{"id":414,"date":"2017-11-14T08:54:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T08:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/?p=414"},"modified":"2018-09-04T17:04:32","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T16:04:32","slug":"a-beautiful-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/a-beautiful-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beautiful Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I think one of our deepest longings as humans is to know that there is a purpose for our lives, that we have a role to play in this world. Thankfully as Christians we can be certain that life isn\u2019t just a random series of events. God the creator of the earth and the heavens is still at work now, intricately weaving beauty and purpose into our lives, building His Kingdom here on earth.<\/p>\n<p>The prayer of St Richard is very special to me. I performed in the musical \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.godspell.com\/\">Godspell<\/a>\u201d in my teens, and sang \u201cDay by Day\u201d as a solo. Although I didn\u2019t feel at that time I knew God, I truly meant the words \u201cto see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly\u201d and \u201cfollow thee more nearly.\u201d It was many years later that I realised that I had travelled to study in Chichester where St Richard lived when he wrote this prayer! And in my journey to knowing Christ as a young person these words have remained with me, like a mantra! God brought me to Chichester. He can and does weave all things together. I now realise that the living Lord responded to my earnest desire to know something of Him in my life, and he has directed my path. For it was in Chichester that I did find faith, began writing with Neil, and Prayerscapes was born. Look for the Kingdom story in your life \u2013 journeying with Christ is such an amazing adventure!<\/p>\n<p>Here is this beautiful prayer. St Richard is said to have utter these words in his final hours:-<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-Fqqwkp9eOk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s possible to download this film in HD for a small sum by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/FilmPages\/prayer_of_st_richard.html\">visiting this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3>The Prayer of St Richard (Bishop of Chichester between 1244 to 1253)<\/h3>\n<p>Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ,<\/p>\n<p>for all the benefits which you have given us,<\/p>\n<p>for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.<\/p>\n<p>Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,<\/p>\n<p>may we know you more clearly,<\/p>\n<p>love you more dearly,<\/p>\n<p>and follow you more nearly,<\/p>\n<p>day by day.<\/p>\n<p>Amen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think one of our deepest longings as humans is to know that there is a purpose for our lives, that we have a role to play in this world. Thankfully as Christians we can be certain that life isn\u2019t just a random series of events. God the creator of the earth and the heavens <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/a-beautiful-prayer\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"A Beautiful Prayer","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[7,8,6,13],"tags":[41,11,15],"class_list":["post-414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","category-music","category-prayer","category-reflections","tag-famous-prayer","tag-film","tag-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Prayer_of_St_Richard_600.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bKxI-6G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":643,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/prayer-for-safe-travel\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":0},"title":"Prayer for Safe Travel","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At this time of year most of us will be planning a trip away or waving friends and family off as they go on their holidays. Travel can be both exciting and unnerving! I have friends who love travelling. The excitement of new horizons, adventure and discovery propel them forwards,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Beautiful valley with road running down the middle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Prayer_For_Safe_Travel_Blog_800.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/a-prayer-song-for-pentecost\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":1},"title":"A new film for Pentecost","date":"May 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Come, O Spirit of God, Cause blind eyes to see. In this day, awaken our land. Come, O Spirit of power, Breathe life through your church. Come O Lord, bring Heaven to Earth, Bring Heaven to Earth. This is our prayer for Pentecost Sunday - the day we remember how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"People seen from overhead","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Come_O_Spirit_Of_God_1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":574,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/closing-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":2},"title":"Closing Prayer","date":"October 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I find that there is a unity that arises through worship that it is difficult to express in words. We sometimes encounter glimpses of this when we are joined together in hymns and worship songs, as we fix our eyes on eternal things and are in awe again of Jesus,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"birds flying over water round a modern bridge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Closing_Prayer_Blog_600.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":460,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/lord-make-me-an-instrument\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":3},"title":"Lord, make me an instrument!","date":"March 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I find the prayer of St Francis a deeply challenging prayer to read. Whether in a time of peace and prosperity, or in a period of conflict and hardship, it is not instinctive to be an \u201cinstrument of peace\u201d. Yet the word instrument does suggest that we become a channel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Hands in the shape of a heart with beach in the background","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Prayer_of_St_Francis_600.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":565,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/harvest-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":4},"title":"Harvest Prayer","date":"September 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Our lives go through many seasons, and there are times when it is natural and easy to be thankful at harvest time. So, if you are in a relaxed place and able to drink in the goodness of God and his provision, it is a joyful and special time to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Films&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Harvest_Prayer_600.jpg?fit=600%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":757,"url":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/the-serenity-prayer-meaning\/","url_meta":{"origin":414,"position":5},"title":"The Serenity Prayer Meaning","date":"December 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This week we\u2019re going to be looking at one of the most famous and inspiring prayers of the 20th Century \u2013 \u201cThe Serenity Prayer\u201d, and I\u2019m going to be exploring what the full version of this prayer means and how we can use it in our lives. Often known by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Prayer&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"The Serenity Prayer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/UN_Serenity_Prayer_800.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":537,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions\/537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayerscapes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}