Prayer, day 2549: For Integrity

Most Merciful God,
set your seal upon our hearts,
that they may be filled with your truth
and animated by your gospel of hope.

Teach us to walk with integrity and honesty,
and strengthen us to defend the defenseless among us,
living into your commandments, O God,
in spirit, word, and deed.

Blessed Savior, place your healing hands upon our lives,
and give us the courage to live into your grace,
carrying your Name into the world
as witnesses to your compassion and justice.

Spirit of the Living God,
draw us into your light,
and gather us into your embrace,
placing your blessing over those for whom we pray.

Amen.

Prayer 2462: The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost

Holy One, Blessed Are You 
by all peoples and across all ages: 
we lift our song 
with the praise of the hills clothed in joy, 
the meadows covered in flocks, 
and the valleys golden with grain. 

God of Kindness and Redemption, 
You see into the corners of our hearts: 
have mercy upon us, 
for we know too well our sins, 
and are dependent upon your abundant grace and mercy.
Yet we pray to You in humility,
not seeking to justify ourselves 
 but to open our hearts and minds 
to be molded and fashioned as your children. 

Preserve us from pride and self-righteousness, 
and lead us to walk in the ways of compassion and empathy, 
as Jesus modeled for us,
all the days of our lives. 
Help us to celebrate your unbounded love and restoration;
may we share our abundance and our labor 
as disciples bearing your light and love 
into a world that knows only scarcity. 

Fill us with the joy of your bounty, O God, 
and pour out your Spirit 
that we may, by our joy, testify to your glory. 
Watch over those whose needs we now remember, 
especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 1787: Monday of the Third Week in Advent

Holy One, within the rising light we praise You,
and lift our hearts to be purified and renewed
to take up our work with steadfastness and joy.

Stir up your power, O Lord:
with your great might come among us
and within each of us,
that we may be wholly devoted to your call
to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

Drive far from us all wrong desires, Lord Christ,
and from the comforting lie of our own powerlessness
in the face of evil and wrongdoing.

Spirit of Wisdom and Truth,
keep always before us our obligation
to the poor and needy,
to the vulnerable,
the suffering,
and the lost,
and call us to righteousness, grace, and mercy.

Blessed Savior, help us establish the foundation of our lives
on compassion and reconciliation,
taking our part in the healing of creation
and in strengthening the cords of love
that unite with all the Earth.

Have mercy, O Creator and Redeemer,
and rest the hand of your blessing
on all the cares and concerns we bring before You,
as we turn to You in hope.

Amen.


(citations in this prayer include, from this morning's daily office, the collect for the Third Sunday in Advent, the collect for renewal of life, Psalm 41, and Psalm 52)