I. God’s gracefulness

We praise you, God, for your complete gracefulness. Cosmic and close. Perfect and pierced. All-knowing and ignored. Every aspect of your creation from galaxy to atom exhibits a beauty and gracefulness that flows from the Creator.

II. Inner grace

God, my mind is awhirl, my heart is often hurting. So many reactions and so little peace. Bring to my soul the gift of inner grace. Self-control and an equilibrium born of Spirit-filled existence. Silence of the inner chatter. Satiation of my ravenous curiosity. A meditative content inwardly focused on the staggering bounty of your love for me.

III. Family grace for old hurts

God, grant us the ability to confess the unspoken bitterness in our lives that poisons the cup of brotherly love. As we acknowledge the hurt whether petty or horrendous would you, God of Grace, free us from our unforgiveness so that we might release those we love from the cage of our condemnation.

IV. A place of grace

You who dwell in unending blessedness have scattered liberally in our lives places of grace: children playing in the first snow of winter; messily eating a mango; beautiful music; a hug; washing the dishes after a meal; mountain views and ocean views; a comfortable chair; family traditions and church traditions; mathematics and sciences and arts; working on a skilled job in complete concentration and fulfillment. Thank you.

V. For abilities to spread God’s kingdom

Not by guns or diplomacy. Not by fists or bombs. The word of grace that some call love. Unresisting to aggression. Accepting to all. In my small and unimpressive sphere, a home, a lab, a school, a neighborhood, please, Lord, give me the ability to gracefully love through every word and act. World peace in my little world.

VI. Words of grace

So much chatter and so little meaning. Trivia and superficiality. Give me the courage to cut through the conversation and care for those I speak with. Loving words are sometimes piercing. Grace comes by cracking the nutshell of the everyday. Words difficultly spoken can enlarge our heart to encompass those in proximate isolation. Help us, God, to speak words of grace.

VII. The gift of transforming our community of faith

Programs. Bulletins. Announcements. Activities. Gripes about music. Troubles with finances. Sermons as sledgehammers. “Fellowship” as an oppressive hierarchy. Mega-churches and mini-impact. Denominations and dogmas. Scandals and schisms. We have much to repent of. So, we invite Jesus into our place of worship. The incarnation of perfection, enter in. Tear down our structures. Cleanse our temple. Gather to yourself the humble and rejected on a hillside. We have heard of you. We would like to meet you in the community of faith.

VIII. Grace are

My prayer for the community touched by God’s grace is that we would redefine grace not as a singular gloss of χάρις but rather as an awe-inspiring overlapping set of concepts that provokes wonder and curiosity. Grace is not a thing. Gifts. Abilities. Blessedness. Eternal dwelling of the blessed. Spiritual riches. Christ as the embodiment of God’s utterly incomprehensible and lavish acceptance of us. Grace are.

IX. Eternal grace

I thank you, God, for the eternal grace in which I live. How often I ignore it. Underestimate the nowness of your eternal grace-filled life that you have given me. I want to so incorporate your grace in my life that each moment I’m aware of the undeserved blessedness of being created, loved, redeemed and adopted by you. When death takes me I hope to be so filled with your grace that I scarcely notice the transition.

X. World grace

I know this is heresy. But I pray that your grace is greater than your justice. I pray that we all get a “get out of jail free” card. Especially the ignorant and the weak. But also the willful and the wicked. Save everybody, God. Because you love everybody. Forgive me for uttering the blasphemy of universalism. But I hope it’s true. Even for those killers. And the terrorists. And the tyrants. And the abusers of others. Save them all. Now. Transform them through your beneficent gift and forever through rest or heaven or annihilation. But not hell. Even for the worst I don’t wish hell. Flames and gnashing of teeth and worms that do not die. May it be hyperbole. I’m sorry for my faulty theology. But I hope your grace extends to all.

XI. A Christmas Gift

God, this Christmas I would like you to end this age of terror.

XII. A prayer of blessing for my blogging buddies

For all the gifts you have given me. For laughing at my jokes. For engaging my mind with your writing. For helping me not to feel alone in the world. For linking to my blog and making my technorati rank soar. For meeting with me IRL and being funny and loving and real. For suffering in my losses. For joining in my mission. For thinking and ranting and foolishness and wisdom. For all these things I pray that God gives you his gift called grace. His utter blessedness in your home and in your work. In your family and in your friends. In your health and in your prosperity. May grace fill your life.

Note: Feel free to add your prayer of grace in the comments.