Is prayer a conversation with our inner aspects?  A way that we imagine ourselves as different, changed in the directions that we seek?

Could prayer be a way that we energize transformation?

Drive Me Deep to Face Myself
Lord (Compassionate power), grant me your peace,
for I have made peace
with what does not give peace
and I am afraid.
Drive me deep, now,
to face myself so I may see
that what I truly need to fear is
my capacity to deceive
and willingness to be deceived,
my loving of things
and using of people,
my struggle for power
and shrinking of soul,
my addiction to comfort
and sedation of conscience,
my readiness to criticize
and reluctance to create,
my clamor for privilege
and silence at injustice,
my seeking for security
and forsaking the kingdom (beloved community)
Lord, (Loving power), grant me your peace.
Instill in me such fear of you
as will begin to make me wise,
and such quiet courage
as will enable me to begin to make
hope visible,
forgiving delightful,
loving contagious,
faith liberating,
peace-making joyful
and myself open and present
to other people
and your kingdom (beloved community).

From Guerillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle, by Ted Loder.

Reverend Dr. Theodore W. Loder led the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, PA from 1962 to 2000. He has a long history of involvement in social and racial justice activism. Rev. Loder is retired but remains a prolific author and poet.

The Prayer Chest will retain the words of the prayer makers.  But we are struggling with traditional meanings and decided to do some translating. Always tricky.  You will see our substitutions in (parentheses). We urge you to experiment yourself with other words for God – Spirit of life or of love, energy of the universe, mystery, or whatever occurs to you. Then put that in the prayer and notice how it resonates with you. We have found that recording the prayer with your language and listening to it, adds to the emotional experience.

We also encourage you to fully appreciate the context of the prayer by exploring more of the prayer maker’s work. ­­­­If you can, please compensate your teachers by purchasing their books or finding the information to support them on their social media sites.