Prayer of Abandonment

Father, I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

-Charles de Foucald

Request for the Presence of Christ

Christ be with me
Christ within me
Christ behind me
Christ before me
Christ beside me
Christ to win me
Christ to comfort and restore me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ in quiet
Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger

Jesus for President Litany of Resistance

One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world

All: Have mercy on us

One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world

All: Free us from the bondage of sin and death

One: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world

All: Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.

One: For the victims of war

All: Have mercy

One: Women, men and children

All: Have mercy

One: The maimed and the crippled

All: Have mercy

One: The abandoned and the homeless

All: Have mercy

One: the imprisoned and the tortured

All: Have mercy

One: The widowed and the orphaned

All: Have mercy

One: The bleeding and the dying

All: Have mercy

One: The weary and the desperate

All: Have mercy

One: The lost and the forsaken

All: Have mercy

One: O God -- Have mercy on us sinners

All: Forgive us for we know not what we do

One: For our scorched and blackened earth

All: Forgive us

One: For the scandal of billions wasted in war

All: Forgive us

One: For our arms makers and arms dealers

All: Forgive us

One: For our Caesars and Herods

All: Forgive us

One: For the violence that is rooted in our hearts

All: Forgive us

One: For the times we turn others into enemies

All: Forgive us

One: Deliver us, O God

All: Guide our feet into the way of peace

One: Hear our prayer.

All: Grant us peace.

One: From the arrogance of power

All: Deliver us

One: From the myth of redemptive violence

All: Deliver us

One: From the tyranny of greed

All: Deliver us

One: From the ugliness of racism

All: Deliver us

One: From the cancer of hatred

All: Deliver us

One: From the seduction of wealth

All: Deliver us

One: From the addiction of control

All: Deliver us

One: From the idolatry of nationalism

All: Deliver us

One: From the paralysis of cynicism

All: Deliver us

One: From the violence of apathy

All: Deliver us

One: From the ghettos of poverty

All: Deliver us

One: From the ghettos of wealth

All: Deliver us

One: From a lack of imagination

All: Deliver us

One: Deliver us, O God

All: Guide our feet into the way of peace

One: We will not conform to the patterns of this world

All: Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds

One: With the help of God’s grace

All: Let us resist evil wherever we find it

One: With the waging of war

All: We will not comply

One: With the legalization of murder

All: We will not comply

One: With the slaughter of innocents

All: We will not comply

One: With laws that betray human life

All: We will not comply

One: With the destruction of community

All: We will not comply

One: With the pointing finger and malicious talk

All: We will not comply

One: With the idea that happiness must be purchased

All: We will not comply

One: With the ravaging of the earth

All: We will not comply

One: With principalities and powers that oppress

All: We will not comply

One: With the destruction of peoples

All: We will not comply

One: With the raping of women

All: We will not comply

One: With governments that kill

All: We will not comply

One: With the theology of empire

All: We will not comply

One: With the business of militarism

All: We will not comply

One: With the hoarding of riches

All: We will not comply

One: With the dissemination of fear

All: We will not comply

One: Today we pledge our ultimate allegiance… to the Kingdom of God

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To a peace that is not like Rome’s

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the Gospel of enemy love

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the Kingdom of the poor and broken

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To a King that loves his enemies so much he died for them

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the least of these, with whom Christ dwells

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the transnational Church that transcends the artificial borders of nations

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the refugee of Nazareth

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the cross rather than the sword

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the banner of love above any flag

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war-horse

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the Way that leads to life

All: We pledge allegiance

One: To the Slaughtered Lamb

All: We pledge allegiance

One: And together we proclaim his praises, from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power

All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb

One: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb

All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb

By Shane Claiborne with the help of Jim Loney and Brian Walsh

Eucharist Prayer

Come and be here
Steal past my fears
O wounded healer
O humble leader
Show me your hands
Show me your side
O holy victim
O crucified

I will receive you now
I will receive your love
I will believe in you
I will go on with you

Speak to my heart
Bring me your peace
O broken Saviour
O gentle fighter

Breathe on my face
The breath of life
O my Christ let me
Share in your life

Bring to my lips now
Your blood and body
O bread of heaven
O hope of glory
Send me in love
Into the world
O faithful teacher
Wisdom of God

"I Will Receive You Now" - by Doug Gay with Jonny Baker and Proost

Another Prayer for My Enemies

God, there are people who don't like us. There are people down here who don't mind to see us hurt in order to get what they want. It's so hard to pray for them, God. Then again, Jesus just said to do it. He didn't say it would be easy. We all feel like our lives are missing something, God. If there's one thing we have in common, we all ache. Those who hurt us must ache, too. I wonder... Fill their lives, God. Give them what they need. They have hidden pain. Heal them. Forgive them. Then come talk with us and explain how this all works. Amen.

-adapted from The Book of Uncommon Prayer by Steven Case

Prayer for Guidance

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"

Pottery

Be merciful, God. The fire burns. I am just clay. I will crack and fall apart in your hands. I feel hopeless and hungry. I am frightened of the fire and the water. But you are the potter, and I am the clay. Shape me. Remake me. Mold me in a thousand ways, God. I am your servant. I will be a jar full of glorious treasures. Amen.

-from The Book of Uncommon Prayer by Steven Case