Love
By James Dillet Freeman
Love may sometimes be a light thing---
You may wear it like a flower
Or a ring upon your finger---
Yet love has lasting power.
But whether love lights lightly
Or for eternity,
You find the more it binds you,
the more it sets you free.
Love may sometimes lay a heavy load
You think you cannot bear,
But love and you together
Have strength enough to spare.
Love lifts you on invisible
But ah, what mighty wings!
When Life is dearest and most blest,
Love is the song it sings.
Talking-to-God passage
Dear God,
Your love is unlike any other love I ever known. My parents, friends, and others are all influenced by human emotions, and they may have given or withheld love at will. But your love for me is unconditional, without judgment, without limitations.
There are no conditions, I must meet or exceed to earn Your love. I express my faith in You by returning love in the form of thanksgiving and appreciation and by respecting and showing my love for all you have created.
I know that I may come to a crossroads as I walk my path in life. Because You love me, You have given me the freedom to make choices and to express my faith. My creator, I turn to you for guidance and support and receive love and encouragement.
O God, You are my God, and I love you. In this quiet time of prayer, I feel God's loving presence and let God love through me!
Some journaling thoughts
1) what is one way I can express God's love in my life today?
2) How do I feel when I remember all that God has so lovingly created in my life?
Universal Prayer
Renewal
By J. Sig Paulson
O Lord of renewal,
refresh me,
restore me,
renew me again,
Make me
newer then new
and brighter then bright,
and then
respond once more,
to my joyous shout:
"Renew me forever from the inside out!"
Talk-with-God-Passage
Dear God,
I feel your presence as renewing life within me--an energizing flow that surges throughout my body, healing me and making me aware that I am alive with divine life!
Knowing I am part of Your sacred presence, I feel renewed and vibrantly alive. The troubles of the day slip effortlessly from my mind when I am thinking only of you.
I bask in Your healing glow; Your love fills me with strength; Your presence renews me spiritually, emotionally and physically. God, Your Spirit is within me--and I know this into the deepest recesses of my soul. So I am filled with the assurance that no matter where I may go, no matter what I may undertake, You are always with me.
You are the life that energizes me now. In this quiet time of prayer, I feel renewed!
Journaling ideals
1) When do I feel most renewed and refreshed?
2) How do I feel when I focus on the energy of God moving through me?
Universal Prayer
To Find the God We Seek
By Richard Rainbolt
And on his last day
The student said to the Master:
"You have shown me the wonders of life and
made me hear the winds of love
Rushing thoruhg the universe,
And helped me to understand
That God lives in all things;
Yet there is again something higher.
How do we find the God we seek?"
And the Master said,
"When all among the human kind
Focus their thoughts on God
At the same time,
They will create a universal oneness
That is the God they seek."
Talking-to-God Prayer
Dear God,
In my commitment to know more about You, I am also learning more about myself. Believing that Your unlimited power and wisdom can work through me, I am uncovering amzaing insights at the very soul-level of my being. I realize that I have the ability to achieve my desires and goals. I smply must be willing to try.
And, God, with my acceptance of You as the source of understanding and life, I am aware of the divine ideas that are filtering through my thoughts and dreams. I understand that by never limiting myself, I will never limit what You can do through me.
Because I accept the honor of being a channel of Your spirit, a new me is constantly emerging--an unfolding creation of Your life and love. When I hold myself to this high standard, I realize that nothing is too good to be true. I accept you as the source of every blessing and invite blessing after blessing into my life.
In this quiet time of prayer, I recognize God as the source of all blessings.
Journal Work
1. What can I do today to recognize God's abundance in my life?
2. In what ways do I see a new me emerging?
Universal Prayer
Immersed
By John D. Engle Jr.
Immersed in infinite energy and love,
I'm pafrt of the eternal flow of things.
No matter when or where or how I move,
whether on earth with wheels or in the air
with wings, I am a part of everything that is,
all that has been, or will ever be.
Designed by the dreams of all divinities, all beauty and all truth are mixed in me.
Knowing this, I shed my shell of doubt,
until free in the freedom of the one Mind
and linked to laws of love, I go about
fulfilling that for which I was designed,
which is to sign myself and try to share
the loveliness of which I am aware.
Talking-to-God Prayer
Dear God,
I know that I dont have to wait for a formal time of prayer to reflect on Your blessings in my life. Every moment of my day is a spiritual experience when I understand that You are with me--and that Your love for me is boundless!
Thinking about you and my relationship with You---as a creation to a Creator--fills me with unquenchably joy! I am so glad to be alive, so glad to be a part of Your universe! Whether I am working or playing or simply resting in the awareness of Your presence within me, I feel connected with You, the source of life that gives me the energy I need to keep going.
You are with me now and every moment of my life. I am Your beloved creation, so if I should begin to feel overwhelmed with doubt, I know that I need only change my focus from whatever is troubling me to what is always the absolute truth about me: You, dear God, will see me through.
In this quiet time of prayers, I give thanks for my blessings.
Some journaling ideas:
1) when do I feel most like a beloved creatio of God?
2) how can I stay open today to seeing God in the little things in life?
universal prayer
Prayer
By James Dillet Freeman
Prayer is a state of being, like snowfall At night. As in the silence of yourself you pray, All things particular, familiar, small Or large, dissolve and slowly melt away. Only the white perfection of your prayer Is there, enveloping all things, until The oneness of the One is everywhere.
Nothing remains the same--only the still, Only the peace of being, not so much Filling space as obliterating space, An emptiness and allness, like the touch Of snowfall in the night upon your face. But when your prayer ends and you riase and go, Your world shines new around you, like new snow.
Here is the talking to God prayer
Dear God,
This is a new beginning for me--not because something is happening to me, but because something is happening to me, but because something miraculous is happening within me.
Now I know that they yearning I have felt throughout life--a yearning that could not be fulfilled by anyone or anyting--is satisfied only by being fully in Your presence through prayer.
You are the spirt of life that has been within me from the beginning. You encouraged me to take my first breath, and you were there saturating the very air that I took into my body.
Every breath I have taken since then is both my celebration of Your assurance that You are always with me, renewing me with the breath of life.
God, You have given me life, and every day can be a new beginning for me. Every day will be an adventure in living because I am ready to live life fully--in the awareness of You.
In this quiet time of prayer, I celebrate the breath of life.
Here are some journaling ideas...
1. What can I do today to remind myself that even the simple act of breathing is a celebration of God's presence within me?
2. How can I be alert to new opportunities and new beginnings in my life?
Universal Prayer
This Quiet Place
By Dorothy Pierson
I came to this quiet place
And found you waiting for me, God
I hadn't heard You call,
I had no seeming need at all,
But I just felt guided to be still...
And here You are!
My heart is open to Your will.
Speak to me, God,
For I am listening within myself.
I hear You in my mind,
A kind of moving
As in the quiet of a forest,
Pleasant sounds, soft and whispering
To my heart.
In this place apart, O God, Thank you for the
peace I feel, The sure knowing that
You are here,
And real,
and that we are one
In this quiet place.
Talking-To-God Passage
Dear God,
With a new awareness of both You and of myself, I am able to recognize the sacredness that I hold within me. I have tasted the sweetness of Your spirit and felt the joy of Your unqualified acceptance and love. I have breathed deeply of Your presence and I am refreshed in spirit.
I am one with You and one with all creation. In mind and heart, I recognize You as the one universal spirit that unites all humankind and nature. Togehter, we are all woven into a beautiful tapestry of love, harmony, and undestanding.
Your love for all life resonates within me as a divine connection tht can never be broken. I honor that sacred bond with the sanctity it is worthy of.
O dear God, You are all that I could ever want and all that I will ever need. In this quiet time of prayer, I connect with my own sacredness.
Some journal ideas
1) What is one way I may become more aware of my oneness with God today?
2) What is one thing I can do today to honor my sacred bond with others?
Universal Prayer
~~~The Search~~~
By Donna Miesbach
Here, within the quiet zone of inner space, I find myself exploring, like those in days of old, The potential of this vast uncharted sea That harbors the meaning of existence.
Like all who've sought before me, I can only grope within the confines of my soul, And yet there seems to be a pull, A gravitation toward some unseem inner light that says, "Here! This is the way!"
And so I follow, fully aware That no matter where it leads-- This is only the beginning.
I can never exhaust my potential; Growth is forever.
And even when I've changed To a state light-years away; I will become yet more, For it is in the search itself That the truth is revealed As I encounter The essence of my identity.
Talking-to-God Prayer
Dear God,
You have lead me to this time and this place discovery. And as I consider all that has happened to bring me to this sacred awakening. I understand that each time I pray I have opened the door to new opportunities--opportunities to discover more of my own spirutality.
As I continue to explore these new paths. I realize my potential for being more and doing more. Being totally in Your presence has revived the memory of a secred bond that has always existed between us. As I pray, my spirit is rekindled, and I am so infused with faith that I welcome the chance to learn more of You and of what I am capable of achieving.
No longer do I need to know the "why" of things, for You are the answer to every question, the resolution ot every dilemma, the source of all that matters. As I explore new horizons. O God, I am simply rediscovering more of you.
"In this quiet time of prayer, I open the door the new discoveries and new possibilities."
Some journaling ideas
1) how can I explore new paths to spiritual awakening today?
2) In what ways has God already answered my call?
