Morning Prayer
A reflection of North American Native peoples' prayers Prayers included in the Morning Prayer are found on the following websites: * Prayers from Christian and other faith traditions: 1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/default.htm * Cherokee Friends and Family-Native American Prayers: groups.msn.com/CherokeeFriendsandFamily/parayerrequests.msnw Call to prayer: (All stand) (Sioux prayer) (Leader) Our Father, the Sky, hear us (Raise you hands to the sky) All And make us strong (L) Our Mother, the Earth, hear us (Bend and touch the Earth) All And give us support (L) O Spirit of the East (Turn to the East) All Send us your Wisdom (L) O Spirit of the South (Turn to the South) All May we tread your path of life (L) O Spirit of the West (Turn to the West) All May we always be ready for the long journey (L) O Spirit of the North, purify us (Turn to the North) All With your cleansing winds Song: "Touch the Earth" From cassette: Touch the Earth by Kathy Sherman CSJ Refrain: Touch the Earth with gentleness, touch the Earth with love. Touch her with a future by the way you live today; God has given us the power to create the world anew, If we touch the earth together, me and you. The time is here, the time is now, we can change things, Give the earth your dream of harmony she is waiting, Waiting for love, waiting for you, waiting for me. Show the earth you care about her future, Melt the walls of hate and fear that keep us apart. Believe we can live, together as friends of the earth. Be the reason, be the hope for others to believe, That the earth is meant for beauty, goodness and peace, and that our God of love is God of the Earth's one family. Prayer for the Earth: Great Spirit, Give us hearts to understand; Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give; never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty; never to take from her what we cannot use. Give us hearts to understand that to destroy earth's music is to create confusion; that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty; that to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench; that as we care for her she will care for us. We have forgotten who we are. We have sought only our own security. We have exploited simply for our own ends. We have distorted our knowledge. We have abused our power. Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, help us to find the way to refresh your lands. Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters. Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork. Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them. Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity. Twenty-third Psalm: (Native Peoples' version by George Hunt) Left: The Great Father above a Shepherd Chief is. I am His, and with Him I want not. He throws to me a rope, and the name of the rope is love. Right: He draws and draws me to where the grass is green and the water is dangerous not. I eat and lie down and am satisfied. Left: Sometimes my heart is very weak and falls down, but He lifts me up again and draws me into a good road. His name is WONDERFUL. Right: Sometimes, it may be very soon, it may be many, many moons. He will draw me into a valley. It is dark there, but I'll be afraid not, Left: for it is between those mountains that the Shepherd Chief will meet me and the hunger that I have in my heart all through this life will be satisfied. Right: Sometimes he makes the love rope into a whip, but afterwards He gives me a staff to lean upon. Left: He spreads a table before me with all kinds of foods. He puts His hand upon my head and all the " tired " is gone. My cup he fills till it runs over. All: What I tell is true I lie not These roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me through this life and afterwards I will go to live in the Big Teepee and sit down with the SHEPHERD CHIEF forever Healing prayer: (Navajo prayer of healing) All: Let us pray for all those who are ill or suffering Leader: At this time, name all those you wish to pray for All: In the house made of dawn In the story made of dawn On the trail of dawn O, Talking God His feet, my feet, restore His limbs, my limbs, restore His body, my body, restore His mind, my mind, restore His voice, my voice, restore His plumes, my plumes, restore With beauty before him, with beauty before me With beauty behind him, with beauty behind me With beauty above him, with beauty above me With beauty below him, with beauty below me With beauty around him, with beauty around me With pollen beautiful in his voice It is finished in beauty. It is finished in beauty In the house of evening light From the story made of evening light On the trail of evening light All: Let us pray for world peace The story of the two wolves: An elder Canadian Six Nations Chief was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them: "A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil-he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other is good-he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too." His grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child asked the grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Chief simply replied, "The one you feed." Silence and reflection... Prayers of petition for peace: Response: May we act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with you, O God We pray for world leaders, that they may hear the cries of the victims of war and answer with empathy... Response: May we act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with you, O God For each of us here, that we may learn to feed the good wolf within us... Response: May we act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with you, O God Add personal Intentions... Closing prayer: (An Inuit prayer) All: I think over again my small adventures My fears Those small ones that seemed so big For all the vital things I had to get and reach And yet there is only one great thing The only thing To live to see the great day that dawns And the light that fills the world