Sunday Prayer: Our New Home

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Prayer for P 16C / O 21C / P +14

Lord as we come before you today in prayer and worship, We are ever mindful that we have been created by your Lord. You knew us even before we were born. Sometimes we forget that Lord and go about our days thinking of ourselves as just a lump of clay. But according to your word we are much more than a lump of clay. We are your children. We are the ones you have called to speak your word to all people. We are the ones you have called to open the doors for justice in our world. We are the ones you have called to feed the hungry. We are the ones you have called to pour your healing oil on aching and hurting persons. So Lord we pray for your forgiveness of all our sins. We pray for healing of our diseases.. We pray for the redemption of us all. We pray that you crown us with love and mercy. We pray you wrap us in your goodness. We pray you that you renew us. We pray that you make everything right in this world. We pray you put victims back on their feet. We pray for the healing of the brokenhearted. We pray for healing of our broken world. Amen cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer for Proper 15C / Ordinary 20C / Pentecost +13

God, of all song and dance, You sung your creation into being long ago You sung songs of love to those who would listen. You have kept singing your heart song. Lord today sing your song today to those of us listening to you as we prepare to lead worship and preach your word. Sing your song to those who come to worship, Sing your song to those in their hospital rooms, their homes and nursing homes. Sing your songs to those on the streets looking for work some food and shelter. May your creation hear your song and dance to the tune. May your people hear your song and dance joyously to you. May hearts sing along, May hearts who forgot the song, begin to remember the words and music. May the ones who ears have been deaf to you hear your song and come alive. May your song stir a newness of life in us all. Sing once a gain your song of love …. cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer for Proper 14C / Ordinary 19C / Pentecost +12

Dear God, This is your little flock, Sometimes we are afraid Sometimes we are afraid, because we still feel like little children in this big world. Sometimes we are afraid because we listen to the media too much about just how bad and wrong things are in this world. We forget to listen to you and put our trust in you. We forget that we have put our heart with you and that our treasure is with you. Remind us, encourage us, and empower us. We want to be your little flock in this world that is generous and gives to the poor. We want to stay ready as we await your return. We wait faithfully for you Lord. In the meantime may we hold up in faith those who are in the midst of suffering, crisis, death and dying. May we bring hope to those who feel their circumstances are hopeless. May we show grace and mercy to those who are in need. May we love those who feel unloved. Let it be said of us that we are your church, your little flock, your beloved. Amen

Prayer for P 13C / O 18C / P +11

God, Help us as resurrected believers to keep our minds on you. Strengthen us to put away our old ways that keep us from focusing on you. Enable us to see with your eyes. Empower us to act as you would act. Dress us in your custom made wardrobe for our lives. Remind us that you love everyone and that all are included in your world including us. (Add your own prayers of the people.) cross posted at revabi's long and winding road

Sunday Prayer (Pentecost 10C, Proper 12)

Living God, Merciful Christ,

we turn and return to you

trusting that our prayers are not in vain.

Yours is the steadfast love we cling to, and

yours the voice we long to hear.

Attune the ears of our hearts

to your call, even

as we bend your ear and

whisper our prayers to your holy heart.

Be pleased to show your mercy

to those who are sick and those in pain,

to those who are dying,

to those who are weary and discouraged,

to those who live in places of violence or despair,

to those who feel they can scarcely breathe.

Comfort each one by your presence.

Do not leave us, your children,

to live without hope.

You name us, you call us out,

you incite us toward a purpose beyond ourselves.

Bless us with a glimpse of your vision, we ask,

so that our work in this life

may be encouraged.

Bring us fully to life and make us bold in faith

as we remain rooted in your goodness.

Trace our prayers with your grace, O God Most High;

this we cry in Jesus' name. Amen.

Sunday Prayer (Pentecost 9C, Proper 11)

Holy and gracious God,

The summer fruit is ripening, the heat is sweltering, the cornstalks are stretching high, and the pavement is causing the air to dance in heat waves.* As we wipe away the sweat and pray for mercy from the sun, we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

Our lives are full and busy. We are running to work, dashing to meetings, gathering for holidays and for protests and for meals, scrolling in a rush through phones and tv channels and websites, adding new books to our readings lists, hurrying to go on vacation, pressing our schedules to include hobbies and rest. As we breathe in this moment, hovering on one webpage for one minute, we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

We cannot avoid your judgment over the earth, though we have tried not to hear your voice in the outcries of those in poverty who are counting every penny to eat, those in legal limbo who are detained and left to be forgotten, those who are scolded for seeking justice from war, rape, murder. We prefer to hear your voice in church instead of on the street, but we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

We pray for your work of reconciliation and wholeness in this world, that it come "soon and very soon."** We pray that you are able to make use of us, and that we will mature in our understanding of how to join your work without complaining, how to be unafraid in learning & listening, how to fear you and love one another. We remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone. Amen.

*Adapt to describe the seasonal dynamics in your location.
**"Soon And Very Soon" by Andrae Crouch.

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.

Sunday Prayer (Pentecost 7C, Proper 9)

Our Sovereign, our Savior:
We praise your holy name
(your above-all-else-ness)
and we rejoice in your humanity
(your demonstration of the possibilities of dust).
Lead us in the ways of interdependence:
in our daily lives and personal ambitions,
in our corporate living and national pride,
in our congregational life and faith journeys.
Teach us again the humility of healing
and the total commitment of weeping.
We pray for deep & holy joy in the mornings:
for a dawning of hope
not only in our own lives
but in the lives of those we love,
in the lives of our sisters & brothers in other nations,
in the lives of those who are unsettled from their homes.
Be ever a source of comfort and renewal, we pray,
and give us strength to your glory. Amen.

Prayer for Proper 8C / Ordinary 13C / Pentecost +6

Lord,

We thank you for our freedom that we celebrate today.

We thank you for our forefathers and foremothers
who worked to set us free.
We pray for those who are not yet free
 that they too may one day be at liberty.
We pray for those who have fought to obtain their freedom.

 

But let us not forget that we have an even greater freedom,

 that comes to us through your son Jesus.
Let us not turn to our selfish desires.
But rather let us live in the spirit, walk in the spirit
with lives that show the fruit of the spirit.
May we treat each other with the love, patience, g
goodness, gentleness, and kindness that comes from you.
May we be faithful to you.
May we master self -control.

 

May the spirit lead us in our days.

Lord sometimes our days are like whirlwinds full of activities,
 meetings, and business.
We don’t know whether we are coming or going,
And we need a double portion of Elijah’s and Elisha’s spirit to make it.
Slow us down, focus us, make us to rest in you.
May we find our peace and joy in you.
Thank you again for our freedom. Amen.


cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer for Proper 7C / Ordinary 12C / Pentecost +5

Oh God our Rock and Strong Deliverer,


We often wonder where you are when we go through troubling times.
It often feels like you are not here that you are more far away from us.
We can’t see you, we can’t feel you and we can’t hear you.
Sometimes we think you will speak to us in a loud voice, and sometimes you do.
Sometimes we think you have to make your appearance in some form of huge supernatural event,
And sometimes you do.
Sometimes we think you have to hit us over the head with a two by four since we can be so stubborn,
And you do find a way to get our attention.
And sometimes we forget that you speak to us through the silence and so just for a moment we sit silently waiting for you to speak…..
And as our hearts calm down and our breath becomes deeper and slower
We focus on you and can hear you…..
And as the tension in our body begins to relax as we give it over to you we are calmer
And can hear you in the midst of the silence…..


And we feel closer to you, filled with your love and grace as we breathe in your goodness into our lives
And as we listen to you…..
We feel we are wrapped in your arms and yet free to move about
And we hear you in a new way……
You enable us to then love the unloved, take away the negative labels from people, see them as you see them, love them as you love them……
We are empowered to reach out to those who are the unseen, the wounded, the lonely, the outcasts, just as your son reached out so long ago to those considered unclean….
And we are given a voice to tell others of what you have done for us and what you will do for them.


And Lord we now pray for those in our lives who are sick, homebound, in nursing homes, and rehabs…
We pray for those who are grieving…….
We pray for those who deal with mental illnesses, addictions, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic illnesses…..
We pray for all these and more your son taught us to pray…….

cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer for Proper 6C / Ordinary 11C / Pentecost +4

God of our fathers and of our mothers,

We pray to you today for our fathers; fathers who were present, fathers who were absent, fathers who showed us love, fathers who did not show us love, fathers who taught us well, fathers who didn’t teach at all, fathers who held us in their arms, fathers who abused us, fathers who tried hard to be good fathers, and fathers who didn’t try at all. The list goes on of the different kinds of fathers we have all had and we have been ourselves.  Most of all, we are grateful that you are the father of us all, a father who loves, cares, is always present, who forgives us and holds us in your arms. We all need that kind of father.

We pray today for all of us who are like the woman who crashed the Pharisee’s dinner party and anointed you. We break open our alabaster jar of sweet oil as we cry tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of years of pain, and tears of sin poured out on your feet. Accept our offering of love and gratitude for your forgiving us, welcoming us and loving us.

We pray today for all of us who are like Simon the Pharisee, who are caught by religion, eyes of judgment, hearts of stone, and voices of criticism of ourselves and others. We pray father that you would set us free by your forgiveness, love and mercy.

We pray today for all of us who are like the women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. We thank you that we get to be there with you, follow you and give out of our resources especially out of who we are.  We thank you that you have healed, cured us, set us free, forgiven us, welcome us and love us.

cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Sunday Prayer for Proper 5C / Ordinary 10C / Pentecost +3

Gracious God,

Here we are your children coming before your throne of mercy.

We pray for healing and restoration for those devastated by the tornadoes, wildfires and flooding.

We pray for those that are sick and need your healing touch.

We pray for those who have experienced loss this week, may thy be comforted in their grieving.

We pray for our churches and our communities.

We pray for our leaders that you would endow them wisdom

We pray for countries where war continues may your peace and good will come.

May your kingdom come into our lives and into world.

Sunday prayer for Proper 4C / Ordinary 9C / Pentecost +2

On this holy day we do worship and adore you.

We bring our praises of love to you.

We bring our hopes our dreams our visions of a better world and of a new tomorrow created by.

We bring our faith in you when it seems hard to have faith.

We seek you in the midst of our sorrows, our illnesses, our broken bodies.

We seek you in the midst of mighty winds of destruction, winds of war, winds of gossip and rumors,;

We bring ourselves today as your servants to bring your good news to others.

May your love reign in our hearts.

Sunday Prayer (Trinity Sunday)

O Blessed Mystery,

O Triune Puzzle,

grant us the wisdom

to be at peace with questions

rather than contriving explanations.

We strive to prove ourselves

with a show of truth,

but the glory of Wisdom --

of One who sang the distant stars into being

and who rocks the earth's foundation

to sleep after its long nightmare --

the glory of Wisdom is yours,

without our vain desire for answers.

Now bless us, we pray,

in our uncertainties. Teach us

the peace of the oceans' limitations.

We would strive to measure you as Three;

turn our calculating hearts instead to recognize

the immeasurable length of your grace.

We are yours by your delight,

and we are grateful!

Sunday Prayer (Pentecost)

Rush upon us.

Overtake and consume us,
O Holy Fire,

until divisions turn to dusty ashes

and walls of pride collapse.

Spill out over us.

Surround and overwhelm us,

O Satisfying Fountain,

until we waste love's richness

without measuring cost.

Dance among us.

Well up and erupt within us,

O Dynamic Word,

until our tongues know words of peace

and our souls speak reconciliation.

Sunday Prayer (Easter 7C with Ascension)

If you're willing to tolerate the 80s song reference, O LORD, I would pray:

Love, lift us up.

Lift us up to be with you,

for we are longing for the reassurance

of your presence in our lives.

Lift us up to be with you,

because we need the courage

to live boldly as your witnesses.

Love, lift us up to be with you,

because the world is dying for your wisdom

to bring about reconciliation in the world.

Lift us up to be with you,

for the markets claw at our souls

and the powers-that-be threaten us into despair.

Lift us up to be with you,

where fire and lightening burst with praise

and Light chases the shadows into submission.

Holy Love, lift us up!

Sunday Prayer (Easter 6C)

Gracious God, Beautiful Light,

with the whole host of heaven

we declare your goodness!

We lean on your steadfast love

as we plead: come and help us.

We are scrambling for peace

but finding chaos,

searching for blessing

but overwhelmed by trouble.

Interrupt our worries with a vision

of purpose and delight.

Lead us to the waters of healing

amidst the work of our days,

throughout our rest,

and in our dreaming.

Open our hearts to know

your presence among us

and in each person we meet.

Bless us, to your glory we pray. Amen.

(cross-posted at Faith and Water)

Easter 5 C Sunday Prayer

Oh God who created all things including humans, we praise your name for you faithfulness.

We praise you just as all of the creatures of the earth sing your praise.

We look forward to that day when we live with you in our eternal home.

In the meantime come make your home in us.

Come into our neighborhoods, our work places, our schools.

Come live in us Lord.

We await the day when every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more grieving.

In the meantime Lord, wipe our tears when we do mourn our losses, like those in West Texas after the explosion.

We look for the day when there will be no more sickness, in the meantime when we are ailing bring your healing touch to our lives.

We look for the day when all things will be new,

 in the meantime renew our tired land, our old falling down housing, our broken systems, our empty spaces of worship and our aging bodies.

We await that day Lord, when your justice, your love, your mercy rules and thy kingdom has come.

Amen

cross posted at A Place for Prayer and revabi's long and winding road

Sunday Prayer for Easter 4C

Lord,

You are our Shepherd,

Jesus said he was the Good Shepherd.

But God if you are the good Shepherd, why?

Why must we be so violent? Is it because we don’t trust you as our good shepherd?

Where are you if you are the good shepherd?

Its not just in Boston or New York that people are killed by bombs

Its everywhere God.

It doesn't much feel like green pastures or still waters.

But we need you to make us lie down in green pastures and to lead us beside the still waters.

We all need green pastures and still waters to sooth our souls.

Lord we walk through some dark valleys now with the violence in the world.

We walk through our own dark valleys of death, illnesses, crisis, hardships, and tough times.

We want to believe and to not fear evil, but God sometimes we do fear.

How can this world feel safe if you can even run in a race or

walk in a run/walk event anymore without worrying if there is a bomb planted at the finish line.

We aren't always sure you are there right beside us.

But Lord we all need you right there beside us, guiding us, protecting us and comforting us.

God, our Shepherd we need you to prepare a feast for all of us,

Especially all who are hungry.

We need you to anoint our heads with your oil.

We need goodness and mercy to follow us all our days instead of the hatred, badness, mistreatment,

Bullying, and harming one another.

We all need to live in the house of the LORD our whole life long for there we find peace, your peace that overcomes that which is mean, violent and hard in this world.

Wait a minute Lord it’s us you need to bring the goodness and mercy, peace and reconciliation

into this world.

It’s us that you need to work toward justice and nonviolence so that we can have shalom in this world.

It’s us that need to prepare the feast for all and homes for the homeless.

But God, we want to remain safe and secure.

We don’t want to go to help change the world.

We are afraid.

We don’t want to be the ones you called to go into all the world and make disciples.

Lord forgive us, encourage us, equip us, and yes, send us Lord to change our world.

And Lord go with us as the Good Shepherd of the world.

based on Psalm 23

cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road and revgalprayerpals