A Prayer of Blessing

There are many places in the Scripture which encourage us to pray for one another.  To take the Word seriously is to accept the reality that intercessory prayer is simply something done by those who seek to follow Christ.  It is both explicitly stated as well as implied in numerous places.  And there are many stories where this kind of spiritual ministry is modeled for us.  Even the prayer taught us by Jesus which we know as the Lord's Prayer is a prayer that is not all about "me," but is instead a prayer for "us"     

There are many ways for us to pray for one another.  Some keep a prayer list and call the names of those listed on the page.  In addition sometimes we pray not for individuals, but for groups of people who are enduring a common circumstance which makes life hard and difficult.  In a reading today from "Celtic Daily Prayer"  a different kind of approach was lifted up with the words, "Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me."     

Here is a prayer which seems to go before us like the road that goes forward at sunrise toward the evening's sunset.  It is the kind of prayer which includes everyone we meet and causes us to see each person whose path we cross in a different way.  It is a prayer which seeks the blessing of peace and protection for us as we walk the road before us, but also a prayer that prays for inner peace in the life all those whom we meet.  It is not only a prayer which enables us to pray for one another, but also a prayer which brings blessings in every relationship that touches us.