The first priority in Archbishop Mark’s Apostolic Priorities for the Archdiocese of Brisbane, documented in With Lamps Ablaze, is Teaching Prayer. He says, “Often we urge people to pray but don’t really teach them how to pray… Now is the time to teach ways of prayer which are mature and all-embracing. Christian prayer begins not with speaking but with listening; and learning to pray is therefore learning to listen – to listen even to the silences of God. If all we do is speak, then in the words of Jesus we “babble like the pagans” (Matt 6:7). But if we speak after listening and in response to God who always has the first word, then we speak according to the mind of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need to teach and learn. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus called the twelve apostles to himself, first of all, “that they might be with him” (3:14). This is where the mission starts: being with Jesus, which is what prayer is.”
Join us for our new weekly series, Let’s Pray, where we invite you to pray along with us. Each week we will invite you to pray a new prayer with us – maybe you don’t know what to pray, or want to pray along with someone, or want to practice your faith through prayer. Our Let’s Pray series is for everyone.
This week, we invite you to pray with us a prayer to manage unhealthy stress and anxiety. We all feel anxiety at times for different kinds of reasons, but sometimes our anxiety and stress can be overwhelming and impact our daily lives. We hope that this prayer will help provide solace and a reminder for all of us that we are never alone in this world, whether in times of praise or in a season of suffering. We are reminded in 1 Peter 5:7 to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” so please join us in surrendering our cares and fears to our loving Father. Let’s pray.
- Prayer for Stress
Prayer for Stress
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
Hi, I’m Paul Jensen, and I have two roles in the Archdiocese. One as Director of Mission and Formation for Centacare, the other as Pastoral Director at the Holy Spirit Seminary. Today I invite you to pray with us a prayer to manage unhealthy stress and anxiety.Dear Lord, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by unhealthy stress and anxiety, even in my prayers. There seems nothing I can do apart from surrender, my troubles, my life, to You and rest in Your love and grace. To surrender to You who opened Your life to me through Your cross and resurrection. To surrender to You who love me more than I can ever know or experience. To surrender to You who work in me and with me for good. Lord, I praise you and thank you for the freedom of the children of God, a freedom from unhealthy stress and anxiety and a freedom to reach out to others in creation.
And I offer this prayer in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Thank you for praying with us and we hope to see you again soon.