A Collection Of Powerful Prayers

We all know the power of prayer. Here on this page, you will find a collection of some of my favorite prayers, which are appropriate for a variety of intentions when praying for ourselves, our families and our friends. May these prayers be a useful tool in your own prayer life. To see each prayer, simply click on the individual gold boxes below.

Prayer before a Crucifix

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus while before Your face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment.

While I contemplate, with great love and tender pity, Your five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me and calling to mind the words which David, Your prophet, said to You, my Jesus:

"They have pierced My hands and My feet, they have numbered all My bones."

Amen.

A Prayer Of Surrender

Loving Father,

I surrender to you today with all my heart and soul. Please come into my heart in a deeper way. I say, “Yes” to you today. I open all of the secret places of my heart to you and say, “Come on in.” Jesus, you are the Lord of my whole life. I believe in you and receive you as my Lord and Savior. I hold nothing back.

Holy Spirit, bring me to a deeper conversion to the person of Jesus Christ. I surrender all to you: my time, my treasures, my talents, my health, my family, my resources, my work, relationships, time management, successes and failures. I release it and let it go.

I surrender my understanding of how things ‘ought’ to be, my choices and my will. I surrender to you the promises I have kept and the promises I have failed to keep. I surrender my weaknesses and strengths to you. I surrender my emotions, my fears, my insecurities,  my sexuality. I especially surrender______ (Here mention other areas of surrender as the Holy Spirit reveals them to you.)

Lord, I surrender my whole life to you, the past, the present, and the future. In sickness and in health, in life and in death, I belong to you. 

(Remain the Lord in a spirit of silence through your thoughts, a heart song, or simply staying in His presence and listening for His voice.) 

St. Ignatius Loyola Prayers

Anima Christi 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
Good Jesus, hear me
Within the wounds, shelter me
from turning away, keep me
From the evil one, protect me
At the hour of my death, call me
Into your presence lead me
to praise you with all your saints
Forever and ever. 
Amen.

Suscipe

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.

Prayer for Generosity

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will.

To Live A Prayerful Life

NOTE: This prayer was written by Gary Murray, Owner of this Blog - Eternal Catholic. Copyright 2012.

Let the guiding voice of the Holy Spirit
Be always clear, so I can hear it.
May He guide me, each step I take
on this journey that I make.

Keep my thoughts on you, oh Lord
as each day, I move forward.
Keep my vision ever clear
that I may see, you ever near.

Let every thing, I do and say
glorify you, in every way.
Let your words, be in my heart
each day I live, from the start.

Show me the things, that I should do
so I can be, closer to You.
Let me help others, to know you too
how great you are, the things you do.

When I can, let me receive
your body and blood, so I believe 
and let all men know, from every nation
the sacrifice made, for their salvation.

When I lift up, to you my prayers
my concerns, worries and cares,
answers come, according to
the will of God. He sees me through.

Let others see, your face in mine 
and let your light, through me shine. 
Keep me mindful of your love
a gift each day, from above.

“You’ve served me well, my faithful son,”
I hope He’ll say, when my life is done.
And so I ask that my life’s story
be only lived, for His glory.

Prayers Of St. Augustine

Prayer To The Holy Spirit

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

Ever Ancient, Ever New

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

- From The Confessions of St. Augustine

A Prayer For The Souls In Purgatory

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

A Prayer To Mary, Undoer Of Knots

Mary, Undoer Of Knots

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life. You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots. 

Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life. No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone. 

Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot. (Mention your request here) I beg you to undo it for the glory of God, once for all, You are my hope. O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains. Hear my plea. 

Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!  Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me.

Your Cross - by St. Francis de Sales

The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.

Thomas Merton's Prayer For Discernment

Thomas Merton

At a very difficult and dark period in Thomas Merton’s life he penned this prayer that has been such a help to so many people: 

O Lord God, I have no idea where I am going, I do not see the road ahead of me, I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, And that fact that I think I am following Your will Does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe That the desire to please You Does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire In all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything Apart from that desire to please You. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road, Though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always Though I may seem to be lost And in the shadow of death. I will not fear, For You are ever with me, And You will never leave me To make my journey alone.

The Importance Of Prayer

I want everyone to understand how important it is to have a strong prayer life. While I have spoke of and written many things regarding this, I believe THIS ARTICLE is one of the best I have read on the importance of prayer. I encourage all of you to take a few minutes to read this well written piece. It is written by Deacon Doug McManaman. There is more information on who he is at the end of the article.