Prayer for the First Sunday in Lent

Lord on this first Sunday in Lent
we come praying to you from the deserts of our lives.
For some of us it is a painful wilderness.
For some it is a wild and creative place,
For some it is a silent beauty.
Lord we pray for your guidance,
presence and shelter
as we journey this days of Lent.
Help us to deal with temptation,
Keep us from falling into our old traps,
And deliver us from the evil one.

Lord we lift up to you those with illnesses,
those with unmet needs,
those with financial problems,
t hose with brokenness in their lives.
May your tender loving mercy be poured into their lives
into the places it is most needed like warm soothing salve.

Lord we pray our communities where hardship is present,
where there are the homeless,
where there is traumatic violence,
where there are job losses and fear.
Pour your tender mercy into our communities
so that they may have justice that rolls down like water.

Lord we pray for our country with the divisions,
discontentment,
financial problems abound,
pour your tender loving mercy into our nation
healing and redeeming us.

Lord we pray for our world where there is starvation,
poverty, ongoing war,
slavery and abuse of power,
pour your tender loving mercy into our world
so that your Kingdom may come and your will be done.
Amen.

painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Temptation of Christ (1308-10)