Prayers of the People/Intercession on Busyness
Gracious and Merciful God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: When we wouldn’t love—You did. When we couldn’t do right—you could. When we wouldn’t give—You gave and gave all of yourself.
So we come to You with all our needs and hopes; confident that You won’t turn us away. We come to You with our hopes for all we love who are sick or injured, recovering from or anticipating surgery—Heal, them, Father … Please.
Restore weak knees, damaged hearts and frail lungs. Overcome cancer that attacks and conquer viruses that weaken. Fortify hope that has sagged, and dispel discouragement that threatens. Support caregivers who come alongside in love and caring. Please … And do it all for Jesus’ glory and their joy.
We also come to You today alongside friends who’ve lost loved ones—who need Your peace in turmoil, who need Your light for the darkness and faith to face death with the power and wonder of Your resurrection.
Be to them the Risen One who is the Resurrection and the Life—the Giver of Hope and Peace. We pray for our nation—for we are in need of wisdom, discernment, guidance and courage. Raise up leaders who are strong, willing and able to do what’s good for all, not just what’s politically shrewd for themselves, what’s right and righteous rather than what is simply expedient.
Protect those devastated by fire, flood or drought—and bring out of disaster something good. Bless Your church, Lord. Enable us to make a real difference as representatives of Your kingdom, as a heavenly counter-culture in a world crushed by our sin and the Enemy of our souls.
Enable us to give hope to the hopeless; to live and speak the truth to those confused by the world’s lies and fabrications. Make us willing to be different from the world so that as salt and light You can use us to declare your gospel with our lips and our lives.
We pray for all who seek Sabbath rest and renewal away from the press of the usual crowded schedule and hectic pace, that they may find it in your faithful provision. This … and more … We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior. AMEN
Father God: It is sometimes hard for us to understand what You do. We are in trouble. We want You to come rescue us right now, like the cavalry riding over a hill or the Lone Ranger appearing out of no-where, when we cry out. Sometimes it feels like we cry and no-one’s there. Sometimes we’re stuck in a hole for what seems like a long, long time … and we’re tempted to think You don’t notice.
Then, You come into our prison cell of despair or discouragement, arriving almost unnoticed … like You did with Paul in Corinth. You’re beside us; and You’ve given us brothers, sisters and friends who also stand with us. Somehow, You find a way.
Somehow, You make a way. For that, we thank and praise You. So we know we can lean on You, that we can entrust our deepest hurts, anxieties and needs to You. We pray for our world spinning out of control. Hold it in the palm of Your right hand, Your nail-scarred hand.
Breathe out Your Spirit, bringing hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, justice for the oppressed, courage to take Your path … and give Your grace and love to all. We pray for peace in places torn by strife and where tensions are running high. We come on behalf of Your people and Your missionaries in those places – protect, inspire, empower and encourage them.
For our nation, sold out to the gods of power, lust and wealth set us free from bondage to gods we’ve made. Inspire our leaders to follow Your just ways, and give them courage to lead us in your ways.
We also pray for those whose lives have been turned upside-down, keep them from despair, give them strength, provide help and support, and enable them to rebuild lives and homes. We also pray for loved ones we know by name and whom we hold in our hearts.
We pray, in quiet, whispering the names of those who need your healing touch to body or soul … (silence). We quietly whisper names of loved ones who are with You, and of those who grieve wives and parents, children and friends today … (silence).
We pray for neighbors and friends, trapped in a hamster cage running on the wheel going nowhere: making money at a job they hate, to pay for a big house and fill it with stuff, where they go to sleep late and get up early to go to work and make money to pay for the big house … and so on. Jesus, break open the cage; set them – and us – free as in the stillness we pray for them, whisper their names … (silence).
Father, we also pray for ourselves. We want to be different – but don’t know how. We want to change – but lack strength to do it. We know there’s much in us that must become something else – an attitude to change, a fear to let go of, a step to take, a person to forgive and one from whom we need to ask forgiveness. Whatever it is, we ask in the quiet for You to touch us and heal us and to restore a relationship we now hold up to You … (silence) AMEN.