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Take, Lord, All My Liberty

Take, Lord, all my liberty,
Receive my failing memory,
My mind for thought, my heart for feeling,
And all I have and now am seeking.

You give, and I to you restore,
I cannot struggle any more;
Illusions led me far away —
Come keep the preying wolves at bay.

Your glory shines as brightly ever,
Your grace, a strong and moving river;
With tenderness, you waken souls,
No word of yours or promise fails.

Make rise, O Spirit, these prayers to heaven,
These wordless yearnings deeply driven;
Such wisps of thought and stirrings unformed
With the Kingdom’s reasonable tongue be framed.

A few lines at the beginning were inspired by a prayer by Ignatius of Loyola, published in the Oxford Book of Prayer, by George Appleton. Please join us in these prayers by signing up to receive them by email.

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Let Truth Take Form

Make real in us your Spirit’s presence —
Let truth take form, your fullness expand
To occupy all emptiness —
Bring power, O Lord, by your command!

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Received

What gifts received, the wealth of heaven
poured down! — and not for us alone,
but service in the Cross’s shadow.

What work received, to enter the Lord’s
eternal mission! — a world awaits
to hear the news of God’s salvation.

What Spirit received, for God himself
to abide in every heart! — Come, O Lord
in mine, prepare me and be present.

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If man think ill

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I
Might walk a holy man, and please
In every step, to satisfy
Your will, offering the kingdom’s keys
That  men to self might die;
I seek Your face — if man think ill,
So be it — Your Spirit on me spill.

—JRMatheny

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The language of prayer

Sometimes the words come tumbling out,
As a rush of hurts, a race of pain,
Confusing thoughts in fevered babble;

Or as now when circumstances numb the senses,
No words, no thoughts, no will to move,
Only the Spirit within can speak from my heart.