Prayers and Readings
Introduction

The following is a collection of preyers and readings which we have found to be useful in the Troop. Wherever possible the readings are as non-denominational as possible; no specific deity or religion is mentioned. The readings come from a variety of sources:- Christian, Judaism, Buddhist and secular. Many of the readings have been chosen or made up by the Scouts.
The readings can be grouped into rough headings as follows:-

When you are up against it

"David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone, which he slung at the giant Goliath. It hit him on the forehead and broke his skull, and Goliath fell face downwards on the ground. And so, without a sword, David defeated and killed Goliath with a catapult and a stone!
Just as the boy David stood up to the giant Goliath, we can achieve anything if we believe in ourselves. If we are pressured by others to drink, smoke or try drugs, we can be strong, say NO, and make the right choices for ourselves. "

"And why worry about clothes? Look how the flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. So do not worry about where your clothes will come from. Do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings."

"Being wise is better than being strong; knowledge is more important than strength. After all, you must make careful plans before you fight a battle, and the more good advice you get, the more likely you are to win."

When you are stuck and haven't a clue what to do

A Samurai called Bokuden was crossing a river on a ferry when he was challenged to a fight by a boastful man.
"What Samurai school do you come from?" he said.
"The Victory Without Hands School" said Bokuden.
Bokuden suggested stopping at a small island so that the other passengers would not be hurt in the fight. At the island the boastful man got out and took up a stance. Bokuden stayed in the boat and pushed it away, leaving the boastful man stranded on the island.
"This", he said, " is beating your enemy without using your hands."
Sometimes there is more than one way to approach a problem. Sometimes if you approach a problem from a different direction, it is easy to solve."

Thinking of others

"Help us to take things calmly
Help us not to panic when things go wrong
Help us not to worry but to take things as they come
Help us not to be nervous but to keep cool when we have something important to do
Help us never to lose our temper, no matter how annoying thing or people may be
Help us to keep calm and steady, so that we don't collapse and so that others can rely on us when they are up against it."

"As we grow help us to learn more.
Let us not bully people, think how horrible it would be to be picked on.
Think how we would feel if we were being picked on, called names all day and made to feel bad about ourselves, for no reason except being alive.
Help us to have the courage to stand up for them and help others realise what they are doing and not to pick on them anymore.
Give us the strength not to lose hope when things are difficult and when learning is hard.
Not to lose goodness and honour, even when we are tempted to go the wrong way
To live for today so that we have nothing to be sorry for when we go to bed at night. "

"There are lands where there is famine and misery, some children don't get as much food and have never known what it is like to eat proper meals like we do.
There are lands where there are not enough homes to go round and people who don't have a bed to call their own.
And there are places where children do not get the love and care that we do, no games to play and no friends to share with.
There lives will not get better unless those of us who have money and food, help them."

"Help us to be loyal and support our friends and family.
Help us to be trusting and be trusted.
Help us to think of others first and not hurt their feelings.
Help us to always try our best and reach our goals. "

"When we are hungry we can eat. We have friends to play with and the freedom to do lots of wild stuff. Let us remember those who are hungry and those without friends or freedom. "

"Think how horrible it must be to live where there is war and famine, people destroying the land and animals, just so they can make some extra money. Let all the people in the world live together in peace and stop fighting. Let people leave the land and animals alone, stop destroying our world otherwise there won't be so many animals left for our children to see unless they are stuffed and in a showcase. "

Leadership

"The best leader is the one that the people are barely aware of.
The next best is the one who is loved and praised by the people.
Next comes one who is feared.
Worst is the one who is hated.
If the leader does not have enough faith in the people, they will have no faith in him.
The best leader puts great value in words and says little.
So that when his work is finished the people all say, "We did it ourselves!"

"Work without forcing.
Recognise the Great in the small, and the many in the few.
Repay hatred with kindness.
Deal with the difficult while is still easy.
Begin great works while they are small.
If you think everything is easy, you will find only difficulty.
Consider all thing difficult, and you will find nothing is difficult in the end"

Death

"It is very sad when people die and leave us
I know that everyone has to die sometime.
Everything dies eventually
It is not easy to be happy when someone we love dies, and remember they are safe and no-one can hurt them anymore.
It take a long time to stop the aching, and to fill up the emptiness left behind.
Give us the strength to go on and take each day as it comes. "

When you have made a mess of things

"Sometimes we have a hard time getting along with our parents
and we feel no-one listens to us.
Parents are too busy or are working and there is no-one really there to hear us.
Sometimes it feels like they don't understand what's happening to us in our lives and we don't understand them either.
Help us find the right time and way to talk to our parents and help them understand how we feel, remember they were our age once and can understand more than we think. "

"We all have rows with our friends, we say terrible things and are full of anger and pride. Then we feel hurt, want to say sorry - but why make the first move?
We want everything to be all right again, and they must feel the same?
Its not nice losing you friends for the sake of a stupid argument.
Help us to apologise and let true friendship win through. "

When you are frustrated and annoyed

"Help us not to lose our temper even when people and things annoy us
Not to lose our patience even when things do not come out right first time
Not to lose hope when things are difficult and when learning is hard
Not to lose goodness and honour, even when we are tempted to go the wrong way
To live for today so that we have nothing to be sorry for when we go to bed at night. "

"Why do we find it so difficult to obey?
Why do we so often want to break the rules?
Help us to realise that rules and laws are made for our own good - they are guidelines for how we should behave.
If there were no rules or laws the world would be in chaos.
When we break rules we often upset other people
So please help us to be more obedient. "

"Help us to get on with the people around us.
Forgive us when we are jealous of other people because they seem to be happier or more successful than us. Forgive us when we look down on other people because we feel we are better than they are.
If we could all learn to get along with each other, everyone would be at peace. "

"Most days we hate going to school, but at least we have the opportunity to learn.
There are lots of places in the world where children cannot go to school, although they want to learn and get good jobs and money to support their families.
Help us with our work. We can't all be clever all the time and sometimes we don't get good marks.
Help us to concentrate, so that we may listen,
Understanding, that we may learn, and peaceful minds, so that we can remember. "

When you feel that you are not in control of things around you

 "Homes are not always happy and loving
Sometimes there is fighting and shouting, arguments and anger.
There are times when we don't want to go home at all - and are too ashamed to tell anyone how we feel
Give us the courage to speak about our troubles and find help. "

"We are all frightened of something,
Scared of the dark, scared of burglars, scared of getting hurt, scared of someone being ill or dying. Scared of being bullied, scared of exams, scared of getting bad test marks.
Give us the courage to face our fears and get through life the best we can. "

Stuff that does not fit into any of the other headings

"We are sorry for all the times when we are not very helpful.
Making a mess of our rooms and leaving stuff all over the floor
Forgetting to take off muddy shoes at the door
Spilling drinks on the furniture
Being noisy when others want a bit of peace
Tomorrow we will try and be better "

"It is good that we can have friend to share stuff with and hang out.
Let us be good and true friends, to always be loyal, and never let them down.
Never to talk about them behind their backs about things we wouldn't say to their face.
Help us be friends to the people who have no-one.
Help us to talk to others who we sometimes find to be difficult, strange or shy.
You never know where you will find a new friend. "

"We don't need things to put us down, or build us up.
Let us live and be healthy, and be ourselves.
Help us to get on with the people around us.
Forgive us when we are jealous of other people because they seem to be happier or more successful than us. Forgive us when we look down on other people because we feel we are better than they are.
Help us to be patient and understanding towards others even when we are very busy.
Let us not make fun of others just because they have problems
and not to take our health for granted. "

"It is great to play our music as loud as we want, have friends round and make a lot of noise, but lets remember that it may be disturbing others. Help us to find the right time and place for enjoying ourselves and not to forget others who want a bit of peace and quiet. "

Quick Thoughts

"Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can"

"Its nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

"We take so much for granted "

"May we compete against others in friendly rivalry, accept defeat and success humbly, and always play fair. "

"When you sit down to eat with an important man, keep in mind who he is. If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you."

"I now make my promise to you, whenever I fill the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears, I will see it and remember my promise to you and all living things that a flood will never again destroy all living beings"

"Be friends with everyone, no matter what their colour, shape, size or ability. "

"If the world could work together and play together, maybe we could all be at peace. "