Sunday Prayer (Pentecost 8C, Proper 10)

Lord, listen to your children praying;
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.*

We are gathered in your presence, Most High God,
longing for a word of healing and restoration.
Please take your place among us as
the Source of Comfort for the crying,
the Spirit of Eagle's Wings for the exhausted,
and the Fierce Salve of Justice for the persecuted.

Lord, listen to your children praying;
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

At times we fear, O merciful God, that hope and reconciliation
are merely pipe-dreams of faith, that your abundance
cannot surmount life's hardships.
We long to be rescued from trouble;
we hope not to be troubled by your rescue.
Insist that we join with you in working for Love each day.

Lord, listen to your children praying;
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

We hold out to you those times when we fail one another.
We hold out to you our fears and biases.
We hold out to you our plea
that you will remain faithful in being God, despite our failures.
O God our God, do not satisfy us today, but
urge us on to live as neighbors to one another.

Lord, listen to your children praying;
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.
Lord, listen to your children praying;
send us love, send us power, send us grace.

*Lyrics and tune by Ken Medema.