Four Faiths, Praying Together
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I believe that there are many paths to God. The more we learn about each other's beliefs, the greater our understanding of the meaning of life, and the better our chances of living together in peace.
There are four major world religions. In this post, I share one prayer from each of them.
Christianity
The followers of Christianity are called Christians. The holy scripture for Christianity is the Bible.
Most Christians are familiar with this beautiful prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.
MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
Islam
To be correctly used, Islam or Islamic should describe the religion and its subsequent cultural concepts whereas Muslim should only describe the followers of the religion of Islam.
The two major sacred texts of Islam are the Qur'an (Koran) and the Hadith (Hadeeth).
SUPPLICATION IN ASKING PARDON
O God,
I ask pardon from Thee for
the person wronged in my presence
whom I did not help,
the favour conferred upon me
for which I returned no thanks,
the evildoer who asked pardon from me
and whom I did not pardon,
the needy person who asked from me
and whom I preferred not over myself,
the right of a believer who possesses a right incumbent upon me
which I did not fulfil,
the fault of a believer which became evident to me
and which I did not conceal,
and every sin which presented itself to me
and which I failed to avoid.
I ask pardon, my God,
for all of these and their likes,
with an asking of pardon in remorse
which may act as an admonisher
against similar things ahead of me.
So bless Muhammad and his Household
and make
my remorse for the slips
into which I have fallen
and my determination to refrain from the evil deeds
which present themselves to me
a repentance which will make Thy love for me obligatory
O lover of those who repent!
-Anonymous
Hinduism
The followers of Hinduism are known as Hindus.The vedas are the common holy scripture for Hindus.
I love this Hindu prayer!
SALUTATION TO THE DAWN
Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth;
The glory of action;
The splendor of achievement;
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today, well lived, makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
-Attributed to Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language.
Buddhism
The followers of Buddhism are called Buddhists. Buddhism has a vast number of scriptures, but no one text is accepted as authentic and authoritative by every school of Buddhism. Many scriptures are called "sutras" in Sanskrit or "sutta" in Pali. The word sutra or sutta means "thread." The word "sutra" in the title of a text indicates the work is a sermon of the Buddha or one of his major disciples.
This beautiful Buddhist prayer would be nice to recite each morning.
WITH EVERY BREATH
With every breath I take today,
I vow to be awake;
And every step I take,
I vow to take with a grateful heart--
So I may see with eyes of love
into the hearts of all I meet,
To ease their burden when I can
And touch them with a smile of peace.
-Anonymous
Dear Reader,
I found these prayers on a web site called Beliefnet. Use this link to search for prayers by faith and need: Beliefnet Prayer Search.
Did you like any of these prayers? Do you have a favorite prayer to share with us? I would love to hear from you!
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