Spiritual Growth: Personal Prayers

Over time I have been asked to write prayers for different occasions.  I would like to share three prayers with you today.  The first is an “Artist’s Prayer”.  At the time of writing I was following the book the Artist’s Way written by Julia Cameron. 

This is quite an amazing book which sets out a twelve week course.  The sub-title of the book is A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.  I have actually been through this book twice: the first time alone, the second time (about three years later) with a group of four other women.  I grew immensely both times around.

At the end of each chapter there are a series of “tasks” to be completed before the next week.  The following prayer was one of those tasks.

Artist’s Prayer

Heavenly Father, Artist Supreme,
You are the Divine Creator of this awesome universe.  I humbly, yet courageously, ask You to allow me to be a co-creator with You.

I open my heart, my soul, my mind, and my body so that Your creative energy may flow through my being, that I may experience Your divine talent.  Bless the products of my hands, my eyes, and my mind and let them reflect some measure of your majestic beauty.

Allow me to find and work with others who also seek Your divine guidance, Your artist’s touch, as they work to produce their own creations. Let me grow in light and love as I allow Your divine energy to flow through me.

Amen.                                         ( May 1999)

In March of 2005 I organized a Women’s Day event in my home.  March 8th is International Day of the Woman and while I lived in Italy I held about three of these events.  They were always very well received, so once I had established a grand circle of women friends in Florida I decided to go ahead and plan one here.  There were about thirty women present and this was the opening prayer that I wrote.

OPENING PRAYER

ABBA, help me to be humble enough and wise enough to recognize that all people do not call You by the same name, nor do they reach You by the same path.

You are known as God, Allah, Great White Spirit, Kali, Jesus, Grandfather Sky, Buddha, Jehovah, Messiah, LAKSHMI, Shivha, Holy Spirit, Ganisha, Grandmother Earth, Kwan Yin, just to mention a few of Your names.

Today we embrace You in the way best known to each of us personally. We ask that You be present here and bless us with Your love, Your light, Your energy, Your peace, Your joy, and Your grace.

We ask for Your guidance and Your wisdom that You may help us to reach our full potential as women so that we may accomplish our mission on this earth to the very best of our ability.

We ask this in Your name and for Your honor and glory.

Amen.                                     (March 2005)

The last prayer that I would like to share with you is one that I wrote for an evening of fellowship with the women of CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) at my church. 

Abba, Father, we yearn to grow abundantly in Your grace, just like the carefully tended vine that produces a bountiful harvest. We ask that You prune us when it is necessary, helping us to be rid of negative attitudes and defects of character. Nourish us with Your care, Your compassion, and Your love. Pour the refreshing waters of the Holy Spirit upon us, that we may grow more and more each day in Your likeness and then minister to others as Your disciples.

These things we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.       (September 2006)

I love using the creative word to honor the God of my understanding.  I also enjoy being as inclusive as possible when I am working with a wider group of people than just my church group.  Prayer is a perfect way to honor God, to give Him praise, to thank Him, and to get closer to Him.  And we are all capable of creating spontaneous prayers, words that come straight from the heart to our Creator.