

O Christ, look with favour upon thy faithful people
Now gathered here to praise thee;
Receive their hymns offered to thy endless glory;
May they go forth filled with thy gifts.

~ “Cantique de Jean Racine”, adapted by MB

Prayer for Unknown Needs

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on my weakness, and mercifully give me those things which for my unworthiness I dare not, and for my blindness I cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

For the Departed

O  Father of all, I pray to you for those whom I love, but see no longer. Grant them your peace; let light perpetual shine upon them; and in your loving wisdom and almighty power work in them the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Orthodox Burial prayer 11/21/2014

Closing Praise

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.

Office of Prime, Western Breviary 9/4/2014

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Psalm 100 (NLT)

1 Corinthians 14:10-19 (ESV)

Tongues and Prophecy [2]

There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Notes on the Scripture

fter introducing his thoughts about speaking in tongues in the previous verses, Paul gives a rational argument that can be summed up in a sentence: Speak in tongues when you pray alone, but speak in the common language when you worship or pray in a group. He validates speaking in tongues as a form of prayer, calling it “prayer in the spirit” even though it is not “prayer in the mind.” But his argument against the practice in group worship is that it means nothing to the others in the group — it does not “build up the church” — and also, his own mind is not engaged.

If one will speak in tongues, Paul urges him to “translate.” That is, to let his words be freely moved by the Holy Spirit, but to speak in a language that others can understand.

I’m sure many of us never speak in tongues and even shrink from the thought, but we might nevertheless learn something from it. After all, Paul states, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”

There are things in our mind and in our spirit that can be suppressed by too much rigidity in prayer. Simply letting our mind go empty and repeating something like, “Holy Spirit be with me,” until our mind gradually empties of clutter, might result in a time of prayer that will be surprising and satisfying. I do this and I feel like it deepens my prayer life a great deal. The outcome can be very unpredictable, from a conversational prayer in everyday language about things that are on my mind, to very emotional moments of closeness to God.

Friends for Jesus, by Sieger Köder, ca. 2005. Here Köder invokes Georges Roualt, in a brilliant depiction of earthly prayer being made divine by the Holy Spirit.

Daily Inspiration

“ Faith Enough To Be Wrong ”

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