Choose a time of day, a length of time, and a particular place in which to pray daily;
the repetition of these elements helps to create a supportive rhythm in our prayer life.
Structure can also be nourishing to our prayer life,
so we encourage you to lean on a variety of supportive elements
such as these in your prayer time: listening, relaxation, self-expression, trust.
Ask God to help with your physical needs, your inner needs (seeking God for refuge, kindness, acceptance, compassion), to help others, etc.
Use scripture, prayer books, journals, hymns and spiritual songs, the liturgy of our worship services, the prayers of the church, confession, etc…
Remember to thank Him for your blessings!
Choose the ones you like to start your prayers and add your prayer request needs
Some of these were found on this website: www.sacredspace.ie
Other sources are sited underneath, are unknown or were provided by friends of the church
“As I sit here, the beating of my heart,
the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind
are all signs of God’s ongoing creation of me.
I pause for a moment and become aware
of this presence of God within me.”
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
I dwell for a moment on the presence of God around me,
in every part of my body, and deep within my being.”
“A thick and shapeless tree-trunk
would never believe that it could become a statue,
admired as a miracle of sculpture,
and would never submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor,
who sees by his genius what he can make of it.
I ask for the grace to let myself be shaped by my loving Creator.”
“Around me, in my sensations, in my thoughts and deep within me.
I pause for a moment and become aware
of God’s life-giving presence.”
“As I begin this prayer, God is here.
Around me, beyond me, and deep within me.
I pause for a moment, and become aware
of God’s life-giving presence.
Lord, I turn my thoughts to you.
I turn my thoughts to Bethlehem, and the shining star in the sky.
I turn my thoughts to the humble, who are given good news.
I turn my thoughts to the seekers, who are given direction.
I turn my thoughts to the prophets, who foretold the coming.
I turn my thoughts to Christ, the King born poor,
the savior who subverts all notions of power.”
“As I begin this prayer, God is present,
breathing life into me and into everything around me.
For a few moments, I remain silent,
and become aware of God’s loving presence
How do I find myself today?
Where am I with God? With others?
Do I have something to be grateful for? Then I give thanks.
Is there something I am sorry for? Then I ask forgiveness.
By God’s grace I was born to live in freedom.
Free to enjoy the pleasures He created for me.
Dear Lord, grant that I may live as You intended,
with complete confidence in Your Loving care.”
“As I sit here, the beating of my heart,
the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind
are all signs of God’s ongoing creation of me.
I pause for a moment, and become aware
of this presence of God within me.
Lord grant me the grace
to have freedom of the spirit.
Cleanse my heart and soul
so I may live joyously in Your love.”
“At any time of the day or night we can call on Jesus.
He is always waiting, listening for our call.
What a wonderful blessing.
No phone needed, no e-mails, just a whisper.
I ask for the grace
to let go of my own concerns
and be open to what God is asking of me,
to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator.”
“At this moment Lord I turn my thoughts to you.
I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations.
I will take rest and refreshment in your presence Lord.”
“Lord, Your words lead us to the calmness and greatness of Your Presence.
Lord, grant me the grace to be free from the excesses of this life.
Let me not get caught up with the desire for wealth.
Keep my heart and mind free to love and serve you.
There is a time and place for everything, as the saying goes.
Lord, grant that I may always desire to spend time in your presence.
To hear your call.”
“Breathe in the breath of God, breathe out your cares and concerns.
Breathe in the love of God, breathe out your doubts and despairs.
Breathe in the grace of God, breathe out your fears and frustrations.
Breathe in the breath of God, breathe out your tensions and turmoil.
Breathe in the love of God, breathe out your haste and hurry.
Breathe in the grace of God, breathe out your waste and worry.
Sit quietly before the Father who gives life and love to all creation.
Sit in adoration before the Son who redeems us from all our sins.
Sit in peace filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit
who renews every fiber of our being.
Sit in awe before the glory of the one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
“By God’s grace I was born to live in freedom.
Free to enjoy the pleasures He created for me.
Dear Lord, grant that I may live as You intended,
with complete confidence in Your Loving care.
Dear Lord help me to be open to you
for this time as I put aside the cares of this world.
Fill my thoughts with your peace, your love.”
“Dear Jesus may I always be aware of your presence,
Your power and your Love, all the days of my life.”
“Dear Jesus, as I call on you today
I realize that I often come asking for favors.
Today I’d like just to be in your presence.
Let my heart respond to Your Love.
Everything has the potential to draw forth from me a fuller love and life.
Yet my desires are often fixed, caught, on illusions of fulfillment.
I ask that God, through my freedom may orchestrate my desires
in a vibrant loving melody rich in harmony.”
“Dear Jesus, I come to you today
longing for your presence.
I desire to love you as You love me.
May nothing ever separate me from You.”
“Dear Lord help me to be open to you
for this time as I put aside the cares of this world.
Fill my thoughts with your peace, your love.”
“Dear Lord, you have called me by my name.
You have carved me in the palm of your hand.
May I grow in trust and never give in to despair
Lord, I pray for your gift of freedom.
May your Holy Spirit
guide those in power to work for
equality for all your people.
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally,
I look honestly over the last day, its events and my feelings.
Do I have something to be grateful for? Then I give thanks.
Is there something I am sorry for? Then I ask forgiveness”
“Dear Lord, you have called me by my name.
You have carved me in the palm of your hand.
May I grow in trust and never give in to despair.
Lord, I let go of the worries, resentments and fears
That I can sometimes hold on to so tightly.
Let me open my hands and my heart to receive freely
All the gifts that I need at this time.”
“Dear Lord, you have called me by my name.
You have carved me in the palm of your hand.
May I grow in trust and never give in to despair.”
“Fill me with Your Holy Spirit Lord,
so that I may have inner freedom.
Let your Spirit instill in my heart
a desire to know and love you more each day.”
“God is with me, but more, God is within me.
Let me dwell for a moment on God’s life-giving presence
in my body, in my mind, in my heart,
as I am here, right now and in the whole of my life.”
“God our helper, we rely on your faithfulness.
When we cry, you listen and answer.
The light of your presence carries us from sadness into joy.
Through the resurrection of Christ, you turn our mourning into dancing!
Thank you for the privilege of sharing in your healing of our broken world
through the mission of this congregation.
We pray in the Spirit of Jesus of Savior. Amen.” (Psalm 30)
– from umcdiscipleship.org
“Guide me always to do your holy will,
knowing that your strength will carry me through.
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally,
I look honestly over the last day: its events and my feelings.
Do I have something to be grateful for?
Then I give thanks.
Is there something I am sorry for?
Then I ask forgiveness.”
“Have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way.
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still…
Dear Lord, Your will be done,
Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.”
From Bishop Cho’s address at Annual Conference
“How do I find myself today?
Where am I with God? With others?
Imagining Jesus sitting or standing by me,
I speak out my feelings, as one trusted friend to another.”
“How wonderful it is to be able
to enter into your presence Lord.
No matter what time it is.
No matter which land I am in.
I need only to speak your name.
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally,
I can afford to be honest about how I am.
How has the last day been, and how do I feel now?
I share my feelings openly with the Lord.”
“I ask for the grace
to let go of my own concerns
and be open to what God is asking of me,
to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator.”
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”
“I need to close out the noise, to rise above the noise;
The noise that interrupts, that separates,
The noise that isolates.
I need to listen to God again.”
“I pause for a moment and think of the love
and the grace that God showers on me:
I am created in the image and likeness of God;
I am God’s dwelling-place.
Thank you for the gift of freedom, Lord.
Grant that I may always choose to follow You.
Keep me ever mindful of your ways.
Of your love and concern for all people.”
“I pause for a moment, aware that God is here.
I think of how everything around me,
the air I breathe, my whole body,
is tingling with the presence of God.
A thick and shapeless tree-trunk
would never believe that it could become a statue,
admired as a miracle of sculpture,
and would never submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor,
who sees by his genius what he can make of it (Saint Ignatius).
I ask for the grace to let myself be shaped by my loving Creator.”
“I reflect for a moment on God’s presence around me and in me.
Creator of the universe, the sun and the moon, the earth,
every molecule, every atom, everything that is:
God is in every beat of my heart. God is with me, now.”
“I remind myself that I am in your presence O Lord.
I will take refuge in your loving heart.
You are my strength in times of weakness.
You are my comforter in times of sorrow.
I will ask God’s help,
to be free from my own preoccupations,
to be open to God in this time of prayer,
to come to know, love and serve God more.
How am I really feeling? Lighthearted? Heavy-hearted?
I may be very much at peace, happy to be here.
Equally, I may be frustrated, worried or angry.
I acknowledge how I really am, knowing it is the real me that the Lord loves.”
“I slow myself down for a moment and try to realize that God is present.
To me. Here and now. He is in present in what I do,
in the people that I meet, and the situations I find myself in daily.
How can I make this reality real for myself?
In the presence of my loving Creator,
I look honestly at my feelings over the last day,
the highs, the lows and the level ground.
Can I see where the Lord has been present?”
“I try to let go of concerns and worries
that may be dragging me down at this present moment.
I place any concerns I have in God’s hands
– at least for these few minutes of prayer.”
“It is always nice to be in the presence of friends.
When I come into your presence, O Lord,
I know I am in the presence of my Creator.
You created me out of Love.
You even know the amount of hairs on my head.
Your presence, O Lord, is the greatest of all.”
“Let my heart rejoice and be glad in this time of prayer.
Remind me often of the great blessings You have bestowed on me.
Lord, guide me always to do your holy will,
knowing that your strength will carry me through.”
“Lord you gave me life and the gift of freedom.
Through Your love I exist in this world.
May I never take the gift of life for granted.
May I always respect the right to life of others.
How do I find myself today?
Where am I with God? With others?
Do I have something to be grateful for? Then I give thanks.
Is there something I am sorry for? Then I ask forgiveness.”
“Lord, God, my Creator,
Be close to me now.
My soul yearns for your presence.
Thank you for the gift of freedom, Lord.
Grant that I may always choose to follow You.
Keep me ever mindful of your ways.
Of your love and concern for all people.
Conversation requires talking and listening.
As I talk to Jesus may I also learn to be still and listen.
I picture the gentleness in His eyes
and the smile full of love as he gazes on me.
I can be totally honest with Jesus
as I tell Him of my worries and my cares.
I will open up my heart to Him as I tell Him of my fears and my doubts.
I will ask Him to help me to place myself fully in His care,
to abandon myself to Him, knowing that He always wants what is best for me.”
“Lord, guide me always
to do your holy will
knowing that your strength
will carry me through.
In God’s loving presence I unwind the past day,
starting from now and looking back, moment by moment.
I gather in all the goodness and light, in gratitude.
I attend to the shadows and what they say to me,
seeking healing, courage, forgiveness.
Dear Jesus, I can open up my heart to you.
I can tell you everything that troubles me.
I know you care about all the concerns in my life.
Teach me to live in the knowledge
that you who care for me today,
will care for me tomorrow and all the days of my life.”
“Lord, help me to be fully alive to your Holy presence.
Enfold me in your love.
Let my heart become one with yours.”
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.”
– Prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.
“Lord, may your spirit guide me to seek Your Loving presence more and more.
For it is there I find rest and refreshment from this busy world.”
“Lord, open my heart and mind by the power of your Holy Spirit
that as I go about my day, as I go to ___, as I go to work, etc.
I may hear with joy what you say to me today. Amen”
“Lord, you are always there waiting for me.
May I never be too busy to find time to spend in your presence.
In the presence of my loving Creator,
I look honestly at my feelings over the last day,
the highs, the lows and the level ground.
Can I see where the Lord has been present?”
“Lord, you are always there waiting for me.
May I never be too busy to find time to spend in your presence.”
“Lord, you look and see us from afar, seeing the totality of our life story,
and yet you look and see us from within,
seeing us more closely than we even see ourselves.
We come to you ever as children, in need of love and guidance,
growing and maturing, a little here, a little there.
Give us always the urgency to run to you, our Holy Parent.”
“Lord, Your words lead us to the calmness and greatness of Your Presence.”
“Move among us, Spirit, and gather us together with you.
Take our many selves–
our lives, our loves, our ideas, our questions, our speech, our silence –
and unite us as your people.
Give us the gifts of perception and understanding,
so that even as we dream your dreams and see your visions,
we may be able to witness to your presence in our common life. Amen.”
“O Holy Spirit, Love of God, infuse your grace,
and descend plentifully into my heart.
Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling,
and scatter there your cheerful beams;
Dwell in that soul that longs to be your temple;
water that barren soil, over-run with weeds and briars,
and lost for want of cultivating,
and make it fruitful with your dew from heaven.
O Come, as the refreshment of those that languish and faint.
Come, and like a star,
guide those that sail the tempestuous sea of the world.
You are the only haven of the tossed and shipwrecked.
Come glory and crown of the living,
only safeguard of the dying.
Come, Holy Spirit, in much mercy,
and make us fit to receive you. Amen.”
“O Lord our God, we believe in you, Father and Son and Holy Spirit…
Before you lies my strength and my weakness;
preserve the one, heal the other.
Before you lies my knowledge and my ignorance;
where you have opened to me, receive me as I come in;
where you have shut to me, open to me as I knock.
Let me remember you, let me understand you, let me love you.”
– from The Confessions of St. Augustine.
“Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from thee.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me.
And bid me come to thee.
That with thy saints I may praise Thee.
Forever and ever. Amen.”
“The more we call on the Lord
the more we can feel his Presence.
Day by day he draws us closer
to his loving heart.”
“What is present to me is what has a hold on my becoming.
I reflect on the Presence of God always there in love,
amidst the many things that have a hold on me.
I pause and pray that I may let God
affect my becoming in this precise moment.”
“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.”
“When I come into your presence, O Lord,
I know I am in the presence of my Creator.
You created me out of Love.
You even know the amount of hairs on my head.
Your presence, O Lord, is the greatest of all.
I ask for the grace
to let go of my own concerns
and be open to what God is asking of me,
to let myself be guided and formed by my loving Creator.”