Prayers of the People/Intercession on Blessing
Anointed Worship
Anointed One,
Heal our stingy, selfish ways
Silence our accusations
End the worship wars
The congregation is invited to offer their own prayers of confession silently
We remember our faithful sister
Her actions
Her witness
Make us like her
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
So we may worship you in Spirit and truth
Saturate us in the oil of gladness
So we may adore you with abandon
Draw us into intimacy and extravagance
Unashamed and alive with our offering
The congregation is invited to offer their own prayers of praise and thanksgiving, silently or aloud
Anointed Worship © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Father God–You are a God of grace and abundance, who blesses us with more than a shower of blessings but a downpour of mercies. We rejoice with friends in new marriages, and in the strength of lasting marriages.
For new beginnings, for healings and successful surgeries, for employment, for family and loved ones, and for Your Son our Savior who gives us eternal life and gives it in abundance …we say with joy–“Thank you, Lord … you are so good!”
So knowing your grace in the past we feel welcomed to pray for what lies ahead—Lord—please heal those we love: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; we pray for successful surgeries, profitable therapy, full recovery … whatever’s needed.
Lord—please comfort those who mourn, whether their grief is new or long-lasting. Give them the hope of the resurrection, peace that restores, and the faith to walk with you in the valley of the shadow. Lord—please guide us as a nation.
Keep us from demonizing those with whom we disagree or from worshipping those we support. You alone are the savior of nations—enable us to trust You above all else. Guide us as we seek to discern what would be the best good for all …not just our own self-interests; and, for the days ahead, give us the kind of leaders we need, if not those we deserve.
Lord—please direct and empower Your church, this church. Make us an agent of positive change in the community. Give us love, your love, unconditional love, active and real love for all kinds of people who need You–no matter their race, ethnicity, level of education, age, gender, economic bracket, party affiliation, or what they wear or how they speak. It’s how we love that show we’re Yours—help us love better.
And, Lord—please touch our hearts today. Speak into us, your Words of life, of comfort, conviction or hope. What is not of You—may we forget when we walk out of this room; and what is of You, may we never forget wherever we go. This is our desire … this is our prayer, offered in the name above every name—Jesus. AMEN
Loving God ~ Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We are a people who are waiting: waiting to celebrate Messiah’s birth; waiting to see what this day–and every day–holds as Your blessings for us; and waiting to see whom we can bless with Your love or from whom we may receive a blessing. And we are waiting for Messiah’s return to clean up the mess.
Now, in the meantime, we come to you with our needs and our worries, our hopes and our dreams, because You have invited us to come saying,“Come unto me, all you who labor and are overburdened.”So in prayer, we come.
We come praying for the church throughout the world … for Palestinian Christians in the town where you were born; for Haitian believers who continue to reach out to those of their countrymen in the midst of civil unrest; and especially for all who bear your name in places where it is dangerous to do so.
Sustain and strengthen them in grace.We come, as well, with prayers for the church in this country … and for this congregation: for its leaders—elders and deacons, and for all who serve in various ministries. We pray that we may all benefit from the various gifts offered in service of Christ; that in faith and unity we may be constantly renewed by your Holy Spirit into acts of mission, mercy and love.
We come praying, too, for peace in our world, and for an end to violence. May there be peace in our homes and in our hearts so that we may live and work together in harmony and with genuine concern for one another. Remind us all that we share your world with others, many who are less fortunate than we are; and enable us to be faithful stewards of both the resources and the gospel which You have entrusted to us.
In addition, we come with prayers for our families, friends and neighbors, that we may serve Christ to one another and love one another as he loves us. Help us to make our homes patterns of your love, places of mutual trust and forgiveness, places of true sharing and caring, of deep joy and peace; and unite us all, one to another in the circle of your love.
We also come with our prayers for all those who suffer from any form of illness. We pray for those who are anxious, sorrowful, or in any kind of need or distress; especially for loved ones and friends who are ill or injured, anticipating or recovering from surgery or who are in any kind of need … praying especially for…[fill in those who need specific prayers]
We also remember in the quietness of our hearts others dear to us. [Pause] We know that you love them and know their every need far better than we do. We ask that you do for them as you see best and bless them with your love and peace. We come with thanks to you for those who’ve died trusting in Christ; and we thank you for allowing us to share life with them. We pray for all those who mourn: grant them the comfort of your presence and the hope of the resurrection. Merciful God–as we wait … hear these, our prayers for the sake of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our Father: You’ve blessed us beyond imagination. You redeem us, forgive us & lavish Your gifts on us: ThankYou. You choose us, when we wouldn’t choose ourselves, and You seal us with your Holy Spirit; Thank You. Not leaving us alone, You give us a family, a really big family …your family.
Thank You for Your grace & generosity toward us. Father: take our eyes off ourselves and our small world. Enable us to see You, Your church and Your world–a world too big for us to make a difference, but not You. So we bring the world to You.
We bring those who haven’t seen or heard Your Good News in lands without a gospel witness: send workers into the harvest. We bring those who serve You there–keep them faithful in what they do and say, may people see, hear and feel Jesus touch them. We bring those in the long process of clean-up and rebuilding their lives.
Give them hope. Provide help. We bring our nation, with all our faults, foibles and flaws, as well as all our hopes, dreams and aspirations. May we live up to creeds we espouse, commitments we make and values we declare. Forgive us for trusting ourselves–our wealth, our power, our smarts and actions–and not You. Humble us before You. Make our ways right and true, holy and just.
We bring loved ones who are ill, asking You to heal them; those who mourn, to comfort them; those who are alone, to comfort them; those despairing, to encourage them; the confused, for you to guide them; and those in need, we ask you to provide for them.
We bring our church to You; make us a true colony of heaven, showing the world your kingdom in our compassion and in our passion for the lost, the poor, the weak and forgotten. Make us one: one spirit–in your Spirit; one mind–filled with Your thoughts; one heart–which breaks over what breaks Your heart; and one action, moving in your presence. And we bring ourselves, just as we are, to You. Take us. Remake us. Fill us. Use us. Mold us into the image of Christ Jesus. This we pray … to your glory and our joy, in the name of Jesus. AMEN
The Psalmist draws us into prayer saying: Come and hear, all you who honor God and let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him and God has surely listened and heard my prayer. Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (based on Psa. 66:16, 19f)
What have You done for us, Lord? You have given us life–temporal and eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord. You have provided food and water to sustain us; sleep to restore us; clothing and shelter to protect us; families to nurture us; Christian friends to encourage us; Your Word to guide us; a mission and calling to give us purpose and abilities and spiritual gifts to live it out. Indeed, every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down to us from You–the Father of heavenly lights, and our Father in Heaven, whose love for us is changeless and lasting.
For that we thank You. For that we praise You; although even if You didn’t so bless us, You’d still be worthy of our worship. But, Lord—in your love You DO bless us and welcome our heartfelt cries.
So we come asking You …to heal the sick, to strengthen the recuperating, to encourage those who give care. We come asking You …to comfort those who mourn; to provide companionship for the lonely, to shelter the homeless and to aid the helpless, to reconcile broken relationships–whether between husbands and wives, parents and children, colleagues, neighbors, or onetime friends.
We ask You to please …guide our elected leaders whether they work in Washington, DC or locally. We ask You to empower the church to be the light on a hill holding out the light of grace and hope, always speaking and living the truth—in love; and enable us to be a hospital for those spiritually wounded and in need of healing in body, soul, mind and spirit.
And …we ask You to take Your word that we’ve heard proclaimed, apply it to our minds that we might be thinking Christians, to our spirits that we might be believing Christians, to our hearts and souls that we might be compassionate and feeling Christians, and to our wills that we might be active and serving as followers of Jesus the Christ, in whose name we pray. AMEN