Write a Prayer-a-Day Project

We grow and change with each new day. Some days are robust, full of energy and endeavor. Other days may be challenged by mood, or by viral life forces on their own journey. And there are days of recovery, which comes in many forms. We may be rehabilitating from physical impairment, or from surgical intervention. Perhaps we are rebounding from excessive pursuit of life. Love scorned or harmful practice also call on our recuperative resources. Regardless of the form, the challenge is substantive. May we find the support we need, the energy necessary, and the love that abides as we rebirth ourselves into our new lives. For all that we are, and all that we may become, we are truly thankful. Blessed Be, and Amen.

Our bodies are temples. They are also fragile and vulnerable. In spite of our best intentions, we are sometimes broken, and need repair. In these times, we are grateful for skilled surgeons and dedicated nurses. May their hands be steady and their hearts filled with compassion. We are grateful for infrastructure that supports us in our time of need. We are grateful for the love and support that surrounds our family in this stressful time. May they find comfort and know peace. We pray for a world in which health reigns supreme, and we pray for a world that holds healthcare for all among its highest values, a world in which all are worthy of and have access to competent, complete and comprehensive care, without undo burden. We must minister to each other, always and in all ways. For health, for healing, and for support we give deep thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

A prayer for strength: Life’s journey is often arduous – hills to climb, roads to walk, streams to ford. These hills, roads, and streams may be literal, or they may be contours of our inner-landscape. Regardless, strength, endurance, fortitude are all required as we navigate these highways and byways. May we care for our bodies, that we might grow strong muscle for exploring the paths of the world. May we care for our spiritual selves, that we might promote the soulful sinew required to explore the passages of the sublime. The joy is in the journey, our bliss to simply explore. For robustness of both the body and the soul, we give special thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

May this day be unmemorable in every way. May it bring no new insights, no revelation, no lessons learned. May this day, instead, be a day of quiet industry, of tasks accomplished, of deadlines met. May it come in peace and may it leave in weary appreciation. May we be at our best, but not necessarily extraordinary. May we be safe, sound, efficient and effective. May we do no harm. Sometimes in prayer, it is enough to simply affirm that we are, we live, and we do. We need not be amazing every day, lest the wonder of amazing days should lose their luster. So, this day, we utter an ordinary prayer, from ordinary lips, propelled on ordinary breath. It is all that we are, and it is marvelously sufficient. For our familiar lives and circumstances, we say thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

A prayer of Homecoming: We are grateful for journeys completed and safely returning home. Exploration brings new wonders, new understandings and deeper wisdom to our lives, but it is in arriving back to the climes of familiarity that we process our souvenirs into the DNA of our souls. Rejuvenation and renewal fortify us to begin anew, productive, inspired, and grounded. We will remember fondly our sojourns, tell tales to entertain our friends, and become again more of who we are. For adventures both great and small, we give thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

So many things to be known in a life! To be seen, felt, heard, and experienced. A bow drawn on the strings of a cello. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The precision of the surgeon’s scalpel. Isadora Duncan. Algebraic manipulations. How can we do it all? If life is experience, how do we maximize the experience in so brief a time? The best we can is the answer. Be involved, be curious, be aware, be open, be present, be surprised, be delighted, be moved to tears…BE! May we, this day, find something new, something we’ve not yet experienced. May we seek out our lives unfolding, and venture boldly into the dawning day. For music, science, art, religion, theatre, culinary delights, dance, and all that expresses the sublime in life, we give thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

“Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain.” Let us be mindful, then, that an abundance of words often leads to mis-speech, mis-meaning, mis-understanding, and misery. May we say only what we truly mean, and truly mean what we say. May we use our words to nobler purpose, to affirm higher ideals, and to heal the hurts of a wounded world. Let us look for benedictions and eulogies that uphold our better angels. Let us refrain from speech when the space of silence will suffice. May we rest assured that we need not utter every thought and feeling, giving leave that all may find their authentic voice. For words, for meaning, and for authentic conversation we give thanks. Blessed Be, and Amen.

A prayer for faraway friends. We are separated by miles and circumstance, by means but not by meaning. I see your pain, and I despair: how might I lend you my resources? How might I carry your burden? How might I ease your suffering? Would that I could wire you some compassion, or mail you a mood. Perhaps a gift card of goodwill, or a healing voucher. Alas, I have these not. So I’ll send what I can: positive energy into the world. I’ll comfort someone closer to me, cast the stone and watch the ripples emanate. They will reach you, I know they will: that is the Way of the world. For the gentle lake of Life, and the tidal connectivity we share, we are eternally grateful. Blessed Be, and Amen.

A prayer for light in the darkness. For order out of chaos. For compassion without forgiveness. For abiding love. For relationship. For mourning. For mourning in the mourning. For phones that ring late at night. For tears. For remembrance. Again, for abiding love. For love that never dies. For each of us, and for all of us. For healing. And always for abiding love. Blessed Be, and Amen.

May today bring expedient joy and undelayed gratification. May our wishes come true. May happiness reign supreme. May our pockets be full. May the sun shine brightly with the wind at our back. May everyone we encounter greet us with a smile. May we hear no words other than encouragement or affirmation. May today be a perfect day. Should these things not come to pass, may we be thankful that for a moment, in our prayers, it was so. For nothing shall come to pass without first being imagined. We are grateful today for the dream and for the dreamer. Blessed Be, and Amen.