6 Helpful Prayers to Know

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With all the uncertainty that’s going on in my life, I’m trying to cling to prayer as much as I can, to continually ask God to guide me in a direction that best promotes His peace in this world. Ironically, as I looked for prayers to say in the morning, a friend sent me the beautiful gift book, “At Prayer with Mother Teresa,” a collection of reflections and meditations by Mother Teresa and her favorite saints, theologians, or fellow believers, complied by Eileen Egan. Among the beautiful passages are these six prayers that I dog-eared in the book:

 

Prayer for Enlightenment by Mother Teresa

Come, O Blessed Spirit Knowledge and Light, and grant that I may perceive the Will of the Father; show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to Thee and Thy eternal rewards.

Prayer of Rabindranath Tagore

This is my prayer to you, O Lord–strike at the root of penury in my heart.
Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.
Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.
Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.
Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.
And give me the strength to surrender my strength to your will with love.

Prayer of Compassion by Alan Paton

Make me, O Lord, the instrument of Thy love, that I may bring comfort to those who sorrow and joy to those who are regarded as persons of little account. In this country of many races make me courteous to those who are humble and understanding to those who are resentful. Teach me what I should be to the arrogant, the cruel, for I do not know. And as for me myself, make me more joyful than I am, especially if this is needed for the sake of others. Let me remember by many experiences of joy and thankfulness, especially those that endure. And may I this coming day do some work of peace for thee.

Prayer of Perseverance by Mother Teresa

Lord, give me this vision of faith,
So that my work will not become monotonous.

Prayer to Overcome Fear by Thomas a Kempis

My Lord Jesus, do not be far from me,
But come quickly and help me
For I am terrified by fears of the future.
How shall I break their power over me?
How shall I go unhurt without your help?
O Lord,
You have promised,
“I myself will prepare your way,
leveling mountains and hills.
I will open the gates of the prison,
And reveal to you
The hidden treasures of spiritual knowledge.”
O Lord, do as you have said,
Drive away all my fears.
This is my hope and my only comfort–
To turn to you,
To put all my trust in you,
To call inwardly upon you,
And to wait for your comfort with patience

Prayer to Avert Suicides by Mother Teresa

O God,
You who know the moment of our death,
You who know the moment of our creation,
We pray to You.
Bless this person contemplating suicide
And preserve this life of your child.
Turn the depths of this person’s depression away from self-destruction
And infuse him with your Holy Breath of Your Life.
Uncover for him the joys of the life you have set out for him,
And grant him hope and confidence in Your love and mercy. Amen.

Originally published on Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com

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Therese Borchard
I am a writer and chaplain trying to live a simple life in Annapolis, Maryland.

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10 Responses
  1. Reblogged this on Discoveries of Grace and commented:
    I had to add these prayers, thanks to Therese Borchard, to my own blog. I know I am not the only one who struggles with depression, and these prayers are simply beautiful. There is even a prayer for those contemplating suicide–by Mother Theresa, of all people. I’m not sure why, I just never thought she would understand the depths of despair depression can lead to. But judging by her prayer, she did.

      1. Well Sam, you are certainly entitled to your opinion regarding Mother Teresa, although I have several friends who worked with her and would definitely disagree with you. But I will say that her prayer for the suicidal is one I wish I had known back in the days when I was suicidal myself.

      2. Well, Sam you are certainly entitled to your opinion, although I have several friends who worked with her and would certainly disagree with you.
        For myself, all I can say is that I would have given a lot to see a prayer like that back in my suicidal days.

  2. Jane

    I am just getting back into things after a suicide attempt/hospitalization last week. The prayer by Mother Theresa really touched me. I wanted to share the link to my blog (www.jesusdoesmylaundry.wordpress.com), in which I’m chronicling the day-to-day steps to recover from my severe mental illnesses (anxiety, panic, recurrent depressive episodes, borderline, atypical anorexia, and Munchausen’s). I know that God has a life for me, that He has plans of prosperity in my future. I can’t wait to see how He will turn my everyday life into something extraordinary!

  3. Another amazing mystery of Mother Teresa is the dark night of her soul. She lived a life of saintly devotion to the poor and did not feel God’s sweet consolations as she pressed on each day, week, month and year…