Tag Archives: wholeness

Jesus, Bread of Life – prayers inspired by John 6.35-58

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Christ the Saviour with Eucharist by Spanish Renaissance artist Vincente Juan Masip

Bread of Life by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” – John 6:35

Blessed Jesus,
Bread of Life, Bread of Heaven
coming down for us
lashed and leavened
hidden and risen

Help us hunger for you alone

Nourish us with your word and ways
Satisfy us with the feast of you

Give us this day our daily bread

You are food for the journey of faith and action
You are drink for the journey home
Life now and eternal life
Blessed be your name

Bread in the Wilderness by Lisa Degrenia
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. – John 6:50

In the wilderness of this season
I come face-to-face with my dependence
my deepest needs, my deepest wounds
my deep capacity for denial and destruction

I come face-to-face with me
and face-to-face with you

Reveal everything I need to see
everything I need to know
everything I need to feel

Reveal and refocus my appetites
Feasting on you… your bread in place of my shame
Nurtured and nourished by your grace and hope

Reveal and heal, Blessed One
Reveal and make whole
So I may live

Morning by Morning by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” – John 6:51

Morning by morning
Like the sunrise
Like manna

Morning by morning you waken and provide
You open my eyes to your presence and desire for this day
You open my ears to your encouragement, truth, and grace
You know my weakness, my weariness
You open me to your sustaining

Morning by morning you waken and provide
Now open my mouth to share what first found me
In every season and circumstance
With every soul along the way

Morning by morning you waken me
My eyes, my ears
My mouth, my heart

Morning by morning you waken me
To You and to all
Like the sunrise
Like manna
Great is your faithfulness!

Continue your prayers of adoration and commitment

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I’m posting prayers based on the Gospel of John throughout the seasons of Lent and Easter this year. Thanks for coming along with me on the journey. – Lisa <><

John 6:35, 41-51 is read on Year B — Season after Pentecost — Proper 14 (19)
John 6:51-58 is read on Year B — Season after Pentecost — Proper 15 (20)

Jesus, Bread of Life prayers © 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia. You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting without asking permission. It’s always a treat to hear from you if you’re using it. Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in a book, blog, etc.

Three Prayers for Healing Inspired by John 4 and John 5

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Healing at the Pool of Bethesda by Carl Bloch

Jesus, Come by Lisa Degrenia
The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” – John 4:49-50

Jesus, come
my son is dying
so is my daughter, with skin like mahogany
so is my child, pinned down in a school shooting
so is my sibling, a victim of dictators and droughts

Jesus, come
see my dear one with no shelter
my beloved with no access to needed meds 
the heart of my heart who bearly survives the bombs

Jesus, come
add your own petitions here for people and situations 

Jesus, you hear our cries for life
heal them, help them
and help me help them, too

Made Well by Lisa Degrenia
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”- John 5:6

Jesus asks, “Do you want to be made well?”

Do I? Do I really?

I’ve been this way so long
It’s what people expect of me
It’s what I expect of me

I know this life
I’m getting by

Is it good? No
Is it whole? No

But I know this life
It’s my normal
Can I imagine another way?

Others seem to get there
but not me
I have no help
I have no one
I can’t… I can’t… I can’t…

Jesus, you imagine the new for me

You see me
The me that I really am
At your word I trust and stand
At your word I am well

You Heal by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus, we’ve been ill a long time
a lifetime

Circumstances block the way to wholeness
Someone pushes in to take what we need
We block the way, too

You make the way, clear the way, to new life
Body… Soul… Mind… Spirit
Relationships… Systems… Communities… Creation …

You heal

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I’ll be posting prayers based on the Gospel of John throughout Lent this year as part of our Lenten Reading Plan. Here’s your invitation to join us for this reading plan.  

Three Prayers for Healing © 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia. You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting without asking permission. It’s always a treat to hear from you if you’re using it. Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in a book, blog, etc.

Three Prayers Inspired by Jesus and the Woman at the Well, John 4

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Woman at the Well by Wayne Forte

Jesus answered her, “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” – John 4:14-15

You Answer by Lisa Degrenia
We are dry
Brittle
Crusty
Empty

Parched with a thirst we cannot appease
Tongues heavy and stuck
No words escaping
We are too poor
Too broken
Too desolate

You alone answer our silent screams
You, the Lord God

You fill and flood and quench
A wild river on the barren peaks
An ancient fountain in the deep wasteland
A still pool for resting and rooting
A spring of water gushing up to eternal life

You, answer
You, the Lord God, will never forsake

Fill us by Lisa Degrenia
God of the Wilderness, God of the Well
Your unseen work is real and near and constant
like a deep, clear spring

Fill us. Fill us now.
Fill us with truth
the truth of you, the truth of who we are in you
the truth of who we can become

Fill us with boldness to witness and testify
to your victory, your companionship, your call

Fill us with strength and skills far beyond us
Fill us with courage to do hard, holy things
to break down dividing walls
to seek and question
to embrace our belovedness and place in your plan

Fill us with passion
Fill us with hope
Fill us with joy

Fill us till our cups runneth over

Fill us with You

Pause in silence to receive

Spirit and Truth by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.” – John 4:23

People of God, Rejoice!
Our Eternal and Beautiful God is near
The One who meets us as we are
The One who names us beloved
The One who delights in our very existence
Come and worship in spirit and truth

Holy Spirit, Holy One
Holy Spirit, Descending Dove
Alight on me that I may know your presence
Anoint me that I may know your call
Fill me that I may know your power
Guide me that I may know your path
Name me that I may know, that I know, that I know who I am
And live your truth
Amen

CLICK HERE for an opening prayer, prayer of confession, and pardon inspired by the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. 

John 4:5-42 is read on Year A, Third Sunday in Lent.

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I’ll be posting prayers based on the Gospel of John throughout Lent this year as part of our Lenten Reading Plan. Here’s your invitation to join us for this reading plan.  

Three Prayers Inspired by Jesus and the Woman at the Well © 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia. You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting without asking permission. It’s always a treat to hear from you if you’re using it. Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in a book, blog, etc.

Five Prayers Inspired by John 3

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Study for Nicodemus Visiting Jesus by Henry Ossawa Tanner

Water and Spirit by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” – John 3:5-6

Holy Spirit
Pregnant with twins- Truth and New Life
Welcome home to my spirit
Let it be with me according to your word

Reveal yourself in my thoughts
Bring forth encouragement and counsel
Deliver righteousness and justice in every choice
Carry hope and healing in every touch

Give birth not just in me, but to a whole new generation,
a people so full of your gifts and power they never labor in vain

Open our eyes to the glory that is possible
Open our hearts to the great responsibility- is it of flesh or is it of you?
Open us to the fullness of you. Amen.

Make Me Your Love by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Rabbi Jesus
Promised Messiah
Son of the One, True, Living God

Fill me with your Spirit
Make me your love

It is your command
It is your way
It is your gift
It is You and your work

Yes, make me your witness
And yes, make me your will
But first and always, make me your love

Pause in silence to receive

Brought to Light by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus said, “For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” – John 3:20-21

Radiant One, we hear your call
“Come to the light.”

The hidden will be brought to light
hidden words
hidden thoughts
hidden actions of our hands
hidden motives of our hearts

Radiant One, in your mercy,
Guide us, heal us

We stand- trusting all will be revealed
We bow- knowing all will be revealed

Light and Life by Lisa Degrenia
Jesus, you are Light and Life
Help me love you more than my shadows
my inky shame
my sinful secrets
the resentments I nurture and nurse

I try to hide my trauma from you
There is no need to hide

Help me bring it all to your light
I am seen
I will be made whole

Celebrating Jesus by Lisa Degrenia
John the Baptist said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:28-30

Jesus, like our brother John,
we have a calling
we have a place in your plan

Jesus, like our brother John,
help us speak of you
point to you
rejoice in people drawn to you

You are the Bridegroom
We celebrate you
We celebrate the day of your coming
We celebrate your increase and glory

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I’ll be posting prayers based on the Gospel of John throughout Lent this year as part of our Lenten Reading Plan. Here’s your invitation to join us for this reading plan.  

Five Prayers Based on John 3 © 2023 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting without asking permission. It’s always a treat to hear from you if you’re using it. Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in a book, blog, etc.

A Prayer and a Poem for World Communion Sunday

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World Communion Altar Table, photo by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

World Communion Altar Table, photo by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

In the story of the feeding of the 5,000 we see Jesus once again addressing the most essential, physical needs of his fellow human beings – hunger, thirst, companionship – and once again, breaking down every socially-constructed barrier that keeps us from eating with one another. He did the same thing when, much to the chagrin of the religious leaders, he dined with tax collectors and prostitutes and told his more well-to-do hosts that “when you give a banquet, invite the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” The English word companion, is derived from the Latin com (“with”) and panis (“bread”). A companion, therefore, is someone with whom you share your bread. – Rachel Held Evans, 5000 Companions

PRAYER: Make us your children
Heavenly One,
Your reach extends to every person, every nation,
offering grace, forgiveness, wholeness, and hope.
A saving embrace drawing us to you and each other.

Make us your children:
grateful for a place at your feast,
humble before your love and generosity,
rejoicing in the beauty of each sibling.

Make us your children:
faithful in honoring and welcoming all,
eager in sharing what we have found in you-
safety, belonging, identity,
a home of nurture and growth and sending forth.
Amen.

HYMN: Come Sup With God
by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Meter 88.88 (LM)
Suggested tunes:
HURSLEY (United Methodist Hymnal #339) or
GIFT OF LOVE (United Methodist Hymnal #408)

Come sup with God all you who thirst
All you who hunger be the first
Feast on Christ’s Body and his Blood
O taste and see this meal of Love

Come children, elders, blind, and spent
Come foolish, able, indigent
Confess, repent, and then receive
Forgiveness flows abundantly

Come often, friend, for here is grace
made manifest in time and place
Christ’s mercy floods our brokenness
with healing balm and righteousness

Come to be changed. Come to be fed.
Come savor Christ, the Life, the Bread.
Drink deep the gift of healing poured
and leave a vessel of our Lord.

Sing Praise to Christ our Host and meal
Whose saving work provides the seal
for us once bound, now freed from death
to live for Christ with every breath

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Make us Your Children © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Come Sup with God © 2000 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia (www.revlisad.com)
Please leave a message for information and permission to publish this work in any form.