Pastor’s Prayers

Bless the
Lord, O my soul, •
and all that is within me bless his holy name.

2Bless the
Lord, O my soul, •
and forget not all his benefits;

3Who
forgives all your sins •
and heals all your infirmities;

4Who
redeems your life from the Pit •
and crowns you with faithful love and compassion;

5Who
satisfies you with good things, •
so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

6The Lord
executes righteousness •
and judgement for all who are oppressed.

7He made
his ways known to Moses •
and his works to the children of Israel.

8The Lord
has established his throne in heaven, •
and his kingdom has dominion over all.

9Bless the
Lord, you angels of his, •
you mighty ones who do his bidding
and hearken to the voice of his
word.

10Bless the
Lord, all you his hosts, •
you ministers of his who do his will.

11Bless the
Lord, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; •
bless the Lord, O my soul.

The Book of Common Prayer (from Psalm 103)

Commissioning Prayer

In the name of the divine Trinity,
Let us pray.
God, you have called us into being
through love.
You have joined us to one another
In love.
How good and pleasant it is
When your people dwell together in unity.
Shine your light upon your people
That we can see the glory of eternal life.
Grant ____ (name of commissioned) the strength
To carry your blessing from this place to their next.
May they be at home in any land,
For all their earth is yours.
And, with their hopes set on your coming glory in the world,
live also an alien in all lands.
May the lamp of your word
Guide his/her feet on the unsure paths of life.
Our lives are but a breath,
But our breaths are drawn from your divine Spirit.
You have created us as walking paradoxes.
Specs of dust and divine-image bearers.
We are constantly restless,
Until we rest in you.
Grant ____ (name of commissioned) a deeper fullness
Of being and spirit,
By carry our memory with him/her
in the coming journey.
May his/her face be fuller in glory and joy,
Now bearing new shape,
As our faces transform and supplement one another.
Go in the peace of Christ to love and serve the Lord,
All: Thanks be to God!

–The Book of Common Prayer

Zondervan (2010)
     

O persistent God,

Deliver me from assuming your mercy is gentle.

Pressure me that I may grow more human,

not through the lessening of my struggles,

but through an expansion of them. . . .

Deepen my hurt

until I learn to share it and myself openly,

and my needs honestly.

Sharpen my fears until I name them

and release the power I have locked in them

and they in me.

Accentuate my confusion

until I shed those grandiose expectations

that divert me from the small, glad gifts

of the now and the here and the me.

Expose my shame where it shivers,

crouched behind the curtains of propriety,

until I can laugh at last

through my common frailties and failures,

laugh my way toward becoming whole.

(Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace)

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once adopted us, and continues to confirm this thy favour by calling us unceasingly to thyself, and dost not only severely chastise us, but also gently and paternally invite us to thyself, and exhort us at the same time to repentance, — O grant that we may not be so hardened as to resist thy goodness, nor abuse this thine incredible forbearance, but submit ourselves in obedience to thee; that whenever thou mayest severely chastise us, we may bear thy corrections with genuine submission of faith, and not continue untameable and obstinate to the last, but return to thee the only fountain of life and salvation, that as thou has once begun in us a good work, so thou mayest perfect it to the day of our Lord. Amen.

Prayer by John Calvin

“O that we may all receive of Christ’s fullness, grace upon grace; grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities; to justify our persons and to sanctify our souls; and to complete that holy change, that renewal of our hearts, whereby we may be transformed into that blessed image wherein thou didst create us.”

Amen.

–John Wesley

Almighty God, who through your only‑begotten Son Jesus
                                Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
                                everlasting life:
        Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
                                day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death
                                of sin by your life‑giving Spirit;
         through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
        one God, now and for ever. Amen.

–Book of Common Prayer, 1979, Episcopal Church USA