A child’s thanksgiving for mothers

(Giles Harcourt)

Lord, we thank you for our mothers
and the gift of
their tenderness and understanding,
their patience and thoughtfulness,
their kindness and love.

We can be so wilful,
so thoughtless,
so impatient,
and so unkind;
for often we demand without grace
and receive without thanks
and always we expect more.
We expect our mothers to be there
to cater to our selfishness,
and then we wonder why
she gets tired and irritable
and thoroughly fed up.
Yet through all these things she loves us.

Lord, teach us to be thoughtful
and understanding and sensitive to our mother’s needs,
that we may ease her days
and increase her joy.
We ask this through the generous and loving example
of our saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Beginning the Day

Heavenly Father,
I offer you this day:
All that I think and do and say,
uniting it with what was done
by Jesus Christ, your only Son. Amen.

Child’s Bedtime Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray to God my soul to take.
If I should live for other days,
I pray the Lord to guide my ways.

Father, unto you I pray,
You have guarded me all day;
Safe I am while in your sight,
Safely let me sleep tonight.
Bless my friends, the whole world bless;
Help me to learn helpfulness;

Keep me ever in your sight;
So to all I say good night.

Amen.

Child’s Prayer to Find God in All Things

(Jared Kiley, St. Xavier High School Cincinnati, Ohio)

Under a leaf, in a snowflake
In a blade of grass, in a raindrop
All parts of nature

In your parents’ loving embrace
In the phone call from your grandparents
All family relationships

In working and sharing with others
In helping the unfortunate
All volunteering jobs

Where are you able to find God?

Lord, help me to find you in all ways and walks of life.

Amen.

Children’s Grace at Meals

Bless us O Lord as we sit together,
Bless the food we eat today,
Bless the hands that made the food,
Bless us O Lord.

Amen.

For children who live in fear

Oh God,
You are filled with tender love
for those who live in fear
– bless all children who live in fear;
afraid of someone at home;
afraid of someone at school;
afraid of a relation;
afraid of someone who has treated them wrongly.
Give all those children the wisdom
they need to know whom they can trust,
so that their fears can be heard,
and justice and truth prevail.
and then bring to their wounded minds and souls
the healing of your peace. Amen.

Guardian Angel Prayer

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

Night Prayer

(Thomas Ken, 1637-1711)
Glory to thee, my God, this night,
for all the blessings of the light;
keep me, O keep me, King of Kings,
beneath thine own almighty wings.

Prayer when preparing for exams

Loving God
be with me now,
as I prepare for my exams.

Thank you for the many talents and gifts you have
given me and for the opportunity of education.

Calm my nerves and anxiety, help me
to remember all that I have studied,
to express it clearly and to answer questions
to the very best of my ability.

Holy Spirit, sit by me in my exam
– and be with me always.

In Jesus’ name. Amen

Thanksgiving

(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 – 82)

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Amen.