7 Directional Prayer

Above

Maker of heaven and earth, when there was no land and no sky, when there was absolutely nothing, there was only you, there was only you. You, the eternal God, existing as One Being and as Three Persons. You, the holy Trinity, the forever fountain of loving kindness, all goodness and beauty.

You, the free Being, who decided to extend and share the joy of being. God, you are life’s source. God, you are the Creator. God, you are infinitely compassionate and merciful. You spoke and from your Breath and Word came all life.

God you are the Creator and creation sings your glory. God you are the Creator and it was you who said, “Let us make man and woman in our image.” We betrayed you and became lost in darkness…(silence)…Yet in your mercy you pursued us and you revealed yourself again and again. To Abraham you were the God of promise. To Moses you said, “Tell them, ‘I am who I am’ has sent you.” To the prophets you showed you were the God who cared for the widow, the orphan, the elderly, the poor, and the foreigner.

Your name is Hashem, the name, the name above all names and alone worthy to be praised and worshiped.

You alone are worthy to be worshiped.

You alone are to be worshiped.

Below

And you came down to dwell among us.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” To the virgin Mary a son was born in the town of Bethlehem roughly 4 BCE, and he was named Jesus-he who saves his people. Jesus, God’s Son, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus our Lord, in downward mobility you demonstrate God’s heart and bring God’s salvation. You alone are the obedient one. In the Jordan river, the Spirit descended like a dove on you, and the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus the Messiah, you walked this earth as a servant king, a prophet, and a high priest who humbly laid down his life as a ransom for many.

East

Jesus the Savior.

You obeyed the Father, and though you were sinless, you were numbered with the transgressors, crucified with criminals. What a horror that the Creator should suffer and die, and at the hands of the creature. And yet it was your will, your divine plan infused with irony to use this act of injustice for justice. You satisfied the debt of sin so that grace might flow to us.

 Jesus the Savior.

Jesus, in your death we are freed from the rebellion of sin, from the holy wrath we deserve, from the law and our guilt, and from our final foe, death. Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace, who turned the other cheek, who died as a sacrifice to save his enemies. United to you we sinners have peace with a holy God.

 So we exalt you Jesus and praise the work you performed at the cross. We pass on to others what is of first importance, what you, the risen Christ, revealed to the apostles, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

(make a sign of the cross)

West

“As far as the East is from the West, so far have you removed our iniquity from us.” Thank you Father, Thank you Son, Thank you Holy Spirit.

Jesus the Savior, you became Jesus the resurrected Lord. At your name I bow my knee and my tongue confesses, “Jesus you are Lord, and there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved.” Jesus, you have saved me for a new life. The old person that desired independence and control over life is dying, a new creature of thanksgiving is being born. Grant me the grace to receive and live in this new identity. I am not god. Jesus, you are God. I am not my own, but belong to you. I pledge my allegiance to you alone.

You sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to lead your people in a journey of death and resurrection, repentance and faith. Today I sojourn with the Holy Spirit. Today I seek by the Spirit’s power to turn away from false lords and false dreams-from everything under the sun that my heart has turned to for meaning and satisfaction. I have sought after that which is immoral to please my heart and mind because I do not trust that you alone bring lasting pleasure and comfort. I confess this to you now:

In my pride I also use good deeds to avoid you. Instead of resting in a grace secured outside of me, I turn to the law, religion, activity, and human philosophies to build my own system of worth and meaning. I confess that I continually disrupt the created balance, misusing the good gifts of creation for my own ends. I take good things and make them into ultimate things. I repent of my goodness to you now:

Jesus, friend of sinners, and the one who said, “Go and sin no more,”  your grace is so wonderful it enables my repentance.

North

God, from the north pole to the south, the world spins in your hands, and yet you have also given us hands to care for and nurture its well being. The air, streams, lakes, oceans, soil, plants, and animals are precious gifts from your hand, may we share them and protect them, as we are intimately connected to them.

God, I pray for peoples across continents and countries. I pray for their spiritual, physical, social and emotional health. I pray for courage to act, to give, to forgive, and to live simply so that others may simply live. I think of those places brought to the public’s attention: _______

I also pray for the many more stories that have not made the news, those that go on noticed by only a few suffering souls and by you God. I pray for your intervention, Supreme Lord, your salvation. I pray that even here and now we reflect the age to come by not prioritizing the self over the community, and not fostering communities that disparage the self. May your body, the church, abandon political parties and agendas to hear more clearly voice of the Spirit. The Spirit who reveals the pinnacle of power to be hidden in the depths of weakness and foolishness of a God laying down his life for enemies.

God, I pray for the church and her faithfulness to the gospel in word and deed. May your gospel spread and may the name of Jesus bring true freedom to all.

South

Father, I pray for those near me.

I pray for enemies:

I pray for acquaintances:

I pray for neighbors:

I pray for friends:

I pray for family:

Centered

“This is the day that the LORD has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it.” Lord, I ask for the vision to see your grace and the grace to see your vision for this day. You are at work in the details. You are reality. May I be aware of your presence. May the love and joy of Christ flow through me in each moment and every encounter. I thank you that I don’t need to justify or prove myself, that I don’t need to make excuses or be right. Jesus you are my righteousness.

I pray  that I would not so much care what others think of me, but think of ways to care for others. I ask for eyes to see needs, and the heart and hands to meet them. Lord, how can I love others today?

(Contemplate ways in which I can bless those around me today)

God, you first loved me. Thank you.

I go now in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.