INDIAN Prayers

"Native American Prayers"

INDIAN LORE
Ojibwa Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
And whose breath give life to everyone,
Hear me.
I come to you as one of your many children;
I am weak ... I am small ... I need your wisdom
and your strength.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever
Behold the red and purple sunsets.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
And make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.
Make me wise, so that I may understand what you
Have taught my people and
The lessons you have hidden in each leaf
And each rock.
I ask for wisdom and strength,
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able
To fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come before you with
Clean hands and a straight eye,
So as life fades away as a fading sunset,
My spirit may come to you without shame.

"May you always walk in Beauty."



	*"Native American Ten Commandments"* *....Sacred Instructions Given By The Creator To Native People At The Time Of Creation....* Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect. Remain close to the Great Spirit. Show great respect for your fellow beings. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed. Do what you know to be right. Look after the well being of mind and body. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good. Be truthful and honest at all times. Take full responsibility for your actions.



	*"An Indian Prayer"* My Grandfather is the Fire My Grandmother is the Wind The Earth is my Mother The Great Spirit is my Father The World stopped at my birth and laid itself at my feet And I shall swallow the Earth whole when I die, and the Earth and I will be one. Hail The Great Spirit, my Father, without him no one could exist because there would be no will to live. Hail The Earth, my Mother, without which no food could be grown and so cause the will to live to starve. Hail the wind, my Grandmother, for she brings loving, life-giving rain nourishing us as she nourishes our crops. Hail the fire, my Grandfather, for the light, the warmth, the comfort he brings without which we be animals, not men. Hail my parent and grandparents without which, not I, nor you, nor anyone else could have existed. Life gives life which gives unto itself a promise of new life. Hail the Great Spirit, The Earth, the Wind, the Fire praise my parents loudly for they are your parents, too. Oh, Great Spirit, giver of my life please accept this humble offering of prayer, this offering of praise, this honest reverence of my love for you.



	"Apache Wedding Blessing" Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other. Now there is no more loneliness. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May your days together be good and long upon the earth.



	"Giving Thanks" Great Spirit, Creator of all that we see, hear, smell, taste, and all that we touch. Mother Earth, Make Ina, Womb of all beings, Provider of all our needs. Keeper of the West, Home of the Thunder People, place where Grandfather Sun sleeps at night. Keeper of the North, Home of the Great White Giant, from where fresh breezes blow. Keeper of the East, Land of the Rising Sun, Home to the Big Red Mountain. Keeper of the South, Land that we always face, from where the Growing Warmth comes. I pray to the Stone Peoples, the Green Peoples, the Winged Peoples, I pray to the Four-legged Peoples, the Swimming Peoples, the Crawling Peoples, and to the Star Peoples. I pray to ALL who give us food, clothing, medicine, dwellings, and designs To the Ancestors of All The Peoples, I pray for their Help in Keeping Us in Balance and Teaching us the ways of the Creator and Mother Earth. To the Star Peoples, Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Moon I give thanks for their lighting our way in times of darkness. To All these Peoples, I give Thanks for all the Gifts and Help I get in My Life Each and Every Day. For ALL These Reasons and for LIFE Itself, I GIVE MY THANKS !



	THE TWENTY THIRD PSALM (AN INDIAN VERSION ) The GREAT FATHER above a SHEPHERD CHIEF is. I am His and with Him I want not. He throws out to me a rope and the name of the rope is love and He draws me to where the grass is green and the water is not dangerous, and I eat and lie down and am satisfied. Sometimes my heart is very weak and falls down but He lifts me up again draws me into a good road. His name is WONDERFUL . Sometimes, it may be very soon, it may be a long long time, He will draw me into a valley. It is dark there, but I'll be afraid not, for it is between those mountains that the SHEPHERD CHIEF will meet me and the hunger that I have in my heart all through life will be satisfied. Sometimes He makes the love rope into a whip, but afterwards He gives me a staff to lean upon. He spreads a table before me with all kinds of foods. He puts His hand upon my head and all the " tired " is gone. My cup He fills till it runs over. What I tell is true. I lie not. These roads that are " away ahead " will stay with me through this life and after; and afterwards I will go to live in the Big Teepee and sit down with the SHEPHERD CHIEF forever.



	Prayer Of Affirmations A Navajo Indian Prayer The simplest and most obvious prayer is a request to God that the adversity end and that one be restored to health. Such prayers often involve "affirmations." There is a considerable psychological literature on the healing power of affirmations, and many cancer patients use them. Here is a beautiful Navajo prayer that uses affirmation: O you who dwell In the house made of the dawn, In the house made of the evening twilight . . . Where the dark mist curtains the doorway, The path to which is on the rainbow . . . I have made your sacrifice. I have prepared a smoke for you. My feet restore for me. My limbs restore for me. My body restore for me. My mind restore for me. My voice restore for me. Today, take away your spell from me. Away from me you have taken it. Far Off from me you have taken it. Happily I recover. Happily my interior becomes cool. Happily my eyes regain their power. Happily my head becomes cool. Happily my limbs regain their power. Happily I hear again. Happily for me the spell is taken Off. Happily I walk. Impervious to pain, I walk. Feeling light within, I walk . . . In beauty I walk. With beauty before me, I walk. With beauty behind me, I walk. With beauty below me, I walk. With beauty all around me, I walk. It is finished in beauty. It is finished in beauty. It is finished in beauty



	Thanksgiving Prayer American Indian Great and Eternal Mystery of Life, Creator of All Things, I give thanks for the beauty You put in every single one of Your creations. I am grateful that You did not fail in making every stone, plant, creature, and human being a perfect and whole part of the Sacred Hoop. I am grateful that You have allowed me to see the strength and beauty of All My Relations. My humble request is that all of the Children of Earth will learn to see the same perfection in themselves. May none of Your human children doubt or question Your wisdom, grace, and sense of wholeness in giving all of Creation a right to be living extensions of Your perfect love.



	She Who Heals An American Indian Healing Prayer Mother, sing me a song That will ease my pain, Mend broken bones, Bring wholeness again. Catch my babies When they are born, Sing my death song, Teach me how to mourn. Show me the Medicine Of the healing herbs, The value of spirit, The way I can serve. Mother, heal my heart So that I can see The gifts of yours That can live through me American Indians believe that every act of life is a cycle or step on the path to healing. When we learn how to let go of our need to hold on to the past, we heal our formerly limited potential for growth. When we find courage and faith inside ourselves, we can heal our fear of future. We refuse to mentally degrade ourselves. The mind clears and allows us to be present-conscious of everything that is happening in the moment. These are all examples of healing the fragments of our lives that need to come into wholeness. When we go beyond the places where we have become numb, we feel life again. When we learn to feel again, we can heal.



	American Indian Prayer for Peace Cheyenne Let us know peace. For as long as the moon shall rise, For as long as the rivers shall flow, For as long as the sun shall shine, For as long as the grass shall grow, Let us know peace.



	Navajo Prayer of Healing (Affirmation) In the house made of dawn. In the story made of dawn. On the trail of dawn. O, Talking God. His feet, my feet, restore. His limbs, my limbs, restore. His body, my body, restore. His mind, my mind, restore. His voice, my voice, restore. His plumes, my plumes, restore. With beauty before him, with beauty before me. With beauty behind him, with beauty behind me. With beauty above him, with beauty above me. With beauty below him, with beauty below me. With beauty around him, with beauty around me. With pollen beautiful in his voice, with pollen beautiful in my voice. It is finished in beauty. It is finished in beauty. In the house of evening light. From the story made of evening light. On the trail of evening light.



	Sioux prayer O our Father, the Sky, hear us and make us strong. O our Mother the Earth, hear us and give us support. O Spirit of the East, send us your Wisdom. O Spirit of the South, may we tread your path of life. O Spirit of the West, may we always be ready for the long journey. O Spirit of the North, purify us with your cleansing winds.



	Sioux Prayer: On a Voyage You, O God, are the Lord of the mountains and the valleys. As I travel over mountains and through valleys, I am beneath your feet. You surround me with every kind of creature. Peacocks, pheasants, and wild boars cross my path. Open my eyes to see their beauty, that I may perceive them as the work of your hands. In your power, in your thought, all things are abundant. Tonight I will sleep beneath your feet, O Lord of the mountains and valleys, ruler of the trees and vines. I will rest in your love, with you protecting me as a father protects his children, with you watching over me as a mother watches over her children. Then tomorrow the sun will rise and I will not know where I am; but I know that you will guide my footsteps.



	Sioux Prayer: At Harvest Time You, O God, are the Lord of the mountains and valleys. You are my mother and my father. You have given rain to make the corn grow, and sunshine to ripen it. Now in your strength the harvest begins. I offer you the first morsels of the harvest. I know it is almost nothing compared with the abundance of the crop. But since you have provided the harvest, my gift to you is only a sign of what you have given to me. You alone know how many suns and moons it will take to finish reaping. You alone know how heavy the crop will be. If I work too hard and too fast I forget about you, who gave me the harvest. So I will work steadily and slowly, remembering that each ear of corn is a priceless gift from you.



	A Native American Prayer for Peace O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children: Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth. Note: This is one of the twelve prayers for peace prayed in Assisi, Italy



	Navaho chant House made of dawn. House made of evening light. House made of the dark cloud. House made of male rain. House made of dark mist. House made of female rain. House made of pollen. House made of grasshoppers. Dark cloud is at the door. The trail out of it is dark cloud. The zigzag lightning stands high upon it. An offering I make. Restore my feet for me. Restore my legs for me. Restore my body for me. Restore my mind for me. Restore my voice for me. This very day take out your spell for me. Happily I recover. Happily my interior becomes cool. Happily I go forth. My interior feeling cool, may I walk. No longer sore, may I walk. Impervious to pain, may I walk. With lively feelings may I walk. As it used to be long ago, may I walk. Happily may I walk. Happily, with abundant dark clouds, may I walk. Happily, with abundant showers, may I walk. Happily, with abundant plants, may I walk. Happily, on a trail of pollen, may I walk. Happily may I walk. Being as it used to be long ago, may I walk. May it be beautiful before me. May it be beautiful behind me. May it be beautiful below me. May it be beautiful above me. May it be beautiful all around me. In beauty it is finished. In beauty it is finished.




















	"GREAT SPIRIT....GUIDE ME TODAY"