In Need of A Faith? – Prayers For Hunters And Fans Alike
The question of faith has been a crucial one throughout the show. Not only when it comes to religious matters, but also in terms of trust between brothers, believing in friendship and family, the one of blood and the one that doesn’t end with blood.
We have rarely seen any of our heroes actually pray, though we have been informed that they do. Sam, for instance, told us that he used to do it every day (and I still wonder whether he continued to do so after finding out the quality of some heavenly angels). And Dean was pleading for help a couple of times.
No matter to whom we pray, it is always a form of religious practice, intended to establish a connection to God or angels or saints or any deity the prayer is addressed to. A prayer sometimes comes in form of a song, a poem, a hymn, a blessing… it doesn’t matter really, does it, as long as it holds meaning to us.
For me, ‘Amazing Grace’ has always been my favourite prayer, one I used to sing often and still do, and there are many other songs, poems and the like that I choose to look at when in need of verbally expressing faith or coping with difficulties.
As faith has been such an integral part of Supernatural, I thought I’d assemble some prayers from all over the world, some with clear religious background, some written by poets or artists and introduce them to you, accompanied by some pictures from our favourite show to help us cope with the last weeks of this summer hiatus.
Our beloved characters might be able to find some encouragement here, also (provided they are lurkers here, too, of course, ha…) and so can we fans, with our personal stories that are sometimes tinted with sadness and struggle … Whether you are a person of faith or not – I hope you will find words of hope here, of comfort, of joy… because those dimensions are universal for believers and atheists alike.
This is dedicated to Julie who inspired me – unknowingly – by a video she once pointed out to me… thank you, dear.
(Copyright for the pictures belongs to their rightful owners)
What a great article Jas. So warm and beautiful. And what a lot of work to put this together! Made my night. Thans so much girlfriend.
Jas,
Thank you so much for the dedication.
Little did I suspect when I shared with you the video of the performance of this song it would become the inspiration for such a beautiful article.
You know all too well how much this song means to me, as do I the pieces you have included here which hold a special place in your heart.
The other prayer and songs you have chosen are very moving, so apt for our show and the images capture the emotions of said pieces perfectly
Once again thank you for this and for everything else as well. love Ju
Jas,
Once again you combine the sublime and the Supernatural into an unusual and beautiful article. I’m glad Julie gave you the inspiration for another journey.
I appreciate the research efforts you put forth into finding these inspiration songs and poems and that you match them with moments from the show to heighten the emotions.
Thank you.
This was beautiful Jas. Haven’t thought about Dante’s Prayer in a long time, thank you for the reminder. It was wonderful to enter the site and see a new article from you, and then to find this…well, my day is made.
Very lovely, liebes. I really liked how you put together prayers from a variety of sources and faiths here. There’s something for everyone who prays!
Beautiful! I liked the variety of faiths & beliefs from which you chose the prayers. Loreena McKennitt is one of my favorite musical artists, & I loved that you included Dante’s Prayer. The screencaps for each one are also perfect!
Jas, just what I needed today 🙂 Thank you for this wonderful article!
Dany, loved your Celtic blessing, thanks for sharing!
And Loreena McKennitt is now in my personal jukebox 🙂
God bless
Sablegreen, Julie, elle2, Yvonne, Ardeospina, BagginsDVM, Dany, Freebird, shauna_mc_m, oh, ladies, I am so happy that you found something here that touched your hearts!
Sablegreen, so this was the right thing for that night you read it? How wonderful. Looks I found the right moment to write this… Sometimes there are no coincidences.
Ju, you have inspired me more than once, not only to write this, but also to remember my strength and courage when I forgot I owned them…
Elle2, thank you – this show has so many moving moments that it is not a big effort to find this combination. Plus – most of those songs have been a part of my life and my thoughts for a long time.
Yvonne, how lovely that I could give you something with this. I would like to recommend everything Loreena McKennitt wrote to you – not only does she combine various sorts of music to a moving cocktail, but also her voice makes me think: if angels could sing, this is how they would sound. The way she uses poems by Blake, Tennyson and others, arranges them… it always touches my heart as deep as it’s possible at all.
Flamey, this is what I hoped for – that all kinds of faiths might find something here. Thank you, and I do love it when you call me Liebes. It’s moving beyond description.
BagginsDVM, another Loreena fan! Ha! You have excellent taste, Dawn! I hope there will be another album this year. One can buy them without even listening in, don’t you think?
Dany, thank you so much for this Celtic Blessing. I should have included this, too, as it has been one of my favourites for years, too. Thank you for doing it for me, dear friend.
As I have a huge part of Celtic blood, I have always felt close to Celtic traditions (and in that department I’m a true pagan…).
Lara, did we make you curious about Loreena? So happy you liked that song and my article and that I found something to lighten your day. Blessed be, maco. Pozdravi mi more…
Shauna, happy that you liked this and – the blessing Dany shared with us is wonderful, indeed. It is, as you say ‘absolutely beautiful’. She had a blessed idea to give it to us!
Try using the print-icon. Usually then you can read the whole article – and feel free to point this out to Alice via the ‘Contact Us’ section, so she can take care of such problems.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Blessed be, be happy, be well. Jas
I have been re reading and thinking a lot about the prayers, poems and song lyrics here, this morning I remembered this poem.
A few years ago I lost a friend to ovarian cancer, some months after her death her mother found this poem which she had hidden, obviously with the intention of her mother discovering it this way, I know it was a tremendous comfort to her and hope it is for anyone else who has suffered a similar loss
Miss me but let me go.
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no tears in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little – but not for long
And not with your head bowed low,
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me – but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone,
It`s all part of the masters plan
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know,
Bury your sorrow in doing good works,
Miss me – but let me go.
Hi Jasminka
These poems and prayers are so powerful and beautiful. I only knew of The Lords Prayer, Amazing Grace and of course Clapton’s Holy Mother.
I’m afraid majority of my exposure to anything with deep emotion and inspiration comes from the words of Rock and Roll musicians. 😳
So thank you for enlightening me with these.
Dany and Julie thank you for adding these prayers as well.
I found this in a book. It’s actually in the preface I think. I should find the title of the fiction book and the author but the prayer is actually called ‘the Hunter’s Prayer’ and I had to post it!
Thou Who has given me to fight evil, protect me; keep me from harm. Grant me strength in battle, honor in living, and a swift clean death when my time comes. Cover me with Thy shield, and with my sword may Thy righteousness be brought to earth, to keep Thy children safe. Let me be the defender of the weak and the protector of the innocent, the righter of wrongs and the giver of charity. O my Lord God, do not forsake me when I face Hell’s legions. In Thy name and with Thy blessing, I go forth to cleanse the night.
Julie, Karen, Tracy H., thank you so much for commenting.
Ju, the poem you added is one of the most beautiful I have ever read. And so very fitting. Being familiar with loss, as you know, this touched a special chord in my soul, touching on the pain that is still there but also on the notion that we have to let our loved ones go so that they may be allowed to find peace – as are we. We need that, too, badly sometimes.
Karen, you know, I do think that some of the most moving lyrics come from Rock&Roll (or other) musicians… take ‘Silent Lucidity’, ‘This is the End’ (Doors), ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ to name but a few. Those are the poets of today. And some lyrics are just as clear, touching and fascinating as the poets of old composed.
Tracy H., this is wonderful! Thank you so much for posting this Hunter’s Prayer. Very fitting for our dear brothers, though I think that Dean might object to do it in ‘Thy name and with Thy blessing’… The words are so beautiful. I have never heard of it. Thank you for introducing me and us to it.
You have been so generous, ladies. Thank you. Jas
Hi Jas, this was beautiful. Thank you for the collection of prayers and poems. I really liked Dante’s Prayer. I saw a vid of that awhile ago set to Dean’s dying in Season 3 and as the song goes ‘Please remember be,’ it is saying from Dean’s perspective, to remember him when he is gone. A very touching vid. I also enjoyed the additions of the Celtic prayer from Dany and Julie’s addition. Also commented on by shauna_mc_m was the poem ‘Footprints in the Sand’ This poem has gotten me through many tough times and I do believe that when life was at it’s lowest, that God was indeed carrying me. Here is the full poem.
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”
Mary Stevenson
Then alas, my most favorite is ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ I love to sing this song. The melody is so beautiful and the words just touch my heart and soul deeply. thanks again.
Evelyn, this poem is indeed beautiful.Thank you so much for sharing this with me, with us.
There are so many ways a person can seek solace and comfort, many ways to pray. I understand your love of Nearer My God To Thee. For me, the words are also moving, but it makes me sad, as it was the last song the musicians played on the Titanic. From the moment I read about this historical fact, the song was tinted with the sadness of that terrible tragedy. But – it might have been a tad soothing to the panicking people there. So I hope.
Thank you, dear. Jas
Jas-Thanks so much for this article! And thank you to everyone else who added their thoughts/prayers/blessings. Read this for the first time last night & had to come back & print it out. Love the combination of different faiths represented. It also brought back memories-haven’t seen or heard the lyrics to Amazing Grace in ages. I can still hear my Mom singing it & she passed away almost 14 years ago. I also love the Celtic Blessing. Usually only see the first stanza so it was nice to see it all.
Guess I need to go see what other wonderful things I missed while I was on vacation.
Thanks Again!