Pocket Prayers for Troubled Times. John Pritchard

may we seek the better way

      of honesty, humility and accountability

      in the Kingdom we pray will come on earth,

      as it is in heaven.

      O God of comfort and challenge

      whose presence is ever reliable

      and ever unexpected:

      grant us to grieve over what is ending

      without falling into despair

      and to enter our new vocation

      without forgetting your voice,

      through Jesus Christ. Amen.

      Janet Morley

       MONEY WORRIES

       The first place we are hit in troubled economic times is in the pocket. Debt has become a way of life for millions of credit-card holders, for students taking out loans, for parents wanting the best for their children. But then we get caught.

      God of power,

      you are strong to save

      and you never fail those who trust in you.

      Keep under your protection

      all who suffer as a result of debt:

      help them through their time of darkness,

      give wisdom to all who seek to help,

      and bring them to know true freedom

      in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

      Church of England

      Gracious God,

      you know our need of money.

      ‘Times are hard’, they say,

      but harder for some than others,

      harder for us, in fact.

      The mortgage, the supermarket, the heating,

      the car, the insurance, the council tax,

      the family, the TV, the odd meal out . . .

      I don’t ask you for money (how could I?)

      but I do ask you for more patience than I‘ve got

      and more grace than I find in my frustrated soul.

      Ease your way back into my life, I pray,

      and restore my sense of perspective and purpose,

      for Jesus’ sake, and for mine.

      Lord, I’m anxious about money –

      there’s no getting away from it.

      Please keep me sensible,

      clear my head,

      give me new ideas,

      and help me trust in you.

      Gracious God,

      the world belongs to you

      but we struggle to make it work.

      The world’s wealth is shared so unequally;

      the injustice of it cries to the heavens.

      Although money may be in short supply

      in these hard times,

      keep us in mind of the even larger problems

      of the world’s poor.

      May our problems make us sensitive to their

      problems, and their problems remind us

      of our need for one another

      and for you.

       WORKING AT GOD’S PACE

      Working life has never been more relentless for many people. The human cost of overwork, combined with stress at home and the frenetic pace of twenty-first-century existence, takes many people to the edge. That’s when we need to ease back and ask ourselves more prayerful questions.

      Living God,

      when I am tired and cross and despairing,

      distracted by many thoughts,

      eaten up by multiple demands,

      and hungry for your peace;

      help me to offer again

      the five loaves and two fishes

      that you have given me,

      and so discover again

      the miracle of the strength

      that comes in sharing everything

      when we have nothing –

      except Jesus Christ our Lord.

      Julie M. Hulme

      Lord, you put twenty-four hours in a day, and gave me a body which gets tired and can only do so much.

      Show me which tasks you want me to do, and help me to live prayerfully as I do them.

      Sharpen my senses, that I may truly

      see what I am looking at,

      taste what I am eating,

      listen to what I am hearing,

      face what I am suffering,

      celebrate the ways I am loved,

      and offer to you whatever I am doing,

      so that the water of the present moment

      may be turned into wine

      through Jesus Christ our Lord.

      Angela Ashwin

       Psalm 23 for busy people

      The Lord is my Pace-setter, I shall not rush,

      He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,

      He provides me with images of stillness

      which restore my serenity.

      He leads me in ways of efficiency,

      through calmness of mind;

      and his guidance is peace.

      Even though I have a great many things

      to accomplish each day,

      I will not fret, for his presence is here.

      His timelessness, his all-importance

      will keep me in balance.

      He prepares refreshment and renewal

      in the midst of my activity,

      by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquillity.

      My cup of joyous energy overflows.

      Surely harmony and effectiveness

      shall be the fruits of my hours,

      for I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,

      and dwell in his house for ever.

      Toki Miyashina

       DRUDGERY DIVINE?

      In spite of the dangers of stress and unemployment, purposeful work is a blessing. It offers dignity and satisfaction, and a framework for life.