Hey guys, thanks for all your contributions thus far 
Dick, yeah that might be a good idea, though I admit I’m not sure if I would know how to do something like Pog’s thread with this, and I might have a hard time keeping up with it.
I can give it a try though if you guys can give me some pointers so it’d be easy and not too confusing or time consuming for me.
I’ll try to share a couple more prayers later tonight when I get home from work.
Blessings to you
Hi Matt For starters I think you need some very broad categories to organise prayers into. Here are the ones that spring to my mind (I wonder what you think?)
Repentance
Petition
Thanksgiving
Praise
Contemplation
Blessings and Exhortation
Other
Hmm… that sounds good, mate. But again, I don’t even know how to do the kind of thing that Pog was doing on his thread… it’s one of the lesser reasons for why I stepped down as a mod, cuz the whole technical side of working the forum, moving posts and the like, confuses me. 
And with my wedding coming up in a few months, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep up with it… is there a really easy and uncomplicated way to go about organizing the thread, or maybe we could just leave it as it is, all random and messy, much as prayer often is in real life? 
Guess we’ll have to wait and see… I’m curious though, how did Pog do his thread, moving stuff around like that, when he wasn’t even a mod?
And is there a class for that? 
Easy - you have an empty thread as your OP (or you empty your OP with ‘edit’ and then delete your original text) and then you just shift the stuff about by cutting and pasting into it and within it. But Matt I quite understand if you don’t want to take on anything demanding. I was only really giving you the thumbs up with my suggestions - this is a very useful thread. Well done mate!
The issue of how to organize the thread aside for the moment though, there were a few more prayers I wanted to share for today.
First off, I mentioned to Cindy on the phone about a prayer I ran across in that devotional I’ve been going through, which I thought was interesting.
It’s attributed to the Buddha in the book (though it could have been written by someone else… if nothing else, it is a Buddhist prayer, or blessing/exhortation) and has a very universalist vibe about it, which is cool:
Like I pointed out in my OP, I wanted to try and include prayers from other religions and faith traditions as well, since there are cries of the human heart that are universal and can be found all over the place, so we may be able to resonant with prayers from other religions and faith traditions.
I also wanted to include songs that are prayers, or could be interpreted as such.
Recently I’ve been listening to a Christian band called Gungor, led by Michael Gungor, whom some of you may have heard of, and though I don’t like all of their stuff (I can say the same about pretty much any other band, with only a couple exceptions, I think), there’s a number of their songs that I like, and all in all I like their style and spirit.
(On a sidenote, I don’t listen to a lot of Christian music, namely because a lot of the Christian music I’ve heard is kind of preachy or heavy-handed, or doesn’t really apply much to my own up and down experience of faith, or is just boring and uncreative, at least imo, as passionate and heartfelt as it may be.
Michael Gungor himself talked about this sort of problem in Christian music in a video I ran across recently, which I thought was pretty cool.
You can check that out here: youtube.com/watch?v=FhvZkRCtA40
Anyways, I have run across a few Christian music acts here and there that I’ve liked, that write music that isn’t too preachy, is more honest and real to day to day life, and is creative and easy on the ears.
Some examples that come to mind are some work by Jars Of Clay and Sixpence None The Richer, and stuff by lesser known Christian bands that I like, like The Normals and The Violet Burning, and Gungor, though there are others I’m sure.
Sorry for the tangent, and now I’ll head back to the main topic of the thread )
There’s a couple songs, or their lyrics, from Gungor that I’d like to share, that are prayers, and that I found meaningful and that I could resonate with on some level.
The first one is called Beautiful Things. Here’s the lyrics:
And here’s a video for it if you wanted to give it a listen: youtube.com/watch?v=rIroFNU1Y-Y
The second one is called Please Be My Strength. Here’s the lyrics:
And here’s a video for it: youtube.com/watch?v=QX0bhq6FM5g
And the last one I’d like to share is called You Have Me. Here’s the lyrics:
And here’s a video for it:
youtube.com/watch?v=rpATmuPr84Q
An example of a song that can be interpreted as a prayer, even if it may not be as overt as the songs above, is a song that I like from a popular band called Mumford and Sons, who have one or two Christians as members in their band, though they don’t identify as a Christian band.
It’s not the whole song that I interpret as a prayer, but just the chorus, which goes like this:
Simple but powerful, and I sometimes will recite this in my head as a prayer.
Here’s a video for the song if you wanted to give it a listen: youtube.com/watch?v=urYjkkitfvc
Another song that I interpret as a prayer is a song by one of my favorite musicians, a Canadian lady who goes by the name of Lights, who from what I’ve heard is a Christian, though, like Mumford and Sons, she doesn’t identify herself with the Christian music scene.
It’s called Cactus In The Valley, and here’s the lyrics:
I think this would fall under the category of repentance, and I resonate most with this song when I feel like I’ve screwed up and am wondering whether God will stick with me… in a UStream video where she did a performance of the song she said she felt like it was one of the best things that she’d ever written (and she wrote it while she was in Britain, a fact I’m sure all you Brits here would appreciate ), and I agree, as it’s really beautiful.
Here’s that video if you wanted to give it a listen:
youtube.com/watch?v=PwRtVRQmYU4
Lastly, before I head off, I’d like to share a few prayers from an old book that more likely than not none of you have heard of (except for maybe Kate, since I’ve talked with her about it via e-mail, I think) called Treat Me Cool, Lord, by Carl F. Burke.
It was written in the late sixties by a chaplain who worked with street kids, and it’s a collection of prayers and other writings written by street kids, that he gathered, all raw and honest and real, and ranging from funny to moving.
It’s probably one of the best books of prayer I’ve run across over the years.
I think I discovered it back when I was high school, and remembered it some years later, then ordered a copy on Amazon.
Here’s a couple of my favorite prayers in the book:
I could share more, as there’s a lot of good stuff in there, but I’ll leave it at that for now.
Thanks again guys for all of your input thus far
Sounds like a lot of work to me, I admit, but maybe I could play around with the thread this weekend, and see if I can figure something out.
I don’t know, maybe I just don’t like cleaning my room… ‘but Mom, I don’t want to clean my room!’
Whatever the case, I appreciate your input and encouragement, bro
HI Matt -
Clean your bedroom you little snotty nosed blighter!!!
The Buddhist meditation you’ve given is known as the ‘Metta Bahvana’ (Loving Kindness) meditation and originates from the Northern ‘Mahayana’ School of Buddhism. The ancient Nestorian (Universalist) of the Far East was clearly influenced by texts such as this in it’s Jesus Sutras (just as Paul was influenced by Greek poets in his proclamation of the Gospel). It is a beautiful prayer steeped in universal compassion.
This one is for me Matt
Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint-some of them are so hard to live with-but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the Devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the Son of peace to you, forever,
(Early Scottish Blessing)
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
(Gaelic Blessing)
Were you writing this for me, Dick?
The thought of being a critical, complaining old person haunts me, I must admit…
I really love this prayer!
Thanks,
Steve
Loved your Geezer Prayer, Dick. Terry is sending it out to all his sibs.
Now I didn’t write this prayer. It’s know as the ‘Seventeenth Century Nun’s Prayer’ but I think it’s actually a modern anonymous prayer given pseudo-pedigree. Nobody, but nobody wrote quite like that in the seventeenth century. But I think it resonates well with all of us oldies - it’s rather wise is it not?
Well, I think I shall call it “The Prayer of the Godly Geezer” Much better, IMO. Anyone can tell it wasn’t written by a 17th century nun.
Gold Geezer it is then (I wonder who wrote it? - no one seems to know)
Prayer to Achieve Inner Peace
Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations—of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me that the race is not always to the swift—that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Amen.
Prayer for those in distress
Almighty, ever-living God, You give strength to the weary and new courage to those who have lost heart. Hear the prayers of all who call on You in any trouble that they may have the joy of receiving Your help in their need. Amen.
Those are some great prayers, Dick, thanks for sharing
Glad you liked them Matt. As I said - good project! 
St. Isaac the Syrian (universalist). On prayer
Homily 81
What is a merciful heart?
It is a heart on fire with prayer
for the whole of creation,
for humanity,
for the birds,
for the animals,
for demons,
and for all that exists.
By the recollection of them
the eyes of a merciful person
pour forth tears in abundance.
By the strong and vehement mercy
that grips such a person’s heart,
and by such great compassion,
the heart is humbled
and one cannot bear to hear or to see
any injury or slight sorrow
in any in creation.
For this reason, such a person
offers up tearful prayer continually
even for irrational beasts,
for the enemies of the truth,
and for those who harm him,
that they be protected and receive mercy…
because of the great compassion
that burns without measure
in a heart that is
in the likeness of God.
Hey guys, I went ahead and took Dick’s advice and tried to organize all of the prayers thus far into the categories he suggested in my original OP up top, a la Pog’s Universalists thread, and will try to add to it as new stuff comes in, and rearrange as needed, or at least I will try to
Thank you for all of your contributions thus far, and let me know if you have any further suggestions.
And Dick, look, I cleaned my room!
Well done Matt Excellent.