Chapter 8: Pathways to Spiritual Harmony 3. Prayer in the Home

Prayers for the home should be as deep and as inclusive as its hopes, joys, sorrows, struggles and triumphs. On occasion the members will wholeheartedly in connection with some special need. The pair who really learn to pray will be able to lay hold on sources of power and of understanding greater than their own, and to gain for their home something of the strength and serenity of the kingdom of God.

Jesus, giving us a prayer which his followers have used for nearly two thousand years and in all parts of the world, made it a model of trust in God and devotion to his kingdom. The Lord's Prayer is about the most suitable one that could be imagined. It assumes the unity of the group and is concerned with every-day matters, with common needs and with our relationships with our fellows; and it fits all these into their place in the program of the eternal kingdom of God. When we use the Lord's Prayer, and we should use it often in the home, let us guard against the carelessness of familiarity and seek to renew in our lives the spirit of Jesus who
taught us so to pray.

Other prayers some or all of which would be helpful in any family are given here. Sometimes one of these being used as a start, the family will want to add special petitions of its own. These prayers may be followed by the Lord's Prayer.

a. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

b. 0 God, we have no words with which to thank Thee for the great good which comes into our lives: but we pray that we may glorify Thee with cheerful hearts, and by lives which reveal thy goodness to others. Amen.

c. 0 God, our Father, make our home a part of thy true kingdom. May thy kindness be in our voices, thy love in our eyes, and thy purposes in our works. And may this day which thou has given us be a fragment of our life in Thee. Amen.

d. 0 God, our Father, we thank Thee for health of body and of mind, for the beautiful things in thy world, and the appeal of things unseen. Help us this day to be in harmony with thy purposes and to be our best for each other and for Thee.

e. 0 God, who art our strength and whose service is our highest joy; save us from holding too dear the things that are passing, and too cheap the things which are eternal. Enrich us with thy true riches; save us from pride, self-seeking and fear, and give us the spirit of Christ our Lord, whose service is perfect freedom. Amen.

f. Direct us, 0 Lord, with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen?

g. For Morning:
We thank Thee, 0 God, our Father, for the new day which thou has given. Help us this day to be loyal to Thee, and skilful in building our home as a part of thy kingdom on earth. Be with us as we go about our duties and in thy strength may we do all things well. (Use whatever ending is desired.)

h. As we leave our home in thy strength, Our Father, help us wherever we go to carry the spirit of love, and to do to others as we would have them do to us. And so through this day may we serve Thee with true hearts, and live and move and have our being in Thee.

i. 0 God, our Father and our eternal Friend, we thank Thee for our home, a shelter for love and a haven from the turmoil of the world. Within these walls, and even more within our hearts, may we have Thee as our divine Guest, that thy goodness may bless our lives, and thy love cast out every fear.

j. 0 Lord, who hast moved us with united hearts to come to Thee in prayer, who knowest all our needs before we present them, and art more willing to give thy Spirit than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children, we ask that thou wilt help us to recognize thy guidance, and give us faith to receive the blessings of thy kingdom beyond all that we could ask or think, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

k. 0 God, Source of life and truth, whose light is in the world around us, and in the mind of man; help us to have thy words written in our hearts. And may we not merely possess thy truth as a treasure, but may it possess us as its instruments, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1. For Use in Happiness
We come to Thee in our happiness, our heavenly Father, thou Giver of true joys and of all good gifts. We pour out our thanksgiving before Thee, and ask that through the experiences of life we may know Thee better, so that we may reveal Thee in our lives, and may be to others givers of help and cheer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

m. For a Time of Trouble
(Before offering this prayer it would be well to read passages listed under "Help in Trouble" on page 116)
In our trouble we turn to Thee, 0 God; for thou art our Father and our eternal Friend. In our distress we seek thy help. In our perplexity we ask thy guidance, and as we are prone to error we ask that thou wilt give us the wisdom that we need. Be thou our strength and support. In thy light may these dark shadows pass away, and even in our time of trouble may thy grace be sufficient for us and thy love sustain us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

n. For Use at Evening
God, who by thy grace hast kept us through this day, and hast brought us to the quiet of evening; as the day is thine, the night also is thine, and we are in thy care. We pray that thou wilt accept the work that we have done today, and forgive us for those things which have been wrong. In thy peace may our cares and burdens be forgotten, and may we rest this night in Thee. Amen.

o. Eternal God, the light of the minds that know Thee, the joy of the hearts that love Thee, and the strength of the wills that serve Thee; grant us so to know Thee that we may truly love Thee, so to love that we may fully serve Thee, to the honor and glory of thy holy name. Amen.

p. Life
Christ, who didst come that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly, we thy disciples come to Thee, that our lives may be filled with the fulness of God. Give us victory through faith over the sin that so easily besets us, and may we with minds lighted and hearts purified feel thy love which passes knowledge. Amen.

q. Penitence
God, we thy children come to Thee in penitence, for we have done things that we ought not to have done, and have left undone things that we ought to have done, and we need thy forgiveness.
We pray to Thee, who art gracious and merciful, to give us a new mind, that we may turn from all evil ways, from words that ought not to be spoken, from thoughts that are alien to thy kingdom, and from deeds that are done without love; and may find new life in Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.