Prayer in times of trials and temptations

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My Lord, this is by no means an easy battle for me. I am taken deep within my soul to places I’ve never been. I am forced to face my worse fears, to confront my darkest demons. But I do feel your presence even as I walk through these valleys of shadows. And even when I don’t, I know you are with me, holding my hand through it all, and I am safe.

Dear Lord, do not withdraw your light from me. Do not let the winds and the rains put out my flickering candle. All my life I have been trying to guard it as the most precious treasure I could ever have. Let your Holy Spirit be the flame of my candle, so that no storm can put it out.

I know this path I’m walking is not one of happiness, but one of trials, temptations and suffering. I also know it is for my own evil deeds I have to go through this. Let me pay whatever I’ve got to pay and learn whatever I’ve got to learn, but don’t leave me alone in this battle. Be with me all the way to guide me and comfort me through the grace of your son Jesus Christ.

AMEN

Prayer for the Sick

Lord God, our light and our hope, to you we run when our body and our soul hurts, for you are our doctor and our healer, and the comforter of those in heavy grief. You know the depths of our being and with a single word you can heal us. 

Have mercy, Lord, on those afflicted by illness and infirmity, on those who cannot live their life with joy because of the evil in the flesh that's tearing them like a worm day and night. Examine each of them and pour your blessings out of your never-ending spring of love. 

Heal them and alleviate their suffering. Open a gate for them, so that they can enjoy the life they have received as a gift. Show them how great you are, as you have shown Job, so that their hearts can soar with joy, and they can find a new purpose and a new meaning. 

Hold them by the hand every moment of their journey and when the pain is too strong, carry them in your arms as a shepherd carries a sick lamb. Give them the faith to move mountains, so that, by their faith, they can be healed and saved. 

Lord, do not forget thy sick. Bring to them the people they need, so that they are never short of support in their misery. Teach them to love and to offer help and support even when they themselves need them, thus discovering the way of wisdom and love. 

Give them the power to fulfill their dreams or to shape new dreams in spite of their pain. Teach them to rise above the circumstances and, through faith and spiritual strength, with the support of your love, to come out victorious in the struggle with disease and suffering.

Don't Cry, My Child

Don’t cry, my child, the night is over,
And all the shadows fade away.
Lift up your face, my weary rover,
There’s no more need for you to stray.

Once you were lost in a dark forest,
With the cold tombstones of the dead.
You had no friends to share your sadness,
You had no place to lay your head.

The weight of life was overwhelming
And so was the pain in your heart...
Your only treasure was the longing
That secretly tore you apart.

Your dreams were more than you could handle,
As in your dreams the demons came.
With nothing but a smoking candle,
Your nights were more or less the same.

But then I called you from the distance.
You heard my voice, my silent cry.
I made you question your existence
And raise your eyes towards the sky.

I put you on the highest mountain,
Where fir trees shine covered in snow.
I turned your heart into a fountain
Where living waters ever flow.

From now on, you can face tomorrow
With a new light shining inside.
As I will take away your sorrow
And keep you always by my side.

Prayer for Comfort and Guidance

My Lord, look at me from your divine sky and search my heart. See if there is any wrong in me and cure me. My soul longs for you and my being is thirsty for your living water. Bring comfort and hope into my life. Teach me your holy will, light the path in front of me, so that i know which way to go. There are so many times I stumble on this road, catch me and don't let me fall. Hold me in your arms like a loving father. Let the warmth of your love keep me warm in the cold winter nights like a cosy fluffy coat. When I feel lonely and scared, comfort me with loving words like a mother comforts her child. Pour into me the courage and the strength to go on through this life and make the best of it in spite of all the hardships and the adversities. Let me live my life in accordance with your will, so that I have no regrets at the end.

AMEN

Helen Keller Quotes

You might have heard her extraordinary story. The story of an amazing woman who overcame the challenge of being deaf and blind and found the strength within herself to be a guide and an inspiration to many. Here are a few of her reflections.

Helen Keller Quotes - The Quotations Page

The Orphans of This World

In God's eyes we are all the same,
He knows each one of us by name.
He calls the orphans of this world
Under His wings, far from the cold.

When you feel lonely in the night,
He'll come to you and hold you tight.
When tears burn like acid rain,
He'll come to you and soothe your pain.

You are so precious in God's eyes,
He paid for you such a high price.
He send His son into the world
To face the darkness and the cold.

To share the mortals' destiny,
To give you hope, to set you free.
The little babe Jesus was born,
For you, the orphans of this world.

LET'S WELCOME JESUS

And the light came into the darkness... and the Word came into the world to break the silence of death...

He came and lived among us, full of grace and truth. His words healed hearts and minds, his call arose people from the death, his touch brought light to the blind.

His message was simple and full of power. His words strong and compassionate. His presence life-changing. His love for us had no limits.

He didn't come to judge or to punish, but to save and to heal. To help us find a meaning in a meaningless world. To comfort us and give us a hope in a hopeless world. He came to the orphans of this world, to make them sons and daughters of God and heirs of eternity.

He came as a humble baby, sharing all our pain and suffering in a body like ours, bearing all the burdens of our frail human frame. When the whole earth and sky was his, he chose to live and die for us out of a love that defies our understanding.

Let's welcome the baby born in Bethlehem. Let's welcome Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, born into our world at the crossway of history to change it forever.

AMEN

Make Us Worthy to Serve

"Make us worthy, Lord,
To serve our fellow-men
Throughout the world
Who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them, through our hands,
This day their daily bread;
And by our understanding love,
Give peace and joy."

Mother Teresa

The Poem of the Orphan Child

"My feet they are sore, and my limbs they are weary;
Long is the way, and the mountains are wild;
Soon will the twilight close moonless and dreary
Over the path of the poor orphan child.

Why did they send me so far and so lonely,
Up where the moors spread and grey rocks are piled?
Men are hard-hearted, and kind angels only
Watch o'er the steps of a poor orphan child.

Yet distant and soft the night breeze is blowing,
Clouds there are none, and clear stars beam mild,
God, in His mercy, protection is showing,
Comfort and hope to the poor orphan child.

Ev'n should I fall o'er the broken bridge passing,
Or stray in the marshes, by false lights beguiled,
Still will my Father, with promise and blessing,
Take to His bosom the poor orphan child.

There is a thought that for strength should avail me,
Though both of shelter and kindred despoiled;
Heaven is a home, and a rest will not fail me;
God is a friend to the poor orphan child."

From Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Prayer For Protection

When I feel lonely in the night, I imagine your arms holding me and your voice giving me comfort. When all my friends abandon me, I can still feel your presence in every whisper of hope, in every breeze of faith that touches my soul. When life seems to make no sense, I can still hear your call, urging me to seek you again in prayer. When my heart seems empty, I can still recall every single miracle you’ve made for me. When I feel down, I still know you can lift me up. And it’s nothing I haven’t expected. All those moments when everything seems like a nightmare are not unpredictable. They can’t cause too much harm, because I am aware they will come sooner or later and I can pray for them in advance. I pray, oh, my dear Lord, for all those moments in the future when I feel lonely in the night, when all my friends abandon me, when life seems to make no sense, when my heart is empty… when I feel down and everything seems like a nightmare. Those are the moments when I need you most, when I most long for your loving presence. Stay with me in those moments. Give me strength and comfort. Hold my hand through the storm, so that my soul can praise you when the rainbow appears on the horizon. Never go away from me when my faith is weak, when my feet are stumbling on the way. Never go away from anyone in their moments of weakness, but turn their weakness into strength and their failure into victory.

AMEN

My Lord, here I am, in front of you again, with all my heart and my soul. Teach me to be honest with myself and with you. Teach me not to hide behind words, behind polished phrases. Here I am, my soul all naked, ready to let you in. I have so many things to repent for. So many things I should have done and I haven’t. So many things I shouldn’t have done and I have. So many dark corners inside my heart where your light hasn’t reached yet. Forgive me for all those things and for many others that can’t be said here and now. You know each and every one of them. Purify my soul of all the rubbish, so that you can turn me into an instrument of your love. Clean all the places that need to be cleaned. Heal all the wounds that need to be healed. Light all the corners that are still in the dark. Hold my hand and guide my steps on the right path. Help me keep the candle burning. Show me the meaning of my life and your will for it. Let me find my strength in you, even when I feel that all in me is weakness and that all around me is crumbling to pieces. Be my comforter and my friend. Listen to my prayers and help me cry when the burden of restrained tears becomes too heavy within me. Cry with me. Let me feel your tears like a rain inside me, setting me free from all the tension, from all the negative energy. Let me feel your love touching my soul like a soft summer breeze, your tender care like a warm coat on a chilly day, your sweet presence like a long-wanted gift on a magic Christmas Eve. Teach me how to live and how to die. How to pray and how to forgive. All the things that could help my faith grow. Teach me all the little things no one has ever taught me. All that my soul longs to know. And don’t leave me. Stay with me forever and ever. Especially in the moments when I’m down and there’s no one else to lift me up. Especially in the moment of my death. Share it with me to make it easier. Make me feel then - like I felt all throughout my life - that everywhere is home, since home is wherever you are and you are everywhere.

AMEN

"The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them."

Christmas is on its way. Let's pray that every one gets a little present for this special celebration. That no one is forgotten. God, bless us all and fill our hearts with Your love. Let us feel the magic of Christmas and share the miracle of Jesus coming into the world. Search our hearts. Don't let anyone feel lonely on that special night. Go to the poor, the disabled, the old, the unloved. Go to all those who haven't found their way yet and shine Your divine light into their lives. Let them know how wonderful You are. And show them how special they are in Your eyes. Every single one of them. AMEN

To The One Who Keeps Our Candle Burning

The night is long,
the air is cold,
the lost sheep go astray,
the wind is strong,
the time is old,
and home is far away.

And as we go,
towards that shore
on this cold winter night
the shadows grow
forever more
and darken our sight. 

But far away,
a light is born
to soothe our weary eyes,
and as we stray
we feel the morn
and hope that never dies.

And we may stumble, 
we may bend,  
lost, frozen to the bone
but that bright candle
gives us strength
to make it safely home.

Written by Eliza