Aboriginal Prayers And Blessings
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We have collected some of the best Aboriginal Prayers And Blessings for protection and support to use in our request to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith.
Indigenous peoples, also referred to as First peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal peoples, Native peoples, Indigenous natives, or Autochthonous peoples, are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original peoples.
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands. The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders collectively.
See also: Australian Aboriginal Culture, Australian Folklore, Australian Aboriginal Religion and Mythology, Aboriginal Proverbs, Aboriginal Words In Australian English, and Indigenous Music Of Australia
Australian blessing
May you always stand as tall as a tree,
Be as strong as the rock Uluru,
Be as gentle as the morning mist,
Hold the warmth of the sacred campfire within you,
And may the spirits of our ancestors always watch over you.
ALL: Amen
— by Elizabeth Pike
Blessing
May the God of creation warm your heart like the campfires of old
Bring wisdom and peace as shown to the first peoples of this land
Shake off the dust from the desert plains by the refreshing rains
Followed by the glow and warmth of the sun
Let the light of God show us the right path and stand tall like the big
River gums drawing life from the ever flowing waters.
— by Uncle Vince Ross
Aboriginal blessing
May our footsteps, on these ancient lands,
remind us of creation and connectedness, in our search for truth.
May the Gum Tree, from its roots to its branches,
remind us to dig deep and reach high, in our action for justice.
May the Eagle, who soars in the sky,
remind us of the power, in our call for love.
May the expanse of the lands and seas, of the sky and stars,
remind us of God’s timing in our faith in hope.
May the Holy three, Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa Jesus,
remind us of community.
So with grace, mercy, and peace, go in truth, justice, love and hope.
— By Brooke Prentis
Fire Blessing
An ancient Prayer… 40,000 years old…
Handed down through the Aboriginal culture and translated into the English language.
May the fire be in our thoughts
Making them true, good and just, may it protect us from the evil one.
May the fire be in our eyes;
May it open our eyes to share what is good in life.
We ask that the fire may protect us from what is not rightfully ours.
May the fire be on our lips,
So that we may speak the truth in kindness;
That we may serve and encourage others.
May it protect us from speaking evil.
May the fire be in our ears.
We pray that we may hear with a deep, deep listening,
So that we may hear the flow of water, and of all creation and the dreaming.
May we be protected from gossip and from things that harm and break down our family.
May the fire be in our arms and hands
So that we may be of service and build up love.
May the fire protect us from all violence.
May the fire be in our whole being –
In our legs and in our feet, enable us to walk the earth with reverence and care;
So that we may walk in the ways of goodness and truth,
And be protected from walking away from what is truth.
— By Burnum Burnum
The late Burnum Burnum, Australian Aboriginal Elder, gave this prayer to Helen Summers on January 26, 1995 (Australia Day) in New York.
Aboriginal ceremony
Aboriginal Culture Prayer
God of Holy Dreaming,
Great Creator Spirit,
from the dawn of creation
you have given your children the good things of Mother Earth.
You spoke and the gum tree grew.
In the vast desert and the dense forest,
and in the cities and at the water’s edge, creation sings your praise.
Your presence endures at the rock at the heart of our Land.
When Jesus hung on the tree you heard the cries of all your people
and became one with your wounded ones:
the convicts, the hunted, the dispossessed.
Prayer for Australia Day
God of Australia ….
We bring you our gratitude for the diversity and wealth of this land and its people;
For its weathered old mountains, fertile valleys, and vast plains;
For its riches of mine and agriculture, forest, and grazing lands;
For the first Australians, who know and love this continent with an intimate, profound sensitivity;
For the courage, vision and sacrifice of the early settlers;
For the diverse races who now call Australia home:
For these and all your gifts we offer you, O Lord, our joyful, thankful
hearts.
— Bruce Prewer
The Lord is my Stockman
Yawei, yu jis laik det brabli gudwan stakmen.
Yu oldei maindimbat mi,
En ai garram ebrijing brom yu.
Ai kaan wandim mowa
— Aboriginal Worship Song
Ana-munya Gu-ni
Ana-munya gu-ni, gun-mola gu-ni,
Gu-ngotjinga, gujayanayana,
Gatiya nipa a-bambungguna,
Waykin wenga ana-bupiyana,
Bamawa a-yuna,
Bamawa a-yuna.
Ayers Rock Northern Territory, Australia
Prayer of Aboriginal People
(For the Pope’s visit to Australia in 1986, Aboriginal people composed the following prayer for the
ceremony in Alice Springs. This prayer now is prayed by many Catholic Aboriginal groups around the
country.)
Father of all, you gave us the Dreaming.
You have spoken to us through our beliefs.
You then made your love clear to us in the person of Jesus.
We thank you for your care. You own us.
You are our hope. Make us strong as we face the problems of change.
We ask you to help the people of Australia to listen to us and respect our culture.
Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people, so that you can be at home in us and we can
make a home for everyone in our land.
Amen.
A Prayer for Healing Country
God of Mercy and Grace –
in your quest to bring about justice. You understand what it is like to persevere in an unjust society when you suffered and died on the Cross Have mercy on us.
This Land weeps in sorrow. It is filled with sadness and grief because of the atrocities of the past and present. Have mercy on us.
We yearn for conciliation and peace in this place. To yarn and listen deeply to each other with Care and Compassion.
God of Truth –
You are pure and true – we worship you for who you are. There is no one like you – for you shine in the darkness.
Enable all the peoples of this Country to desire, listen and understand the True History of this Land. For only then can we walk this journey together.
Jesus, you are the tree life. Help us to be your instruments of Truth, by the Power of your Holy Spirit.
We pray for discernment and wisdom to impart your Truth.
Deliver us from devastation and bring about Healing to Country and our communities.”
Our Healer –
May all Creation, the birds, animals, fish, trees, plants, rocks, mountains, waters, and peoples be healed to flourishing.
Strengthen us, lead us, inspire us into action, ignited by our faith in you Lord Jesus.
Help us not to lose Hope.
For it is only through justice, forgiveness and Love can there be Healing and Peace.
Amen.
— by Aunty Dr. Doseena Fergie
An Aboriginal Prayer For Truth and Hope
May the God of all wonder who set the stars in the sky,
bless you with relentless unsettledness –
that drives you to seek truth.
May the God of all justice who gave motion to the rivers,
bless you with righteous anger –
that drives you to seek freedom for all.
May the God of all love who placed laughter in the kookaburra,
bless you with the friendship –
that looks like the love where one lays down their life for another.
May the God of all comfort who determined the height of the mountains,
bless you with tears from shared pain and mourning –
that shows you hope.
Now with wonder, righteous anger, sacrifice, and lament –
Go in truth, justice, love, and hope –
to Change The Heart of Australia.
— By Brooke Prentis
Prayer for the Stolen Generations
Loving God,
We thank you for who you are and boldly come before you, knowing that you care. Knowing that you see us and have always seen us and have been with us since the beginning. Creator God, you placed Aboriginal peoples on these lands now called Australia as your chosen custodians. We thank you for the gift of knowing you, and that we have been reconciled to you through the cross. With all of creation, we worship you.
Father, you know our pain, and the injustices that our people have faced and continue to face. Your heart breaks for the Stolen Generations, for the suffering and trauma that occurred and that continues today for our children, families and communities. Our hearts grieve what has been lost, stolen and abused, and the way this impacts every aspect of our lives today. Lord, we also acknowledge and lament the New Stolen Generation, as our children are still being removed from their families at staggering rates.
Holy Spirit, we pray that you will come and bring your comfort to all those who need it. We pray that as the truth is told and acknowledged, your healing waters will flood our hearts and this nation.
We pray that families will be restored, and that families and communities will be strengthened and supported.
We pray that compensation will be given to survivors and families of the Stolen Generations.
We ask that you guide our political leaders and raise up First Nations peoples into positions of influence and leadership.
God, please protect our children who are currently in the out of home care system. May they encounter your love and peace, and have hope for the future.
Guide all people into your heart of compassion and empower us to love with actions and in truth.
In the name Jesus, our redeemer, we pray these things. Amen.
— by Bianca Manning
Aboriginal people may practice deep listening, an almost spiritual skill, based on respect.
Prayer for Indigenous Australians
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.1
Call to Prayer
Leader: Our land reflects your face, O God – Ever-ancient, always new.
All: We give thanks and praise to God.
Leader: Our land sounds with your voice, O God – calling for justice and peace.
All: We give thanks and praise to God.
Leader: Our land breathes with your life, O God – the spirit alive in your people.2
All: We give thanks and praise to God.
Understanding Culture and Faith
God of Holy Dreaming, Great Creator Spirit, from the dawn of creation you have given your children the good things of Mother Earth.
You spoke and the gum tree grew.
In the vast desert and the dense forest, and in the cities and at the water’s edge, creation sings your praise.
Your presence endures at the rock at the heart of our Land.
When Jesus hung on the tree you heard the cries of all your people and became one with your wounded ones: the convicts, the hunted, the dispossessed.
The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew, and bathed it in glorious hope.
In Jesus we have been reconciled to you, to each other and to your whole creation.
Lead us on, Great Spirit, as we gather from the four corners of the earth; enable us to walk together in trust from the
hurt and shame of the past into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.3
Reflection
We Australians are still coming to terms with the consequences of invasion, settlement and exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Among the descendants of the later arrivals is a will for reconciliation, but not if it costs. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians desire recognition that they are the original Australians, but insist that it must be accompanied by measures that give them an assured voice in shaping the policies, laws and administrative regulations that affect their lives.4
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• learn about and engage with indigenous spiritualities — Sisters of the Good Samaritan: Statement of Directions |
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I am making myself black, and taking away all that I know except that this is my country, that my father lived by pursuing the emu, the kangaroo, that I have been driven from my hunting grounds, that my children and tribe are subjected to the grossest barbarities… — John Bede Polding to the Parliamentary Committee on Aborigines, 1845 |
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We are Australians; from whatever land we or our parents have arrived from, be it Ireland, France, England, Scotland or Germany, we are no longer to be called French or Irish or Scot, but Australians…and any person who seeks by word or writing to create division is an enemy to our peace and prosperity… — John Bede Polding, 1856 |
Intercessions
We turn to our God in hope and trust:
Reader: God of love and justice, we pray for our land Australia that all who live here never lose the ancient connection to its first people. We pray:
All: Walk with us, O God towards peace and reconciliation.
Reader: God of love and justice, we pray that our political, religious and community leaders act in the interests of all the people in this land… that they walk the talk of Reconciliation. We pray:
All: Walk with us, O God towards peace and reconciliation.
Reader: God of love and justice, we pray for those who still suffer sadness because of the government policies of the past … may they be healed by us walking the talk of your Gospel command to love. We pray:
All: Walk with us, O God towards peace and reconciliation.
Reader: God of love and justice, we pray for all those who live in the cities and towns, those who live in the communities, settlements and missions, those on the islands, those in the bush, those who are far from home, those who do not know where home is, those who have been taken from their homes, those in prisons. May they all come to know your compassion and love. We pray:
All: Walk with us, O God towards peace and reconciliation.
Aboriginal Our Father
You are Our Father, you live in heaven
We talk to you, Father you are good (repeat)
We believe your Word Father
We your children, give us bread today (repeat)
We have done wrong, we are sorry
Help us Father not to sin again (repeat)
Others have done wrong to us
And we are sorry for them, Father today (repeat)
Stop us from doing wrong, Father
Save us all from the evil one (repeat)
You are Our Father, you live in heaven
We talk to you, Father you are good (repeat)5
Final Prayer
Leader: God of all, we pray for Reconciliation:
That the wrongs of the past may be recognised, That our awareness of the journey so far be awakened, And that the Spirit move us to walk the talk and see through what has been started.6
All: Amen
References
1 https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/acknowledgement-of-country
2 Sisters of the Good Samaritan, Book of Hours
3 Lenore Parker
4 Andrew Hamilton SJ
5 The Lord’s Prayer from the “Missa Kimberley”, Diocese of Broome, Western Australia.
6 https://www.cam.org.au/acmv/Reconciliation-Week
Reconciliation week Prayers
Reconciliation Prayer
Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of all things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the sufferings of Our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures
Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus
to reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another, as you love us and forgive and accept us in the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history so that we may build a better
future for our Nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land. Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities, especially the disadvantaged.
Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.
May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families, our communities and our Nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group 13 March 1997 Brisbane, Qld
National Reconciliation Prayer
Creator Spirit,
All creation once declared your glory,
Your laws were honoured and trusted,
Forgive us our neglect as our country approaches
the most critical moment in its history.
Listen to our prayer as we turn to you,
Hear the cry of our land and its people,
Just as you heard the cry of Jesus,
your Son, on the Cross.
Help us to replace our national shame
With true national pride by restoring the
dignity of our First People whose antiquity is
unsurpassed.
May our faith and trust in you increase.
Only then will our nation grow strong and be
a worthy place for all who wish to make their home in our land.
Amen.
— by Elizabeth Pike, September 1997
Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Melbourne.
The Dawn is at Hand
Dark brothers, first Australian race,
Soon you will take your rightful place
In the brotherhood long waited for,
Fringe-dwellers no more.
Sore, sore the tears you shed
When hope seemed folly and justice dead.
Was the long night weary? Look up, dark band,
The dawn is at hand.
Go forward proudly and unafraid
To your birthright all too long delayed,
For soon now the shame of the past
Will be over at last.
You will be welcomed mateship-wise
In industry and in enterprise;
No profession will bar the door,
Fringe-dwellers no more.
Dark and white upon common ground
In club and office and social round,
Yours the feel of a friendly land,
The grip of the hand.
Sharing the same equality
In college and university,
All ambitions of hand or brain.
Yours to attain.
For ban and bias will soon be gone,
The future beckons you bravely on
To art and letters and nation lore,
Fringe-dwellers no more.
— Oodgeroo of the Noonucal Tribe
Companion Prayer
Lord, we are companions on a journey
Only you Dear Lord
know the identity and depth of me
You know my hurts and pains
those frustrations I feel in this land
So please, I ask you take my hand
and comfort me
Reconcile and guide me in justice and in faith
For we’re on our way to Alice (Springs)
where you expressed your love for me
Lord, set me free
and let me be the servant I want to be
Lord, I thank you
for hearing and understanding me
For Lord, You are always on my mind
and on my lips and in my heart
And there’s simply no other way
that it could be.
— NATSICC November 2004
Redfern prayer
God of our Dreaming. Father our all Aboriginal nations in Australia. You have lived among us since time immemorial. We have always known You. You gave this land to our Aboriginal nations. You have not dispossessed us nor destroyed us.
People from other lands, who do not understand our unique culture, our unique lifestyle and our unique heritage have come and destroyed much of our way of life. Many of these people from other lands now want to understand and reconcile with us.
But for many of us Aboriginal people, we find this reconciliation business a little difficult.
Too many of our children are still in jails.
Too many of our children are still living in sub-standard housing.
Too many of our mothers are living on the streets or in refuges.
Too many of our children are still uneducated.
Too many of our children have no land and no community to go back to.
Too many of our children have not got good opportunities for good employment.
Too many of our children are living in extremely unhealthy environments.
Too many of our children are living among violence and abuse.
Too many of our children are dying to drugs and other soul-destroying substances.
God our Dreaming and Creator of our people, we sometimes feel overwhelmed by these things. Many of us feel like we are refugees in our own land.
Today we are coming together again on one of our battlegrounds to cry out to You for mercy and justice for our children, for our families and for our land.
We pray that more resources will be given to our local community organisations to help us grow healthy and strong.
We pray that the peoples from other lands will be given a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone so that they can understand us and support us properly.
We pray that your Spirit will help and encourage us to grow good strong Aboriginal leaders.
Father we want to grow strong and healthy again in our own land. We want to take our rightful place in our land and make our contribution to the re-building of our families, our communities and our nation.
Please hear our cries for justice. We ask these mercies in the name of Your Son.
Amen.
— Pastor Ray Minniecon, 2009