A Simple Prayer for our Work

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Holy God, who courses beside us every hour,
Draw us toward the light of your Presence as we delve into the details our our work this day. Move us from one grateful thought to another for all that you provide. Like the squirrels outside our windows, flirting from one golden tree to the next, release any fixation we have on our ideas or opinions so that love may flow freely upon our sisters and brothers amongst us. As the day begins to fade into evening, help us to carry home the tender ways your fullness is being revealed, sustaining us in the dark and accompanying our rest. Amen.

Persevering in Trust

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Indwelling Spirit, whose energy renews life,
We admit that sometimes we avoid the silence, we hold our breath gasping at the trouble we see in our world. Steady our souls to spend time in your Presence. Help us to take one breath at a time. Rather than holding so tightly in our attempts to maintain the past, release even our rational fears and forget our problem solving and planning. Move our hearts forward in trust to find what is needed most is already in front of us, within us and beside us. Open us to receive your Living Presence so that we can willingly enter your reworking of creation. May all that emerges in our community life be evidence of the perseverance of your Spirit alive in us all. Amen.

Are Not the Flowers the Stars of the Earth?

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Creator of Wonder, who immerses us in the beauty of the earth,
As the stars fade in the morning light, flowers illuminate our view, and we greet the new day finding your fullness in it. Make each breath a taking in of the gift of your Presence. Slow us to savor the richness around us. Our anxiety over our circumstances is relieved when we accept that what you provide is enough, perhaps far more than we deserve. Day after day, we receive your goodness. Under canopies of stars and amongst paths lined with flowers, turn us into wide-eyed lovers, eagerly anticipating deeper connection with You and all the earth. Amen.

Standing Ready

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Protector of Life, who watches over our days,
In the morning silence, we face our uncertainties, finding your Presence standing guard. You quiet our fears with simple compassion. You strengthen us to live in our truth again and again. You never promised that acting on faith would be easy, you did promise that nothing can separate us from your love. And so we ask today as we watch for your faithfulness: make us like you, standing ready to pour out grace where there is need. Amen.

Hidden Joy

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Holy Mystery, who is actively releasing energy into the work of this day.
Use this time of silence as a mirror for our souls. Soften the light around the fissures and imperfections so that we realize how often those cracks are the very places of our hidden joy. Help us remain confined long enough to see what new color emerges from the shadows of our stories. As the sun heads toward the horizon, fill our tables with the fruit of these blessings to sustain us through the night ahead. Amen.

Unfolding Freedom

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Peaceful Presence, who deepens the promise found in our hearts,
As the day draws to a close, we take a moment of solitude to let our minds rest. Rather than increasing our anxiety to find what we perceive is missing, help us to learn that we cannot seek outside ourselves what is waiting to be found within. Open us to accept and befriend even any interior negativity we notice. Soften our hardened places and give us the kind of flexibility that moves us to new understanding. As the layers of our souls unfold and emerge, reveal this new growth in our relationships with you and one another. Amen.

Quiet Community

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Janet Salbert

Creator of Life, who is active in the deep, darkness of the winter earth,
Encircle us with your peace in this silence. Use this frozen season to help us learn to rest in all that is. Bring us to accept and acknowledge the unknown as we begin this New Year. Guide us in full trust toward what cannot yet be seen. Gently break us open to growing in ways we resist, then, use our practice as seeds to engage others so that your Presence is fully realized in quiet spaces of community. Amen.

Lengthening Shadows Ending this Year

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Janet Salbert

Holy One, who fills both lightness and darkness with mystery,
As the shadows lengthen on this year, we attend to the fullness of your Presence. Your love comes at us so fully, and so often we either shy away, or are too distracted to notice. Right here, we have all that is needed; somehow we are enough, right now. We count on you to continue to make us tender with compassion and to further our trust in the ways of mercy and forgiveness. Our deepest desire is for peace with all people. With this last dusk of the year, propel us into the unknown future trusting that you are already there, preparing for our next moment. Open us to receive all that you provide with gladness. Amen.

Giving Thanks

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Janet Salbert

Giver of Abundance, who blesses us all,
For the earth, her beauty and her bounty, thanks be. For time spent attending to your Presence, thanks be. We enter your life, Holy One, and find you deep within ours. With joy and thanksgiving, direct us this day toward every opportunity to love through our work and our play. May all that which we offer, be for the sake of another. Amen.

Relieved By Compassion

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Janet Salbert

Light of Dawn, who guides us through this day,
Slow down our pace, calm us with your silent Presence. Often, we travel over the ground too quickly. We forget to attend to the unfolding mystery around us. Remind us once again that renewal comes through forgiveness, discomfort is relieved by compassion, and that faith comes with increasing trust in all that lies beyond ourselves. Amen.

Janet Salbert

Put Out Into the Deep

Category Archives: Simple Prayer