May 14, 2026

All my life I’ve been bound to something or someone.
God, why haven’t You reined in those who have lorded it over me?
Is there any end to this oppression and heaviness?
I feel bound to old, familiar patterns that sap life’s energy from me.
I feel strapped by habits that control my will,
and leave me feeling diminished, less than human.
Why can’t I break free?
Why don’t You obliterate these bindings, God?
It seems like I’m the world’s stepping stone,
trampled on by others and stuck in my own mud.

But You don’t see me that way.
You don’t deal with me as one bound to the expectations of others
and to my own destructive patterns.
You invest Your Self in my liberation.
You set me in a spacious land.
You pour into me Your springs of life, Spirit filling spirit,
Until I overflow onto my life-world.
This is Your work in me and the work You are doing in the world.
This is the work I want to participate in.
So may it be.

– A Prayer Inspired by Psalm 129 by Jerry Webber

May 7, 2026

O Beloved, how numerous are my fears!
They rise up within me whispering there is no help for you.
Yet You, O Beloved, radiate Love around me, my glory;
gratitude becomes my song.
When I cry out to You,
You answer within my heart.

I lie down to sleep; if I should awaken, You are there, Beloved,
holding me with strength and tenderness.
I feel secure.
Now, I shall forgive all illusions that my ego tries to build.
For my courage is in You, O Love,
You who are the Lover hidden in every heart.

Rise up, Love! Set me free!
For through your guidance, my fears will fade into Love.
Free from fear,
I will know the Oneness of Being that encompasses everything!
I shall be free to serve Love with a glad and open heart.

– A Prayer Inspired by Psalm 3 by Nan Merrill

April 30, 2026

Blessed are You, O Radiant One,
     You, who are hidden within our hearts,
     even as we are hidden within your Heart!
You invite us to participate in the Divine Unfoldment,
     as we awaken from our long sleep
     and give birth to creativity.
Open us that we might recognize the divine in every person,
     and become sensitive to all we meet along the path.
For you are the Breathing Life of all,
     the infinite and eternal within our hearts.

Let each one be receptive to the Spirit that inspires,
     allowing our will to respond with action.
And may all judgments and denials be released,
     that our souls are freed to serve the Light with joy!
Thus will we recognize oneness
     with the divine spark dwelling within our hearts,
     fanning it to illuminate the way.
Gratitude and inner peace will abide
     In every tranquil soul.
– A Prayer Inspired by Psalm 144 by Nan Merrill

April 23, 2026

The two disciples drew near to the village to which they were going.
Jesus acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly,
saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now
far spent.” So he went in to abide with them.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed
and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and
they recognized him. And he disappeared from them. They said to
each other, “Did not our hearts burn in us while he talked to us on
the way, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

And they rose up – they “resurrected” – that same hour and
returned to Jerusalem – the City of Shalom. And they found the
eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying,
“The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they
told what had happened on the way, and how he was known to
them in the breaking of the bread.
– Luke 24:28-35

April 16, 2026

The night withdrew and joy came in the morning,
When I remembered that I was remembered,
That even through the bitter tears of mourning

I was sustained. The darkest powers were hindered
In their insidious work within my soul,
And I was held together and re-membered

By your unceasing love. You made me whole
When all the world was tearing me apart,
When there was fear on every side, you stole

Into the secret garden of my heart.
A good thief in the night, and hid with me
In your strong tabernacle, held apart

From all that strife of tongues, cacophony
Of condemnations, so you kept me safe
In your deep silence and your mystery.

– A Sonnet inspired by Psalm 31, by Malcolm Guite

January 29, 2026

One thing have I asked of Love,
that I shall ever seek:
That I might dwell in the Heart of Love
all the days of my life,
To behold the Beauty of my Beloved,
and to know Love’s Plan.

For I shall hide in Love’s heart in the day of trouble,
As in a tent in the desert,
Away from the noise of my fears.
And I shall rise above my struggles, my pain,
Shouting blessings of gratitude in Love’s Heart
And singing melodies of praise to my Beloved.

Teach me to be love as You are Love;
Lead me through each fear:
Hold my hand as I walk through valleys of doubt each day,
That I may know your peace.

– Psalm Prayer from Psalm 27, by Nan Merrill

January 22, 2026

Oh let me see with his eyes from now on
Whose gaze upon beauty makes it beautiful,
Who looks us into love and looks upon

His whole creation with a merciful
And loving eye. My heart has said of him
Seek out his face, I’ve sensed his bountiful

Presence shimmering behind the dim
Veil of things. That presence calls to me,
Calls me to tremble at the brink and rim

Of lived experience, and then to free
Myself of fear, to trust him, and to dive
Right off that brink, into his mystery,

Into that deep and holy sea of love
In which the living worlds all float and swim,
To dare each moment’s death, that I might live.

– Psalm Prayer from Psalm 27, by Malcom Guite

January 15, 2026

Set a guard over my mouth, O Holy One.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
May I speak only what is of good intent,
and not busy myself with rumor and gossip;
Incline my heart to what is beneficial and holy.

Lead me to words of wisdom and truth,
seeds to be planted in my heart-soil;
Guide me to times of solitude and silence that nurture new growth,
so the Word may ripen into abundant fruit.
Cultivate in me a heart great with compassion and mercy,
that radiates out to all your creation.

My inner being yearns for You, O Beloved,
in You do I find refuge and strength!
May your Light so shine in me
that others are attracted to your peace and harmony.
In the company of your friends, may I, too,
walk the pilgrim road to wholeness and holiness, O Heart of all hearts

– Psalm Prayer from Psalm 141, Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill

January 8, 2026

Plunge into the Ocean of Love, where heart meets Heart,
Where sorrows are comforted, and wounds are mended.
Past fears dissolve in deep harmonic tones, the future – pure mystery.
For eternal moments lived in total surrender glide smoothly over troubled waters.
Hide not from Love, O friends, sink not into the sea of despair, the mire of hatred.
Awaken, O my heart, that I drown not in fear!
Too long have I sailed where’er the winds have blown!
Drop anchor!
– Psalm Prayer from Psalm 137, Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill