Karl Barth (1886-1968) is widely considered to be one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the last 100 years. As a theologian, he wrote many big and baffling books, challenging even the brightest seminary students. But he began his ministry far from academia, serving for ten years as a pastor in a remote, small Swiss parish. There, he had to learn how to preach to and pray with common people The warmth and simplicity of his prayers display his common touch. These prayers are edited and adapted from Selected Prayers, by Karl Barth, John Knox Press, 1965.
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O Lord, our Shepherd, we thank you for your true and powerful Word. We are ashamed that we so often do not hear it, or in our dullness or frivolity, we hear it wrongly. Grant that we may not hear it casually and be too lazy to heed it. Without that Word we are lost and without hope; we are in the dark and have no ground under our feet. Lord, open our ears, our hearts, and our minds to your saving Word. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Have mercy upon us, O Lord, for without you, we are nothing.
Have mercy on your whole church on earth; so weak, so divided, and so much in error in many ways. We pray for the sleeping church, that it may awaken; for the persecuted church that it may stay strong; and for the blessed church that it may not grow weary in doing good.
Have mercy on your people Israel in their blindness to the salvation which came to them first of all, and has gone out from them.
Have mercy on the heathens far and near, on the godless and idolaters, and on all who have not heard of you, or have not heard rightly.
Have mercy on the governments of nations large and small, and their perplexing and often misguided search for peace and power and resources; and on the science, education, and economics of all peoples.
Have mercy on those countless persons who today hunger and perish, the many who are homeless, on those who are persecuted for their faith, the sick in body and those who are sick of life itself, the lonely, the prisoners, and the dying.
Have mercy on us all in the hour of trial and temptation; and in the hour of death, do not leave us without the hope of the resurrection and eternal life. In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Heavenly Father, when we are afraid, do not let us despair. When we fall, help us get back up. When we come to the end of our strength, do not let us perish. In those times, let us feel your nearness and your love and your compassion, which you have promised, especially to those who are broken-hearted and humble themselves before you. Send to us your Holy Spirit, so that we may understand you and ourselves and others a little better, and thus, we may follow closer in the way of Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.
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O Lord, our God, we pour out everything before you: our cares, so that you may care for us; our fears, so that you may calm us; our hopes and wishes, so that they may be granted, and not according to our foolish will, but according to your good will; our sins, so that you may forgive them; our thoughts and desires, so that you may cleanse them; and our whole life now and until death, so that you may bring to us our resurrection and to your promise of eternal life.
We bring before you all the human activities and events of our days, which are so confused and confusing, so dark and distressing. Show to all people that we are not lost from you, nor are we able to run away from you. Reveal yourself everywhere as the Lord of the godly and the godless, of the wise and the foolish, the full and the famished, and of the healthy and the sick. You are the Defender of us all, in whom we take comfort; but you are also the Judge of us all, to whom we are answerable now and on the last day.
Hear us, good Lord, not because we have deserved it, but for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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Philippians 4:6 — Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Colossians 4:2 — Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18 — Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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