What is Prayer For?

It depends entirely upon who's asking, and sometimes, even when.

Just a moment ago, I was reading my prayer book, and the words struck me as entirely new.

Sometimes it is just about ritual:

God, open my lips,/ and my mouth shall declare your praise. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Sometimes it is just about bathing your mind in words like these, words the world simply does not provide:

ANTIPHON
(Ordinary): God is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

An invitation the world would do well to emulate, and Christians would do well to listen to:'

PSALM 65 (64)

Praise is yours, God in Zion.
Now is the moment
to keep our vow,
for you, God, are listening.
All people come to you bringing their shameful deeds.
You free us from guilt,
from overwhelming sin.

Happy are those you invite
and then welcome to your courts.

Prayer is for oneself; and for others.

PSALM 84 (83)

Your temple is my joy, Lord of heaven's might.
I am eager for it,
eager for the courts of God. My flesh, my flesh sings its joy to the living God.
As a sparrow homing,
a swallow seeking a nest to hatch its young,
I am eager for your altars, Lord of heaven's might, My king, my God.

To live with you is joy,
to praise you and never stop. Those you bless with courage
will bless you from their hearts.
When they cross the Valley of Thirst the ground is spaced with springs, with the welcome rain of autumn. They travel the towns to reach
the God of gods in Zion.

Hear me, Lord of might;
hear me, God of Jacob.
God our shield, look,
see the face of your anointed.
One day within your courts
is worth a thousand without.
I would rather stand at God's gate than move among the wicked.

And prayer reminds us God is active in history, just as ritual reminds us that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, throughout space and throughout time.

BENEDICTUS ANTIPHON
(Ordinary): A pure heart create for me, O God; put a steadfast spirit within me.

BENEDICTUS

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people and sets them free.
God raises from David's house
a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you, child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.

Out of God's deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on hight,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A pure heart create for me, O God; put a steadfast spirit within me.

Our Father....

Eternal light, you want all creation to live in harmony. Grace us with the instruments of good works, and the desire to use them to build your kingdom among us. We pray this through Christ, and in the Spirit. Amen.

May God bless us and keep us. May God smile upon us and be gracious to us. May God look upon us kindly, and give us peace. Amen.

Let us bless God/and give thanks.