Pastor’s Prayers

        Look upon us, O Lord,
        and let all the darkness of our souls
        vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
        Fill us with holy love,
        and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
        All our desire is known unto thee,
        therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
        and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
        We seek thy face,
        turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
        Then shall our longing be satisfied,
        and our peace shall be perfect.

–Augustine

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 and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.  And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.  Amen.

–John Wesley (The Covenant Prayer)

Gracious and Holy Father,
give us the wisdom to discover You,
the intelligence to understand You,
the diligence to seek after You,
the patience to wait for You,
eyes to behold You,
a heart to meditate upon You,
and a life to proclaim You,
through the power of the Spirit of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

-Saint Benedict

O Lord God, our Father,
You are the light that can never be put out; and now you give us a light that shall drive away all darkness.  You are love without coldness, and you have given us such warmth in our hearts that we can love all when we meet.  You are the life that defies death, and you have opened for us the way that leads to eternal life.
None of us is a great Christian; we are all humble and ordinary.  But your grace is enough for us.  Arouse in us that small degree of joy and thankfulness of which we are capable, to the timid faith which we can muster, to the cautious obedience which we cannot refuse, and thus to the wholeness of life which you have prepared for all of us through the death and resurrection of your son.  Do not allow any of us to remain apathetic or indifferent to the wondrous glory of Easter, but let the light of our risen Lord reach every corner of our dull hearts.
Amen.

–Karl Barth

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 and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Wesley’s Covenant Prayer

–as used in the Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936

When everything was dark
 and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
 your love broke through.

Your love was too strong,
 too wide,
 too deep
 for death to hold.

The sparks cast by your love
 dance and spread
 and burst forth
 with resurrection light.

Gracious God,
 We praise you for the light of new life
 made possible through Jesus.
 We praise you for the light of new life
 that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
 We praise you for the light of new life
 that continues to shine in our hearts today.

We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
 will live in us each day;
 and that we will be bearers of that light
 into the lives of others.
 Amen.

–Michaela Youngson, Ealing Trinity Circuit, the Methodist Church of Great Britain