Father God, Today I am afraid. I look around me at this world that is changing so fast and I feel lost like a small boat in the midst of a storm. I am not built to weather the battering waves or the howling wind. So I wait now in your presence. You spoke the oceans and the four winds into being. You threw the stars in the sky and separated the sea from dry land. You took the hand of Peter who was sinking into the depths of the water and walked him to safety. I choose now to fix my eyes on you and not on the storm. I settle my heart on your love and not on the current that threatens to pull me under. Thank you that you are my firm anchor even through the darkest night, Amen

Source: Written by Sheila Walsh author of "Let Go"

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

I have sworn, and have confirmed it, to observe Thy righteous ordinances.

I am afflicted very much; quicken me, O HaShem, according unto Thy word.

Accept, I beseech Thee, the freewill-offerings of my mouth, O HaShem, and teach me Thine ordinances.

My soul is continually in my hand; yet have I not forgotten Thy law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me; yet went I not astray from Thy precepts.

Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes, for ever, at every step.

- Psalms 119: 105-112

Source: Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917); read a Christian translation

O Lord, my nighttime fears are very real,
but so, too, is your love for me.
Help me take into my heart your desire for my safety,
and bring upon me a nightly peace
that erases all my anxiety and lets me sleep calmly,
to awaken refreshed
and fearful no more.

- Maureen Pratt

Source: Copyright (c) 2005 by Maureen Pratt. From "Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain and Illness" by Maureen Pratt, published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted with permission.