The following discussion of varieties of prayers applies only to spoken prayer. How you pray in the silence of your heart will naturally be in accord with your own belief systems. Using different words when praying aloud is not a betrayal of your faith, but rather recognition that God is God and that, as the poet Rumi said, “There are a thousand ways to kneel and bless the ground.” We are all pilgrims on the way and it is not for us to judge another’s path.
When praying for clients of the Christian faith, references to God as Father or Heavenly Father are traditional, and to Jesus Christ as Lord. Many Christians appreciate joining in the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
God may be referred to simply as the Lord, as in “The Lord is my shepherd.” The psalms of David are wonderful examples of Jewish prayer: Verses from the Psalms 16 and 17 are especially suitable.
Psalm 16
Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 17,
A Prayer of David
1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Buddhists do not believe in God as a person. They revere Gautama, the Buddha, as a fully enlightened being who showed others the way to enlightenment. The Buddha nature is present in everyone to be discovered by following the Buddha’s precepts. Buddhists are inclined to speak of compassion rather than of love. You might include phrases like this in your prayers:
May all beings, including (client’s name) realize the peace and fulfillment of Buddha.
Meera
Hinduism has many names for God, but the main ones are Rama or Krishna. They may also refer to God as the Divine Mother. Here are some varieties of prayers, and this below is an excerpt from a prayer sung by the 16th century princess and devotee named Meera. They are offered here simply as reminders that the thoughts expressed might be addressed to the Beloved of any of theocentric religion.
You are the life of my life,
O Krishna, the heart of my heart…
You are the peace of my mind;
You are the joy of my heart.
You are my wisdom and my strength…
My present and future are in your hands;
Supreme teacher, fountain of wisdom,
You are the path and the goal,
Tender mother and stern father too.
You are the creator and protector,
And the pilot who takes me across
The stormy ocean of life.
Native Americans most often refer to God as Great Spirit, sometimes as Father even as Mother. Consider the following prayers that reflect their reverence for the Earth.
Holy Earth Mother, the trees
and all nature are witnesses
of your thoughts and deeds.
O Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to
all the world, hear me.
