Prayers of the People/Intercession on the World
Holy Spirit, Come Again
Plain text is for one voice. Bold text is for all voices.
Holy Spirit, come again as cleansing fire,
Burn away all that is false and fruitless
Come, Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come again as guiding fire,
Light the way through our wilderness
Come, Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come again as refining fire,
Purifying our words, our ways, and our hearts
Come, Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come again as prophetic fire,
Rouse us to courage and action
Come, Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come again as unifying fire,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Come, Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, come again as empowering fire,
Dance on your people, no matter the label
Inspire your gifts in us
Send us to bless and change the world.
Come, Holy Spirit
The prayer can end here, or with the Lord’s prayer.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus,
the One who promised to send you, and who taught us to pray,
Our Father…
Holy Spirit, Come Again © 2011 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Lord of Hope and God of all that’s new—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We’re filled with wonder, gratitude, and joy inspired by the gifts of new life You freely give us. There’s the joy and wonder of every new day, that calls to mind Your resurrection with each rising sun. There’s the joy and wonder of the new beginnings that come with marriage.
There’s the joy and wonder of the living miracle of birth. And we’re moved by the wonder and joy of mature love seen in decades of marriage—the kind of love that echoes Your ever-faithful love for us: so we thank You for your steadfast love and faithfulness.
We pray for newly married couples and for every married couple here, that you provide grace—for hard times that will come; mutual forgiveness, understanding, patience, and the willingness to change ourselves and not our partners as we grow and mature in our love. We pray for all of us who are parents and grandparents, new and old, asking for you to give us patience with ourselves as well as our children; and wisdom to know when to speak and what to say, as well as to know when not to speak but just listen.
Sovereign Lord: we pray for our world, Your world—that peace would displace war, health replace sickness, contentment replace hunger and thirst, understanding replace suspicion, compassion replace apathy, hope replace despair, and that Your Good News would be heard, known, and understood in every community, bringing hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.
For Your church—pressed on every side to conform to the pattern of this world rather than the shape of Your Kingdom, and to abandon Your Word’s clear teaching rather than stay faithful to the Truth: we pray that Your Spirit’s power would strengthen us for living the Gospel, equip us to declare the Good News, unite us to demonstrate the Truth and enable us, as Your followers, to be more like You, Jesus, since we are your Body on earth. These are our prayers, offered in the name of Jesus our Lord. AMEN
Father–nothing escapes your notice, is beyond your care or too hard for you to take on, whether it concerns nations or individuals. You have a heart for all the world–not just our little piece of it. So we pray for your world: may your truth and justice, righteousness and compassion guide elections not only in our own country–but also in other parts of the world.
In places convulsed by conflict–bring a just and lasting peace. We pray for those who serve you as cross-cultural missionaries. Keep them faithful to your truth and your ways; enable them to effectively share the Good News of your Son Jesus. For all Christian churches, and for this church, we pray you will lead us.
And where you guide, provide resources to do your will and witness well to the new life you give in Jesus. Give our leaders a kingdom vision, godly wisdom, and risk-taking faith to lead where you call us to go. We ask you to comfort the grieving–whether the loss is recent or long ago. Console them with the assurance of eternal life and the hope of the resurrection.
In addition, we place in your strong hands, your compassionate hands, your healing hands, those who are sick or injured, recuperating from or anticipating surgery, and those in treatment or therapy–heal them, Lord. Heal bodies in pain, and minds that are disturbed. Free the addicted and restore the depressed. Heal broken emotions and broken bones. And especially, heal our loved ones. And, Lord, strengthen and encourage their caregivers. Thy will be done! This is our prayer, offered in the strong name of Jesus. AMEN
Great God our Father, Savior and Holy Spirit: Our hearts are filled with gratitude for your grace and faithfulness. Thank you for caring about those who we care about–for those who are sick or injured, recovering or anticipating surgery: heal them, Lord, to their joy and your glory; and for those who grieve: comfort them with your presence and the hope of eternal life in Christ.
Thank you for caring about our world that is really your world–a world bent on rejecting You by turning instead to violence, power, wealth, pleasure, and self-interest to try and find meaning, hope and peace.
May your people truly be salt which flavors and preserves a tasteless, decaying world with the truth of the gospel lived and proclaimed. Thank you for caring about your church–not perfect, but yours nonetheless. Help us to see what you see in our families, our community, region, nation and world. May our hearts break over what breaks your heart.
May we laugh when you laugh and weep when you weep. Give us vision, and with it, the wisdom to understand your mission and the energy to faithfully carry it out, now and always. And thank you for your word of life–which we long for; and your table which spiritually sustains and encourages us as your family, called by your name: Christians.
Meet us at the table that we might know Jesus and follow Him as His disciples. This is our prayer–offered in Jesus name. AMEN