St Mary's Scottish Episcopal Church Carden Place Aberdeen

To help you pray

People often find it very hard to pray. Sometimes words come easily,
sometimes even silence is too noisy.
God knows our needs, and waits patiently for us.
It can be a good way to start to repeat silently or quietly to yourself,
these ancient Christian prayers.

Ancient Prayer

Lord, have mercy upon us
Christ, have mercy upon us
Lord, have mercy upon us
 

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
In earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

 
Confessional Prayers

If something is weighing heavily on your conscience,
the following confession may help:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
I have sinned against you and against
others, in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through my own deliberate fault [and
especially with respect to ………].
I am truly sorry for all my sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for me,
Forgive me all that is past;
and let me start afresh,
to the glory of your Name.
Amen

or this:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
Have mercy upon me, a sinner.

And be assured of God's forgiveness to all whose apology is sincere.

Prayers of Remembrance: 

If you have come to remember someone who has died:
 
Heavenly Father, by your mighty power
you gave us life, and in your love you
have given us new life in Christ Jesus.
We entrust ……….. to your merciful
keeping, in the faith of Jesus Christ your
Son our Lord, who died and rose again to
save us, and is now alive and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit in glory for ever.
Amen.

 
May God in his infinite love and mercy bring all his people, living and departed in the Lord Jesus, to a joyful resurrection and the fulfilment of his eternal kingdom.
Amen

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord,
And let light perpetual shine upon them.

Against Adversity:

If you have come to pray for someone, or for yourself, in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness or any other adversity:

In time of trouble:

God, I'm afraid and uncertain; I don't
know what to do for the best; I don't want
to be selfish, but I need your help. Please
help me to solve my problems, at least try
to understand them. Give me the light by
which to see more clearly.
Amen.
 
Prayer of Gratitude:

If you have come to give thanks for God's blessing on some part of your life:

Thank you God! I pray your blessing upon
others as well, and help me to turn my
good to the service of others.
Amen
 
For family and loved ones:

A prayer for all the people we care about:

God bless those who brought me into the world,
and those who have helped me grow up;
God bless my family and friends
and those I share my life with;
God bless those I work and relax with,
and all who wish me well;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
 
Prayer for Faith:

If you want to believe, but aren't sure you can:

Lord, I want to love you, yet I'm not sure.
I want to trust you, yet I'm afraid of being taken in. I know I need you, yet I'm ashamed of the need. I want to pray, yet
I'm afraid of being a hypocrite. I need my indendence, yet I fear to be alone. I want to belong, yet I must be myself. Take me Lord, yet leave me alone.
O Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.
O Lord if you are there, you do understand don't you? Give me what I need, but leave me free to choose. help me work it out my own way, but don't let me go. Let me understand myself, but don't despair.
Come unto me, O Lord - I want you there. Lighten my darkness - but don't dazzle me. Help me to see what I need to do and give me the strength to do it.
O Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.

Blessing :

A prayer for God's blessing upon all people;
the words of the Grace:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore.
Amen.