Prayer For Dancers
Dear God, we thank you for allowing us to gather here before you in this competition not as enemies but as friends.
May you grant each and every competitor
An understanding mind that this competition is among friends.
May it foster love and camaraderie amongst all present here today.
May your loving heart fill each of us so that
We could realize that it is not winning that truly counts
But the honest and noble way we get there.
May you bless the organizers, judges, athletes and everyone
For their cooperation and unity in making
this momentous occasion a remarkable experience of your love and generosity.
Bless the winners that they may be humble in their victory
And realize that they would not have succeeded without you.
Bless also the losers that they may be gracious in their loss
And realize that as long as they have done their best, it is also a victory for them.
All these we ask in your mighty name, amen.
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. Psalm 30:11-12
Holy and loving Lord Jesus, was there ever a king more into dancing than King David? His victory over Goliath was the inspiration for singing and dancing by many others in Israel (1 Sam. 21:11). When the Ark was returned to Jerusalem, he danced before the Lord with all his might, and with very little of his clothing on (2 Sam. 6:14)! It's obvious he wrote this very Psalm as a dancer for others dancers, whose joy over the dedication of the temple was understandably, uncontainable.
That's precisely where you come in, King Jesus, for you are the real Lord of the Dance. Though he didn't realize it, King David's work and joy simply prefigured yours. You are the one who truly turns the wails of our sin and brokenness into the dance of hope and joy. In the gospel, you have removed the filthy garments of unrighteousness and our self-righteousness, and you have clothed us with the joyful robe of your very own righteousness. Astounding, astonishing and so very true!
How can we not sing and make music to you in our hearts? How can we possibly remain silent, in response to who you are and everything you have done for us? Cause the sounds of music and dancing in the gospel-house of the Father's love to get louder and louder and louder so loud the main voice we hear in life is the Father saying, My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours (Luke 15:31)
Forgive us and free us when, like the elder brother, we remain smugly on the outside, off the dance floor (Luke 15:25). Forgive us and free us for confusing reverence with rigor mortis. Forgive us and free us from living more by our temperament tests, Myers-Briggs profile, and personality types, than by the lyric, music and dance of the gospel.
One Day, King Jesus, we will give thanks to you with all our might. All personal inhibitions, cultural limitations and sinful prohibitions will be gone. May that Day have much greater impact on this day. So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus' name.
Dance for God. Dance for Mary.
Ignore any sense of compettition.
Be kind to everyone around you and allow them what they need to do their best.
Stay focussed on what you need to do your best: rest, prayer, love, nutrition, preparation, stretching, rehearsal in that space if possible, familiarity and comfort in the stage area.
In the name of Christ our Lord.
Lead me in the dance of life, O God.
Turn my heart towards you as I follow
your lead into places of wonder and grace.
Attune my ear to the music that hums
beneath the surface of my thoughts and
activities.
Give me a lithe spirit that moves with the
?low of love and grace.
May I ?ind joy in the dance that is my life.
With you as my partner and guide, I pray.
Amen.
Giver of life, Creator of all that is lovely, Teach me to sing the words of your song; I want to feel the music of living ?And not fear the sad songs, But from them make new songs Composed of both laughter and tears.
Teach me to dance to the sounds of your world and your people, I want to move in rhythm with your plan; ?Help me to try to follow your leading, To risk even falling, To rise and keep trying Because you are leading the dance.
Lord bless me with confidence
So like the stars at night
I may shine bright
Please grant me patience Lord
Because all great things
Come with time
Please gift to me endurance
So I may push myself harder
So that I may become stronger
And bless me with the power of
Dedication and determination forever
So that I may give up never
Lord let the music flow through me like water
And allow my emotions to show through my movement
Help me be brave
When my stomach fills
with butterflies
Allow me to learn from my mistakes
Rather than letting them defeat me
Help me grow stronger as a dancer
And a Christian too
Bless me with the power to amaze
And help me improve with each baby step
Grant me the courage
To attempt the impossible
And the heart
To make it possible
Lord grant me with grace
So like a dove
I may soar the clouds above
Lord help me quench
My thirst
for success
And satisfy
My hunger
for greatness
For those who said I couldn't
Help me prove them wrong
Help me prove to those who saw my potential
I am ready for the next level
And help me show those who
Believed in me all the way
How far I've come today
Lord you've given me more
Than I deserve
Ever since I was a little girl
And though I will never be able to repay you
I ask fr these things
So that I may thank you
And praise your name
Through Dancing
Amen.
Lord God,
With every movement I make
I long to be close to you.
May I leap with your joy,
May I stretch with your passion,
May I balance with your strength.
I give you my dance, as a prayer,
As praise,
And as a testimony.
May my dancing tell of you love
And always point the way to you.
Amen.