Tag Archive for "blessings and praises" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘blessings and praises’

All Returns to Prayer

Posted on: April 18th, 2014 by Alden

Here’s another meditation on prayer. It’s a prayer to help me to remember why I pray and how we pray: bowing, seeing, blessing, yearning, welcoming, summoning. And, no matter where we begin, each of these actions becomes a prayer. My other prayers about prayer include: “Prayer Released,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “To Pray” and “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me.”

All Returns to Prayer
To pray is to bow
With my heart
In the direction of holiness.

To bow is to see
With my soul
Beauty and splendor.

To see is to bless
With my spirit
The glory of creation.

To bless is to yearn
With my breath
For the wisdom of the ages.

To yearn is to welcome
With my being
The hopes of tomorrow.

To welcome is to summon
With my sight
Awe and righteousness.

To summon is to pray
With my strength
For light to descend from heaven
And for peace to reign on earth.

Postscript: “Whispered Prayer” appears in my book Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Umbrella of Blessings

Posted on: December 5th, 2013 by Alden

Here’s a prayer in praise of G-d’s blessings. Why? By remembering the blessings around me – the blessings around my friends and family – my sight becomes clearer. Small annoyances vanish. Core fears fade. The light around becomes radiant. Even sadness and grief take on a new form, a new meaning, a new form of holiness. This is a companion to a prayer called “Receiving Blessings,” a prayer to see and receive the blessings around us.

Umbrella of Blessings
G-d of mystery,
G-d of wonder,
Your word is an umbrella of blessing,
Your wisdom a canopy of holiness and light,
A shelter of awe and wonder.

Ancient One,
Let Your blessings protect the strong
And lift the humble,
They guard the joyous
And they support the grieving,
They guide the hopeful
And raise the downcast.

Your tent is the arch of the heavens.
Your drape is the firmament of sky.
Your blessings quench our thirst,
Feed the land,
Fill our hearts,
Bring hope and healing.

Blessed are You, Ancient One,
You cover our lives with an umbrella of blessings,
Filling our days with joy and thanksgiving.

Postscript: Here are prayers with a similar theme: “Receiving Blessings,” “Garden of Blessings,” “An Amazing Life,” “These Blessings” and “Unlock Your Heart.”

Photo Source: Jen Martin Spirituality

For Rain

Posted on: November 29th, 2013 by Alden

Israel needs rain, so much so that the Chief Rabbinate is calling for the addition of a prayer for rain to daily prayers. Here’s my version of a prayer for rain, reposted in response to this call to action. I’ve added two lines to the second stanza to emphasize the blessings of rain. Please pray for rain where ever it’s needed and especially here in Israel.

For Rain
Source of life and blessings,
The rains come in their seasons
To feed the land, the crops, the gardens.
The earth abundant, food plentiful, gardens lush.
Sweet, clean water, feeding rivers, filling the sea.
Sometimes too much,
Sometimes too little,
Sometimes not at all.

Fountain of Blessing,
Remember us with life,
With beauty,
With the gift of rain,
The gifts of earth and sky,
Prosperity and bounty,
Blessings upon the land,
Each in its time,
Each in its season,
Each in its proper measure.

Postscript: This prayer first appeared here on December 12, 2010. Other seasonal prayers include: “For Winter,” “For Spring,” “For Summer,” “For Autumn” and “For the New Year.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons via the Israeli PikiWiki Project

Praise the New Day

Posted on: August 5th, 2013 by tobendlight

Here’s another prayer of praise for G-d, with the added hope and desire to be of service to G-d’s world. My other prayers of praise include “Dance Hallelujah,” “Sing Hallelujah” and “Sing Out.” This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Praise the New Day
Praise the new day,
A gift of the Source of All Being,
The Breath of Life,
The Soul of the Universe.
Cherish the moments
And sanctify the hours.
Bless the joys
And honor the tears.
Lift your heart in song.
Raise your voice in thanksgiving.
Magnify your faith.
Practice acceptance.
Offer consolation.
Seek wisdom.
Become a well of healing,
A beacon of kindness,
A source of forgiveness,
A light of wonder and wisdom.

Soul of the Universe,
Breath of Life,
Source of All Being,
We praise the new day.
A gift of holiness and love.

Postscript: Here’s a link to prayers of Thanksgiving.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: My Glimpses of Glory

Receiving Blessings

Posted on: July 31st, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is about opening my heart to receive blessings. Why? For me, it is easier to bless than to accept the blessings of others. Even with years of writing gratitude lists, even though I know that life is a “Garden of Blessings,” fully taking in a compliment, a good word or a blessing is still a challenge, something I must practice. So, with this prayer I ask for G-d’s help in receiving blessings.

Receiving Blessings
Ancient One,
Open my heart to receive
The blessings around me,
Kindness and wisdom,
Friendship and understanding,
Tenderness and compassion,
Moments of holiness,
Messages from heaven.

Source and Shelter,
Why can I bless others
With the fullness of my being
With joy and thanksgiving,
But struggle to be blessed?
To release my heart?
To take in these gifts?

Rock and Redeemer,
Grant me the ability to see and to hear
The blessings around me,
A fountain of love
To fill my soul
With gratitude and courage,
With joy and peace.

Postscript: Here are prayers with a similar theme: “An Amazing Life,” “These Blessings” and “Unlock Your Heart.”

Photo Source: The Poached Egg

Modeh Ani

Posted on: May 19th, 2013 by tobendlight

Here’s a new meditation based on a line of Jewish prayer. I’ve taken the prayer said on waking up, Modeh Ani, and created a ‘loop’ by shifting and replacing three words: ‘soul,’ ‘love’ and ‘trust.’ As the verses progress, the first of these words moves out and the other two move over to fill the empty spot, with a new word entering in the last position. The loop completes when the three original words prayer reenter one-by-one until the line is restored.

Modeh Ani
מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך
Modeh (modah) ani lifanekha melekh ḥai v’kayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmahti b’ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my love with trust
Filled with Your eternal hope.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my trust with hope
Filled with Your eternal kindness.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my hope with kindness
Filled with Your eternal justice.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my kindness with justice
Filled with Your eternal mercy.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my justice with mercy
Filled with Your eternal peace.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my mercy with peace
Filled with Your eternal soul.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my peace with soul
Filled with Your eternal love.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

Postscript: I’ve used the same technique of shifting and replacing words in another prayer “For Devotion” which begins with the line “O Lord, open You my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise” (Psalms 51:17). This line is used to set the intention for devotion in prayer before reciting the Amidah. See also: “Affirmation of Faith” and “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion.”

If you use this prayer, please click “like” on this page and subscribe. Please take a moment to post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Thanks. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!”

Photo Source: LadyMama.org

Let Us Meet

Posted on: March 7th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer of invitation. “Let us meet,” Ancient One, in the place where “Your radiance shimmers across creation.” Where is that? Everywhere. I use this prayer for day 34 of counting the Omer, yesod b’hod. This piece appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

Let Us Meet
How can You hear me,
G-d of Old,
How can You hear my voice,
In the chorus of
Song and praise
Reaching toward heaven?

How can I hear You,
G-d of Old,
How can I hear Your Voice,
In the chorus of
Traffic and regret
Weighing on my heart?

Let us meet in the hills at daybreak.
Let us meet in my eyes at sunset.
Let us meet in my labor at noontide.
Let us meet in this yearning at twilight.

My life is a prayer.
Your whispers, a blessing.

Let us meet in sacred moments of holiness and love.
Let us meet in gentle moments of awe and wonder.
Your radiance shimmers across creation.
My words approach You, a song of delight.

Holy One,
Let us meet
In a heartbeat,
In a breath,
In a vision
Of Your holy mountain,
Where Your Word,
Where Your Righteousness,
Where Your Justice and Your Mercy
Blesses and sustains
Us all.

Postscript: See also a related meditation called “Invitations.” My other prayers about prayer include: “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me.” “For Prayer,” “Prayer Released” and “To Pray.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Roseedge.com

Beshalach 5773: Dance Hallelujah

Posted on: January 24th, 2013 by tobendlight

“Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam called out to them, ‘Sing to the Lord, for G-d is very exalted; horse and rider G-d cast into the sea.’ ” – Exodus 15:20-21

For Jews, dancing is an expression of our love for G-d, our joy in G-d’s love for us and in gratitude for G-d’s gifts. Dancing is in our DNA. It’s what we do. It’s what we have always done. It’s what we will continue to do. This prayer appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

Dance Hallelujah
Hallelujah
A dance of wonder,
A dance of joy and thanksgiving.
Arms raised, hands to the sky.
Feet solid, connected to earth.
A step, a bend, a twirl, a leap.
A breath of light,
A stream of color,
Spinning toward radiance and splendor.

Let my feet lead me toward Your holy realm.
Let my legs carry me toward Your divine word.
Let my arms lift praises toward Your marvelous works.
Let my body exclaim the power of Your awesome ways.

Hallelujah
A dance of light and love,
A dance of energy and endurance,
A dance of humility and grace.

G-d of Miriam,
Prophet who danced by the sea,
Teach me the dance of awe and mystery,
Of devotion and ecstasy,
Of passion and praise.
Teach me to dance my Hallelujah.
Teach me to live my Hallelujah.
A dance of radiance,
A dance of splendor,
A dance of peace.

Postscript: Here are links to related prayers: “Sing Hallelujah,” “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Dance” and “For the Gift of Music.” This prayer first appeared on this site on November 21, 2010.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Anna Kocherovsky Tapestry Studio

After Writing a Prayer

Posted on: December 23rd, 2012 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to be said after writing a prayer. The intention is to express gratitude for the ability to be of service to G-d and to humankind by writing a prayer. Here’s a link to a companion piece called “Before Writing a Prayer.”

After Writing a Prayer
Thank you for this gift,
G-d of Old,
For this moment of blessing,
For this moment of bringing prayer
Into Your world.

Help me to remember that You
Are the Author of all things,
The First and the Last,
The One who created the Universe
With Your Word.

Bless me with humility and compassion,
With understanding and with love,
So that I can continue to serve You
And Your People,
In the name of holiness and healing.

Postscript: Prayers about prayer is a recurring theme in my work, including: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me,” “For Prayer,” “Prayer Released” and “To Pray.” And here are four related prayers: “For Devotion,” “For Humility,”“For Joy” and “For Service.”

Photo credit: Living a Life of Writing

Before Writing a Prayer

Posted on: November 14th, 2012 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to be said before writing a prayer. The intention is to achieve the kavanah, the spiritual mindset, necessary to serve G-d by writing a prayer.

Before Writing a Prayer
Ancient One,
Rock of Israel,
With joy and with gratitude,
With humility and love,
I approach the sacred work
Of putting voice to Your people’s prayers.

Only You know the depth of our love,
The sound of our yearning,
The music of longing,
The song of our hope,
And the thunder in our grief.

G-d of Old,
Give me the words that will open
Your People’s hearts to You,
The words that will open
Our hearts to each other,
The words that will open
Our hearts to healing the world.
And give me the words,
Holy One,
That will open Your heart
To us.