Here’s a prayer for use in worship this coming Sunday or for your personal use anytime.
Invitation to Prayer
The miracle is that God made us for a divine purpose. We are chosen, blessed, called and equipped to be God’s ambassadors of grace and peace in this world. Such duty requires that we be people of prayer who regularly turn to the One who sustains us. In prayer, we seek God’s will and presence to guide our actions. Let us enter now into a time of prayer.
Prayer for One Voice
God of seaside and mountain,
God of Gentile and Jew,
God of miracle and mundane,
You enter our lives in the most ordinary places.
You meet us in our everyday needs and concerns.
You come to us in our waking and our sleeping.
You feed us in our deepest longings.
You guide us on the paths of righteousness.
You bless us with your steadfast love.
You grace us with your incarnational presence.
For all of these places of meeting, we give thanks.
We pray that you will continue to teach us
what it means to live whole and holy lives.
We pray that you will open our eyes to
the everyday miracles of grace in an ungracious world.
We pray that you will lead us into your peace
so that we become instruments of peace
among our sisters and brothers of all races and nations.
We also pray that in the abundance of your mercy,
you would bring comfort to the grieving this day,
peace of mind to the troubled,
encouragement to the hurting,
wholeness to the sick and dying,
hope to all the world’s people.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Words (c) 2006 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2011 Dallis Day Richardson (Monterey, CA)
dreamprayact 
Mark, thank you for this prayer, especially for the ending – in this time when all the world’s people need hope and healing. Donna
Thanks, Donna. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. It was good to see you today. Peace, Mark
As a member of the gay community, which is often targeted with language of fear, hatred, and separation, I very much appreciate your healing prayer and loving words. And, as a Buddhist, I view Christ as an Enlightened Being who tried to show his community the Tao, the Way. His message of love was (and still is) often tragically misunderstood. Beautiful words–thank you!!
This is incredible Mark, and I enjoy every single line… every word. This one did especially stand out for me: “We pray that you will lead us into your peace ~ so that we become instruments of peace ~ among our sisters and brothers of all races and nations.” Powerful and wise. Thank you so much for sharing your lovingkindness with us all. You are an inspiration!
With gratitude for you and your talented wife for her images as well, Gina