The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is an injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life
Amen.

Another prayer I use on a regular basis is the Jesus Prayer….Lord, Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me. I say it over and over again until the peace of Christ comes over me and reminds me I am in the care and love of God.

Every once in a while, somebody will ask me, “Jeff, doesn’t the Bible say we shouldn’t engage in vain repetition?” My response is always the same, “The Bible is concerned about vanity not repetition. It is the spirit in which we repeat the words that determines whether it is in vain or not.”

Every day, try these prayers and see what happens to your prayer life.

God bless,

Pastor Jeff