Prayers and Sayings for Mothers and Children

For expectant mothers

From the heights, the spirit star
In the circle, the creative power of the sun
From the depths, the striving power of God
Give to the human embryo
Blessing, healing, enlivening
The temple of the body.

From the freely reigning light of the spirit
In love-giving soul power
Through faithfulness, sanctified willingness to sacrifice
Man creates for the human child
The nourishment of the body
The becoming of the soul
The earthly future of the divine creature.

Worlds sacrifice
Spirits bless
The will of the self works
Salvation to the spirit-blessed
Word-animated
God-born
Son of Man.

Undatable

For the mother

Before birth

And the soul of the child,
May it be given to me
According to your will
From the spiritual worlds.

After birth

And the soul of the child,
May it be guided by me
According to your will
Into the spiritual worlds.

Undated

To speak of the mother for the child

May light flow into you that can take hold of you.
I accompany its rays with my love and warmth,
I think with my best joyful thoughts
Of the stirrings of your heart.
They shall strengthen you,
They shall carry you,
They shall clarify you

I would like to gather in your life steps
My joyful thoughts,
So that they may connect With your will to live
And he may find strength in the whole world
More and more through himself.

Undated

Children's prayers

For younger children

In the morning

I see the sun
I think of God's spirit
I move my hand
God's soul lives in me
I take a step
God's will walks in me.
And when I see a person
God's soul lives in them.
And so it also lives
In animals and plants and stones.
No fear can reach me
When I think of God's spirit
When I live God's soul
When I walk in God's will.

1908/09

In the evening

From head to toe
I am God's image
From my heart to my hands
I feel God's breath
When I speak with my mouth
I follow God's will
When I see God
Everywhere, in mother, father,
In all dear people
In animals and flowers
In trees and stones,
Fear gives me nothing
Only love for everything
That is around me.

1908/09

Table Prayer

Plants germinate in the night of the earth
Herbs sprout through the power of the air
Fruits ripen through the power of the sun

So the soul germinates in the shrine of the heart
So the power of the spirit sprouts in the light of the world
So the power of man ripens in God's light.

1908/09

The light of the sun floods
The vastness of space,
The singing of birds echoes
Through the realms of the air,
The blessing of plants germinates
The creatures of the earth,
And human souls rise
In feelings of gratitude
To the spirits of the world.

1910

Powers of light carry me
into the house of the spirit.

1910

Many beings live around me
Many things surround me
In all of them I want to see
How God of the world
Wants to speak to me
and all people.
In my heart too
God of the world speaks
And speaks best
When I can love
All people and all beings.

Prayer for Hannchen Hagemann
May 10, 1912

Evening Bell Prayer

Admire beauty
Protect truth
Worship nobility
Decide on goodness:
It leads people
To goals in life
To right actions
To peace in feeling
To light in thinking;
And teaches them to trust
In divine providence
In all that is
In the universe
In the depths of the soul.

For 7-year-old Pierre Grosheintz
1913

The human eye rejoices
In the light of the shining sun
So let the soul also rejoice
In the spirit of God, which lives in all things
As the invisible sun,
Which shines lovingly on every being.

With heartfelt remembrance
Paul Helmuth on May 2, 1914
Dr. Rudolf Steiner
For Paul Helmuth v. Bethusy-Huc on his 11th birthday, on a photograph

Like the blossom and fruit,
Ripened by the spirit of the sun,
Detaching itself from the plant stem;
So the light blossom of truth arises
From the soul stem of man,
Well cared for by the divine good.
Therefore, every good person strives for truth
Just as the plant must strive for light
If it does not want to wither before blooming.

For 11-year-old Jan Lagutt
Autumn 1914

November 21, 1916
This, my dear Hansi
Write into your soul:

That with a joyful gaze
I see the ray of the sun
Which falls from the round roof
Of a spiritually consecrated building
Into my eyes:
Those who love me in my circle
In the first seven years of my life
Greet it lovingly.

That I may learn many right things
With a diligent mind,
And, following the true word of the spirit,
The power of the soul carries me
In a good human life:
Those who love me in my circle,
In the second seven years of my life
Wish it lovingly.

Rudolf Steiner
For Jean (Hansi) Grosheintz on his 7th birthday

Morning Prayer

Sun, you shine above my head,
Stars, you shine above the fields and cities,
Animals, you move and stir on Mother Earth,
Plants, you live through the power of the earth and sun,
Stones, you strengthen animals and plants
And me, the human being,
In whose head and heart
Lives in my head and heart,
Who with God's power
Walks through the world.

For the children of the Heisler family
June 2, 1919

Evening Prayer

My heart gives thanks
That my eyes may see,
That my ears may hear,
That I may feel while awake
In mother and father,
In all dear people,
In stars and clouds:
God's light,
God's love,
God's being,
Which protect me while I sleep, Shining
Loving
Granting grace.

For the children of the Heisler family
June 2, 1919

On November 21, 1919

In my thoughts lives the resolution:
That the man's ability within me
May grow into the right life's work.
In learning and striving for this
I will not slacken.

In my will lives the feeling:
That much to be accomplished in life
Is man's true earthly goal;
And all of life's blossoming power
Must grow from the roots of diligence.

When I am grown up one day,
Then I will see how true
Such thoughts and feelings
Are in youth;
And how strongly they carry us through life.

Rudolf Steiner
With heartfelt birthday greetings to Hansi Grosheintz
On his 10th birthday

The light of the sun
Brightens the day
After a dark night:
The soul's power
It has awakened
From the peace of sleep:
You, my soul
Be grateful to the light
It shines in it
The power of God;
You, my soul
Be ready for action.

1919

David:

The sun sends
Light to the earth
The spirit of God
It shines brightly
In the sunlight
The plants drink
The sunlight
So they grow
In fields and mountains
As God's work.

And man too
He carries in his heart
And soul God
And his hands
Move
Through God's spirit
I love him
The spirit of God
In my heart and hands
In the sun and moon.

Draft

The sun sends
Its light to the earth,
The spirit of God
It shines brightly
In the sunlight.

The plants drink
The sunlight,
So they grow
In fields and meadows
And are the beloved children
Of God's spirit.

And humans carry
In their hearts and souls
The spirit of God,
In their hands
The spirit of God works.
I love the spirit of God
Because it lives in me.

ca. 1919

The sun gives
Light to the plants,
Because the sun
Loves the plants.
So the light of the soul
Is given by one person to another,
When he loves them.

1919

I look into the world of stars —
I understand the brilliance of the stars,
When I can see in it
God's wise guidance of the world.
I look into my own heart —
I understand the beating of the heart
When I can feel in it
God's benevolent guidance of human beings.
I understand nothing of the brilliance of the stars
And also nothing of the beating of the heart
When I do not see and feel God.
And God has guided my soul
Into this life;
He will guide it to ever new life:
So says he who can think correctly.
And every year that one continues to live
Speaks more of God and the eternity of the soul.

For 9-year-old Herbert Kleinhans
August 9, 1920

Baptismal verse

The light of your thinking,
It begins to shine
On your path through life.
I want to guide it thoughtfully
Into the stream of your mind.

The warmth of your feelings,
It begins to flow
On the foundation of your life.
I want to guide it thoughtfully
Into the fabric of your soul.

The power of your will,
It begins to work
In the limbs of your life.
I will guide it thoughtfully
Into your entire human being.

For Jürgen Dietrich Goyert
August 2, 1920

Brenda:

From head to toe
I am God's child;
And I love God
In all things:
In stone and plant,
In animal and human;
In stars and clouds,
In sun and moon.
In my heart
God also lives,
I want to follow him
In all my actions.

For Brenda Binnie
1921

From head to toe
Through heart and hand
I am God's child
In sun and moon
In stars and stones
I feel God's power
In father and mother
In all dear people
God's will lives in me.
So I too want
As God's child
Through God's power
According to God's will
To live and speak
And do what I should
Faithfully to God.

Undated

From head to toe
I am God's child
In my heart and soul
I am God's child
In cloud and wind
I feel God's power
In stone, animal, and plant
I see God's nature
And in father, mother
And in all dear people
I feel God's goodness.

For Gordon Grey, aged about 8
1922

Above stands the sun
It gives me dear light
In the light God gives me
The noble power of life
And God's power
It shines everywhere
In every stone
In all plants
In animals and people.

And even if
In my heart
Love can dwell
Then God's power
Also draws into me.
The high power of God
That Christ has given to people
On earth.

For 9-year-old Sandroe Stoughton
Ilkley, August 12, 1923

The light makes visible
Stone, plant, animal, and human
The soul makes alive
Head, heart, hand, and foot.

The light rejoices
When stones shine
Plants bloom Animals run
And humans work.

So the soul should rejoice
When the heart expands warmly,
Thoughts sprout lightfully
Conscious will works.

November 1923

Plants germinate
In the ground,
The sun draws them
Out of darkness
Into the light:
So goodness germinates
In the human heart
It draws the soul
Out of spiritual reasons
the power of striving.

November 1923

Plants sprout in the earth
Rain pours down from the heavens
Love sprouts in human hearts
Wisdom pours into human spirits.

Undated

Children's Prayer

As the sun in the sky
Sends light to the earth every day,
So shall my soul every day
Admonish itself to do what is right;
That I may become a whole human being:
Body, soul, and spirit
For time and eternity.

April 5, 1924

Many stars in the sky
Speak of the beauty of the spirit;
The sun in outer space
Speaks of the power of the spirit;
The moon in the darkness of night
Speaks of the ways of the spirit.

Rudolf Steiner
Goetheanum, December 4, 1924
For 7-year-old Sarah Spock-Jordy

Inge:

Who makes the plants bloom?
That is God's wisdom.
Who lets people live?
That is God's love.
Who lets the sun revolve?
That is God's power.
Who lets the clouds drift?
That is God's will.

And so live in me
In the depths of my heart:
God's wisdom
God's love
God's power
God's will
That I may become
Thinking
Loving
Strong
Good.

For 10-year-old Ingeborg Goyert
1924

Divine soul power dwells in my heart,
Divine spirit light dwells in my head,
Divine will power dwells in my hands.
I must never forget this.

Undated

With my eyes
I behold the world
God's beautiful world
And my heart must give thanks
That it may live
In this world of God
That I may awaken
In the brightness of the day
And at night I may rest
In God's bliss.

Undated