Prayer for Sunday Proper 16A/Ordinary 21A/Pentecost +10

Lord God,
We come to you in humble awe of who you are.
We worship you this morning with songs and voice and now with prayers.
We adore you with our love, praises and thanksgiving.
We thank you for all you are doing in and through your church.
Churches that were once dying are now alive and growing.
Churches that had become unhealthy are now healthy again.
Churches that had become turned inward are now turned outward.
Churches that were inhospitable that have become inviting and hospitable.
Lord God,
We thank you for what you are doing in our own lives.
Growing us to be mature in our faith.
Growing us to be more like Jesus.
Growing us to be loving of others and especially the unloved.

And Lord we come bringing our petitions for those in need.
We now pray for those in our midst who need healing, in the hospital, home recovering, in rehabilitation, those waiting for results of tests.
We pray for those who are grieving today may they be comforted, re-find their way, be strengthened and encouraged.
We pray for those who are in financial distress, facing foreclosure, loss of job, long-term unemployment. May their prayers be heard, jobs found, ease of finances, and the ability to pay their bills.

And Lord we come brining our prayers for our communities, our countries and the nations,
It feels as if we live in tumultuous times everywhere.
Everywhere the economies are in dire straits, bringing other problems with it.
There is rioting, protests, fighting, in every country even our own.
There are famines, food scarcities, medical supplies shortages, high unemployment, the list could go on.
It appears that sometimes the nation’s leaders seem helpless or powerless.
Lord we need you to intervene in our world to put right the wrong, to guide our leaders, to relieve the suffering and pain and to offer real hope to the world.

Lord, we believe that if it had not been for you bringing the Israelites out of captivity from Egypt, they would have been destroyed.
We believe our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
We believe that we all are one body of Christ working in this world, in ministry to this world.
We believe that on the rock you are building your church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

You gave us the keys of the kingdom of heaven to have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven.
Let us then be your church in this world.


cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road and a place of prayer