Evangelical Lutheran Church Of The Resurrection
Prayer Garden
Thank-you to people in the community who have taken an interest in the prayer garden;
from the gentleman who stands on the sidewalk and visually walks through the garden on
the way to the supermarket, to the person who fed the birds all winter. In the summer
look forward to a bench, and times when someone from the church will be in the garden
offering a listening ear, for those who have burdens they wish to share. If you have
plants (flowers, shrubs) or large rocks which you would like to donate to the garden,
please contact the church.
The following is a companion guide to our Prayer Garden. A printed copy can be picked up at the Church.
Welcome to this prayer garden!
A prayer garden is place for you to come and pray in whatever way is comfortable for you. The aim is to be intentional about stepping out of our busy lives for a few moments.
As you slowly walk the path you are invited to reflect, pray, be silent, breathe; in ways that will calm your mind, so that you can reclaim your relationship with the Spirit and the world around you.
This space is holy space. May you be blessed as you open yourself to the power of prayer and meditation.
You may pray in whatever way you wish. Below are some suggestions for those who would like direction.
Opening Prayer:
God be in my head
And in my understanding.
God be in my eyes
And in my looking.
God be in my mouth
And in my speaking.
God be in my heart
And in my thinking.
God be at my end
And at my departing.
-Sarum Primer 1514
OR
Grant me O Lord,
To know what is worth knowing,
To love what is worth loving,
To praise what delights you most
To value what is precious in your sight
To hate what is offensive to you.
...
Do not let me judge by what I see
Nor pass sentence according to what I hear
But to judge rightly between things that differ
And above all to search out and to do what please you.
-Thomas A Kempis 1380-1471
Walking and Praying Prayers:
• Breath prayers; where you breathe in on one line, out on the next. Repeat over and over. (examples below)
• Prayers in Tens; for this type of prayer the stones act like a rosary. (Notice 5 grey stones, 10 pink) The grey stone is a place to pause and re-collect your thoughts. For each of the pink stones the prayers are similar. (examples below)
• Meditating on a word or a phrase.
• Silent walking
• Humming tunes that reflect your emotion. Offering these to the Higher Power.
• Experimenting...nothing is right or wrong!
Breath prayers:
In God’s silence may I be-
Quiet, still, craving nothing.
OR
Be close to me in darkness-
So I find the light.
-Bp. Martin Lonnebo
OR
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God-
Have mercy on me a sinner.
-Eastern Orthodox Monks
OR
Help me not to despise or oppose-
What I do not understand.
-William Penn 1644-1718
OR
In with all that is good-
Out with all that poisons.
Praying in Tens:
On the grey stone say a prayer that is directed towards the following pink stones:
“I pray for people who rest in my heart today”...on each pink stone say the name of a person and send your energy towards them.
“I thank-you Creator for”....followed by ten things you are thankful for (trees, guidance, sunshine, friends, etc.)
“For dark corners in our world”....mention countries by name, issues like poverty, places of natural disaster, etc
“Today I ask a blessing for my enemies”...name them
“Thank-you for showing yourself in various ways”... For each pink stone reflect on how you experience God.
Closing Prayer:
The blessings of heaven,
The blessings of earth,
The blessings of sea and of sky.
On those we love this day
And on every human family
The gifts of heaven,
The gifts of earth,
The gifts of sea and of sky.
-J.Philip Newel, “Celtic Treasure”
