Category Archives: Prayer
Thoughts and Prayers About Acceptance
I often write about what I most need to know. Emotionally, I am finally moving through letting go to the next step-acceptance of what is to be. I have gathered some quick links and quotations to ponder over. I hope that they will help you, too.
(1) From WaterPrayer:
“Acceptance is a state of non-reactivity and understanding. Acceptance does not mean ‘approval’ or that you condone what you are accepting. It means that you see something and know it for what it is, without having to need to change it. There are many ways prayer can prepare you for acceptance.”
“God of My Heart, help me to see and to know things for what they are, both inside me and outside of me. Help me to allow things to be as they are, even when I wish them to be different.
Help me to experience the importance of Acceptance: that things as they are hold many gifts, and that if my eyes and heart are open I can learn from what things and people teach me.
Help me to remember that to be in the state of Acceptance means that I can truly move through the world knowing what I can and cannot change.”
(2) From Jannacrumbs:
“I believe that we see a very clear picture of what causes relationships to break down in 2 Corinthians 7:1-4. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Pride…too much (v1)
2. Priorities…too many (v2)
3. Patience…too little (v3)
4. Perspective…too limited (v4)
The bottom line here is that we all get in the way of our own happiness and what God has intended for us. When we do, we often start blaming other people for the lack of satisfaction or reciprocity in our relationships, when in fact, we may be the ones causing the problem.”
(3) From journeywithspirit:
“Dear God, in this moment I hold your acceptance.
You love me completely, just as I am.
You see my great potential within,
and you nurture my tender heart of compassion.
In this moment, I let your acceptance be my own.
I accept others as the children of God.
I hold high their inner greatness,
always seeking to serve the highest and best within all people.
And so it is.”
(4) From selfcreation:
“Self acceptance is being loving and happy with who you are NOW. Some call it self-esteem, others self-love, but whatever you call it, you’ll know when your accepting yourself cause it feels great. Its an agreement with yourself to appreciate, validate, accept and support who you are at this very moment, even those parts you’d like to eventually change. This is important…even those parts you’d eventually like to change. Yes, you can accept (be okay with) those parts of yourself you want to change some day.”
(5) From Rex H—“What is Your Greatest Fear?”
“My prayer for the day….it has come to my attention yet again that I am trying to control things that are beyond my control. I need to accept that I have certain things in my life that have the appearance of being things I can change when in reality they are things I cannot change. By continually trying to change that which I cannot I am being selfish and not of maximum service to God and those around me. So for today I will pray this prayer and pick up the tools that have been given me to deal with those things…..thanks to those who love me enough to help me see this blind spot and have so compassionately guided me on this journey.”
Power of Prayer
By Mohamed Malik
Power of Prayer
Dale Salwak, Editor
ISBN 1-56731-445-7
Excerpts from this book about prayer:
(1) Introduction by Neale Donald Walsch;
“Your Life is a Prayer’. Prayer is the most important part of the human experience. It is the most important part of our daily activities. The reason it is the most important part of our experience is because it is the process by which we create our lives. It should be understood by anyone examining the subject of prayer that everything we think, see, or do is a prayer. Life is a prayer in the sense that it is a continuous request to the universe and its God to present us with what we choose and desire.”
“(Oftentimes) we pray for one thing and we go out and think or do another. So 95 percent of the time we send prayers that affirm our insufficiency that we don’t have enough and 5 percent of the time we ask God to bring us something. This is the single most misunderstood aspect of prayer in our human experience. The truth is that the universe is a giant Xerox, sending us, all the time, the answer to our prayers. Only for those who understand the great gift that God has given us—the gift of our ability to create what we want—does this prayer seem inviting.”
“When we become consciously aware of this, and when we accept this truth with joy, our entire lives change—sometimes virtually overnight and other times more slowly and subtly. The most extraordinary prayer I have ever heard is one sentence I find myself saying continually throughout my life: ”Thank you God for helping me to understand that this problem has already been solved for me.”
The book is divided into 5 sections:
One: The Essence of Prayer
On Prayer—Mother Theresa
Is Anyone Listening?—Alan Mermann
Ladders to God—Marianne Williamson
God is Prayer—Maurice Friedman
The Kingdom of Heaven Lies Within—Albert Low
Two: The Gift of Prayer
The Paradox of Prayer—Henri J.M.Nouwen
Say Yes to God’s Gift of Prayer—Dale Evans Rogers
The Glass Case—Francis Bachelder
What Should I Do with My Light—Drew Leder
God’s Continuing Gift—Shuma Chakravarty
Three: Connecting with God
The Origins of Prayer in Children—Mark Banschick
Prayer and Life—Samuel Miller
Guaranteed to Succeed—Charles Spurgeon
Prayer Starts with God—Lloyd John Ogilvie
An Answered Prayer—Anthony Stern, M.D.
Fleeing or Following Jesus to the Cross—Leo O’Donovan, S.J.
Four: A Path to Understanding
A lesson in Prayer—Sue Bender
Praying for Power—Stella Terrill Mann
Authentic Prayer—Avery Dulles, S.J.
The Power of Prayer—Brooke Medicine Eagle
Prayer in Zen—Lou Nordstrom
The Common Ground of Healing—Paul Fleischman, M.D.
Five: “Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
Effective Prayer—Billy Graham
Picture Prayer—Jeffrey Burton Russell
Pray Without Ceasing—Jimmy Carter
Praying the Scriptures—Dallas Willard
Praying for Real: Hasidic Teachings—Yitzhak Buxbaum
The Family and Prayer—Hazen Werner
In the back of the book, each contributor is highlighted with a short biography.
Other books by Dale Salwak are The Wonders of Solitude, The Words of Christ, and The Wisdom of Judaism.
An excerpt from Lloyd John Ogilvie:
“Simply stated, the truth is this: prayer starts with God. It is His idea. Our desire to pray is the result of God’s greater desire to talk with us. He has something to say when we feel the urge to pray. He is the initiator. Out keen desire to begin and end the day with prolonged prayer is His gift. When we feel a need to pray for challenges or opportunities throughout the day, it is because He has wisdom and insight He wants to impart. When we face crises and suddenly feel the urge to pray for strength, that feeling is a response to the Lord’s invasion of our minds, which triggers the thought of needing help that is then congealed into our desire to pray. He, not us, is the author of our longing for His help.”
