Prayers For The Week 17

 ‘Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

 Do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

 When they carry out their wicked schemes.’  (Psalm 37: 7)

So often the tide of darkness sweeps over the earth.  

Plans that will be hurtful to others.

Policies that will benefit only the privileged.

Promises made without commitment to see them through.

Pleas for food, housing, and justice that will remain unheard.

But the ancient voice of faith calls us to be still before the Lord, to resist the pull into darkness and to wait patiently.

So
we pray for grace to acknowledge Your control over all, to trust in your ways, to be sure within ourselves that love, justice and peace will not sleep forever.

And may it begin in us.  

For too often we have added to the darkness with our words, our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions.  

Forgive us.

As we wait for the Lord let this be combined with our commitment to let our lives reflect your love, your goodness, your justice.  

We thank you for your Church

Where we have heard the story of Jesus,

Where faithful people have shown the love of Christ to those on need.

We thank you especially for those now at rest who were faithful to the end and have left us with an example of commitment and perseverance.

We pray that your Church throughout the world would never be in disarray because of human prejudice and that barriers overcome in christ would never be reinforced.

We pray for the world that no one would ever be disadvantaged because of race, faith, gender or class.

We pray for our nation that we might have your perspective on the things that divide us and learn to appreciate the things that unite us.  

We pray for those who suffer intolerance and pray that they would find strong in the One who was despised and rejected.  

We pray for those known to us whose quality of life has been affected by pain, anxiety, bereavement and ask that the Holy Spirit would be close to reassure and revitalise.  

Prayers For The Week 16

We come to you, O Father, Creator of our lives.

We come to sing your praises for blessings you provide.

You give us strength in weakness, you give us hope in pain,

You give your truth to bring us back to your will again.

You never will forsake us, your grasp of us is sure,

Your purpose is to cleanse us until our lives are pure.

 

We come to you, O Jesus, the Saviour of our lives.

We come to sing your praises, our Brother and our Guide.

You came to live amongst us, to share our joy and tears,

You healed the body broken and calmed the mind in fear.

Your death has brought forgiveness, new life for those who fall

Your triumph over death is shared with those who hear your call.

 

We come to you, O Spirit, the Power in our lives.

We come to sing your praises, God’s Presence by our side. 

You come to help us worship, to raise our spirits high,

You come to show us clearly where paths of service lie.

Reveal the truth of Christ to us and form in us His mind!

Bring forth the love and peace of Christ to share with all mankind!

Lord God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to you be praise and glory for ever. We rejoice, Father, that in your great love you sent your one and only Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. We ask that your Church may always witness to your presence and your love and that you will guide all preachers of your word so that they may lead your people to know and to love you. We ask you to continue to bless Fergus in his ministry to us here at St. Paul’s and Baldernock.                                                                                           

We bring to your love the suffering and sorrow of our world. We pray for all who are scorned or rejected and who suffer from the cruelty and wickedness of others. We remember those living in areas of war and violence and suffering attacks on their communities, such as the peoples of Israel and Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and so many other countries. We ask your blessing on the efforts of all individuals and organisations working for peace and reconciliation and providing help for those in need.  Give wisdom to those responsible for combating the pandemic so that good decisions are made, especially in countries like India. We pray for those who have lost loved ones and for all who are ill at home, in care homes or in hospitals. May they be comforted and supported. We remember people involved in accidents or acts of cruelty and violence this week. We bring before you all who live in fear or feel that they can no longer cope with life. We ask your blessing on doctors, nurses, care and social workers, teachers, police officers, members of the emergency services and all on whose caring and commitment we depend.  

 Finally we thank you for our loved ones and friends, for those who enrich our lives through their goodness and example. You love them more than we can ever do and you know their deepest needs, and we pray that you will bless and protect them. We ask you to help us through your Holy Spirit to keep close to you in the coming week, Amen.        

Thanks to Robin Easton for the prayers for others.