Sarum Prayer
God be in my head—and in my understanding
God be in my eyes—and in my looking
God be in my mouth—and in my speaking
God be in my heart—and in my thinking
God be at my end—and at my departing
Cloud of Witnesses Meditation
Now let’s call to mind and heart the ancestors—loved or admired ones who have gone before us and surround us, we are told, in the cloud of witnesses. Over the next half minute hold in your memory some dear ones who have gone before you. If you like, you can Invite them to be with you as you pray.
Refrain for the Psalm
When I consider your heavens
Psalm 8
LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is humankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Refrain
When I consider your heavens
Wisdom of Jesus
Matthew 11: 25
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”
Refrain
When I consider your heavens
Prayer for Loved Ones
Over the next minute name your loved ones, calling each to mind in love, lifting each in the embrace of remembered love.
Prayer for the Stresses of the Day
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
A Pause for Gratitude
Take about 30 seconds to focus on one or two things that you are grateful for.
An Old Prayer from the African American Church
O Lord, we come today knee bowed and body bent before thy throne of grace. We come today like empty pitchers before a full fountain, realizing that many who are better by nature than we are by practice have passed into that great beyond; and yet you have allowed us your humble servants to plod along just a few days longer here in this howling wilderness. We thank thee Lord that we arose this morning, and that our bed was not a cooling board, and our sheet was not a winding shroud. We thank thee Lord that we are clothed in our right mind—bless the sick and afflicted. And when we have prayed our last prayer and sung our last song, and when we are done climbing the rough side of the mountain, when we come down to tread the steep and prickly banks of Jordan, meet us with thy rod and staff and bear us safely over. We ask these things in Jesus name, world without end. Amen.
Benediction
Go in peace, wash your hands, love your neighbor—you are not alone.