For the first day at work or school

Loving God, let me be strong today
as I meet new people in new places.
Make me brave when I am worried,
show me how to learn from everyone around me,
and help me to do my very best. Amen.

(or)

O God, the strength of my life,
make known your will for me in this place:
help me to discover friends among strangers,
to meet opportunities and challenges eagerly,
and to do my daily tasks in your name.
Give me strength to overcome my worries,
and preserve me in your safekeeping,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For upcoming exam results

God, you have given me every good and perfect gift,
and you are generous without finding fault.
Help me to stay calm as I wait for news.
Whatever happens, be with me,
and help me to know the wisdom
that comes from heaven,
through Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen.

For a birthday

Loving God, bless your servant N
whose birthday is today;
give him/her a joyful heart as he/she celebrates
and remembers all who have brought riches to
his/her life;
and be with him/her,
over the coming year and forever.

Growing up; the passage of time

God of the ages,
you are the beginning of our journey
and our strength as we pause along the way.
Hold us by the hand as we grow,
show us where to seek you,
and guide our steps that we may find you.
Give us devoted hearts that we may love you, 
and your peace when we reach our journey's end.

Moving house

Generous God,
help us to treasure the memories of the place we leave behind,
bless and protect the friends from whom we now part,
and give us confidence to reach out in hospitality to others
in our new home.
May your Spirit travel with us,
and meet us in the faces of new friends.
For our journey, now and throughout our lives,
begins and ends with you, Lord,
whose praises we sing wherever we make our home.

Sport and competition

God our creator,
you have given us the talent and discipline
which help us to play and to compete together:
Whether we win or fail let us be gracious,
and let us never be glad at another's setbacks;
Grant that when we use the skills you have given us,
we may recall you, the source of all our abilities.

For a long journey

Be to us, O Lord,
a support in our setting out,
a comfort by the way,
a shadow in the heat,
a covering in the rain and cold,
a conveyance in weariness,
a protection in adversity,
a staff in unsteady ways,
and a port in shipwreck;
that, with you being our Leader,
we may reach the place we seek,
and at length we may return again to our home in safety.

Retirement

O God, your hands made me and fashioned me,
and you know where I am going even when I feel uncertain:
thank you for the talents I have used in my work.
Calm my concerns, show me new opportunities,
and give me the freedom to discover myself afresh
in serving you.
Show me what you have stored up for me,
and give me the courage to put down my work and follow you;
through Christ our Lord.

When someone is in hospital

Lord God, whose Son, Jesus Christ,
understood people's fear and pain
before they spoke of them,
we pray for those in hospital;
surround the frightened with your tenderness;
give strength to those in pain;
hold the weak in your arms of love,
and give hope and patience
to those who are recovering;
we ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.