Share your favorite prayers and your most cherished means of connecting with God, including prayers that you wrote.

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#229646
150. Sirach 45:15 (talking about Aaron and his family and the role of priests) For Moses ordained him and anointed him with the holy oil, in a lasting covenant with him and his family, as permanent as the heavens, that he should serve God in his priesthood and bless His people in His Name.
#229648
151. Sirach 47:9-10 (talking about the role of David in how he led the people to worship God) He (David) added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year with string music before the altar, providing sweet melody for the psalms so that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
#229650
152. Sirach chapter 50 describes a liturgical practice known as the Day of Atonement which occurred once a year where the high priest in full vestments and with many surrounding priests in the presence of a great assembly of worshipers would sacrifice the offerings with trumpet blasts and praise to God from the people culminating in the high priest saying the Holy Name over the people.

Sirach 50:20-24 Then coming down he (high priest) would raise his hands over the congregation of Israel. The blessing of the LORD would be upon his lips, the Name of the LORD would be his glory. Then again the people would lie prostrate to receive from him the blessing of the Most High. And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; who fosters men's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to His will! May He grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you; may His goodness toward us endure in Israel as long as the heavens are above.
#229651
++If you can, read the last chapter of Sirach, chapter 51. It is beautiful -especially verses 13 to 30 which talk about seeking wisdom++ eg. verse 27: see for yourselves! I have labored only a little, but have found much.
153. Sirach 51:10-12 I called out: O LORD, You are my Father, You are my Champion and my Savior; Do not abandon me in time of trouble, in the midst of storms and dangers. I will ever praise Your Name and be constant in my prayers to You. Thereupon the LORD heard my voice, He listened to my appeal; He saved me from evil of every kind and preserved me in time of trouble. For this reason I thank Him and I praise Him; I bless the Name of the LORD.
#229652
Now we move into the prophetic books of the bible in which there were four major prophets and twelve minor prophets. Prophets were chosen by God to speak in His Name to the people promoting worship, morality, and good governance. The prophet Isaiah was one of the greatest prophets. He received prophecies of a coming Messiah ( Emmanuel which means God is with us)- see Chapter 9 verses 1-3,5-6 which is always read at the Christmas Eve Mass. Jesus referred to the writings of the prophet Isaiah in His teaching in the temple saying that the prophecy was fulfilled in Him.

154. Isaiah 12:3-4 With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation, and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim His Name; among the nations make known His deeds, proclaim how exalted is His Name.
#229656
155. this entry is a word of prophecy about the nation of Ethiopia
Isaiah 18:7 Then will gifts be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and bronzed, from a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and conquering, whose land is washed by rivers- to Mount Zion where dwells the Name of the LORD of hosts.
#229659
156. praise to God after a trial
Isaiah 24: 14-15 These (the saved) lift up their voice in acclaim; from the sea they proclaim the majesty of the LORD: "For this, in the coastlands, give glory to the LORD! In the coastlands of the sea, to the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel!"
#229668
158. Isaiah 26:7-13 The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just You make level. Yes, for Your way and Your judgements, O LORD, we look to You; Your Name and Your title are the desire of our souls, my soul yearns for You in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for You; when Your judgement dawns upon the earth, the world's inhabitants learn justice. The wicked man, spared, does not learn justice; in an upright land he acts perversely, and sees not the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your Hand is uplifted, but they behold It not; let them be shamed when they see Your zeal for Your people: let the fire prepared for Your enemies consume them. O LORD, You mete out peace to us, for it is You who have accomplished all we have done. O LORD, our God, other lords than You have ruled us; it is from You only that we can call upon Your Name.
#229717
160. Isaiah 30:27 See the Name of the LORD coming from afar in burning wrath, with lowering clouds! His Lips are filled with fury, His Tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath, like a flood in a ravine that reaches suddenly to the neck, will winnow the nations with a destructive winnowing, and with repeated winnowings will He battle against them [and a bridle on the jaws of the peoples to send them astray].
#229778
161. Isaiah 42:6-8 I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. I am the LORD, this is My Name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to idols.
#229797
As was discussed before all the entries of the psalms, part of the history of Jerusalem was that Babylon invaded Israel, destroyed the temple and took captive most of the Jewish people to be slaves in Babylon. This next entry mocks Babylon.
162. Isaiah 47: 3-4 Your nakedness (Babylon's) shall be uncovered and your shame be seen; I will take vengeance, I will yield to no entreaty, says our Redeemer, Whose Name is the LORD of hosts, the Holy One of Israel.
#229822
163. The people in exile are reminded that they were warned of the Babylonian invasion long before it was a reality in Chapter 48 verses 1-9
verses 1-9 Hear this, O house of Jacob called by the name Israel, sprung from the stock of Judah, you who swear by the Name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel without sincerity or justice, though you are named after the holy city and rely on the God of Israel, whose Name is the LORD of hosts. Things of the past I foretold long ago they went forth from My mouth, I let you hear of them; then suddenly I took action and they came to be. Because I know that you are stubborn and that your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead bronze, I foretold them to you of old; before they took place I let you hear of them, that you might not say, "My idol did them, my statue, my molten image commanded them."
Now that you have heard, look at all this; must you not admit it? From now on I announce new things to you, hidden events of which you knew not. Now, not long ago, they are brought into being, and beforetime you did not hear of them, so that you cannot claim to have known them; You neither heard nor knew, they did not reach your ears beforehand. Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous, a rebel you were called from birth. For the sake of My Name I restrain My anger, for the sake of My renown I hold it back from you, lest I should destroy you.
#229880
165. Isaiah 51:14-15 The oppressed shall soon be released; they shall not die and go down into the pit, nor shall they want for bread. For I am the LORD, your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the LORD of hosts by Name.
#229884
166. Isaiah 52: 4-6 Thus says the LORD God: To Egypt in the beginning My people went down, to sojourn there; Assyria, too, oppressed them for nought, but now, what am I to do here? says the LORD, My people have been taken away without redress; their rulers make a boast of it, says the LORD; all the day My Name is constantly reviled. Therefore on that day My people shall know My renown, that it is I who have foretold it. Here I am!
#229892
167. Isaiah 54:4-5 Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For He who has become your Husband is your Maker; His Name is the LORD of hosts; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth.
#229909
168. Isaiah 56: 6-7 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to Him, loving the Name of the LORD, and becoming His servants - all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to My covenant, them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer; their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
#229918
169. Isaiah 57: 14-15 Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove the stumbling blocks from My people's path. For thus says He who is high and exalted, living eternally, Whose Name is the Holy One: On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed.
#229920
Chapter 59 really resonates with me, so I will make an extended entry
170. Isaiah 59: 9-21 That is why right is far from us and justice does not reach us. We look for light, and lo, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom! Like blind men we grope along the wall, like people without eyes we feel our way. We stumble at midday as at dusk, in Stygian darkness, like the dead. We all growl like bears, like doves we moan without ceasing. We look for right, but it is not there; for salvation, and it is far from us. For our offenses before you are many, our sins bear witness against us. Yes, our offenses are present to us, and our crimes we know: transgressing, and denying the LORD, turning back from following our God, threatening outrage, and apostasy, uttering words of falsehood the heart has conceived. Right is repelled, and justice stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, uprightness cannot enter. Honesty is lacking, and the man who turns from evil is despoiled.
The LORD saw this, and was aggrieved that right did not exist. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was none to intervene; So His own Arm brought about the victory, and His justice lent Him its support. He put on justice as His breastplate, salvation, as the helmet on His Head; He clothed Himself with garments of vengeance, wrapped Himself in a mantle of zeal. He repays His enemies their deserts, and requites His foes with wrath. Those in the west shall fear the Name of the LORD, and those in the east, His glory; for it shall come like a pent-up river which the Breath of the LORD drives on. He shall come to Zion a Redeemer to those of Jacob who turn from sin, says the LORD. This is the covenant with them which I Myself have made, says the LORD: My Spirit which is upon you and My words that I have put into your mouth shall never leave your mouth, nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your children's children from now on and forever, says the LORD.
#229933
171. Isaiah 60: 9 All the vessels of the sea are assembled, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar with their silver and gold, in the Name of the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.
#229938
172. The prophet Isaiah makes these strong appeals to the LORD Isaiah 63: 13 through 64:6 Who led them without stumbling through the depths like horses in the open country, like cattle going down into the plain, the Spirit of the LORD guiding them? Thus You led Your people, bringing glory to Your Name. Look down from heaven and regard us from Your holy and glorious palace! Where is Your zealous care and Your might, Your surge of pity and Your mercy? O LORD, hold not back, for You are our Father. Were Abraham not to know us, nor Israel to acknowledge us, You, LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer You are named forever.
Why do You let us wander, O LORD, from Your ways and harden our hearts so that we fear You not? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. Why have the wicked invaded Your holy place, why have our enemies trampled Your sanctuary? Too long have we been like those You do not rule, who do not bear Your Name.
Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before You, as when brushwood is set ablaze, or fire makes the water boil! Thus Your Name would be made known to Your enemies and the nations would tremble before You.
While You wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they have not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but You doing such deeds for those who wait for Him.
Would that You might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of You in our ways! Behold, You are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean men, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; We have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon Your Name, who rouses himself to cling to You; For You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt.
#229947
The last entry from the book of Isaiah with respect to the Name of the LORD
174. Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word: your brethren who, because of My Name, hate and reject you, say, "Let the LORD show His glory that we may see your joy"; but they shall be put to shame.
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