Prayers of the People/Intercession on Guidance
Prayer For God’s Help
O God, from whom to be turned is to fall,
to whom to be turned is to rise,
and with whom to stand is to abide for ever;
grant us in all our duties your help,
in all our perplexities your guidance,
in all our dangers your protection,
and in all our sorrows your peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Augustine of Hippo
Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and will come again. Whether we know it or not, we live on the edge of Your advent every moment of every day either with anticipation or with anxiety. As if stumbling along a dark path in a thick forest, with only a flashlight at our feet, we see so little … while You see everything, being Yourself the Light of the World.
That’s why we put our hands in Yours, follow where You lead us and give to You all the people and experiences that lay beyond our ability to see clearly and our strength to act. In a world tainted by terrorists, we pray for hostages and families in tense hours of waiting.
Protect captives and soften the hearts of their captors. Comfort families and encourage their loved ones. We pray also for young men and women who put their lives on the line, asking for Your protection and strength.
Where people are ravaged by AIDS–overseas and in our backyards–make us compassionate and make Yourself known as the Healer and Comforter. Where poverty breeds hopelessness, where hunger causes desperation, where addictions bind the soul and dull the mind, where unemployment saps initiative, where ignorance destroys opportunity–come Lord!
Come with Your compassion and grace, with your strength and love, with Your truth and justice. Through Your Holy Spirit, move Your people to be Your ears that listen,Your hands that serve, Your voice that advocates,Your feet that enter in, and Your arms that love.
Where families grieve–comfort them with your peace and your presence as the Resurrection and the Life. Where loved ones are fighting illness, recovering from injury, anticipating surgery–heal them in Your power and love.
Where birth makes two people parents and baptism calls them to care for the children–give grace, wisdom, love and all the fruit of Your Spirit and especially patience. Wherever we are tempted to trivialize Your incarnation as a child in Bethlehem, an adolescent in Nazareth, and an adult who had no home to call His own …who came to died that we be redeemed: Remind us of Your great love and compassion. Remind us that Christmas red is the crimson blood shed for us and Christmas green is the evergreen of eternal life. This we pray in Your name, Lord Jesus. AMEN
Father: You are good and You are strong. You want what is best. You act to bring it about .And you invite us to hold our hearts before You in prayer, so we can participate in what You do. Therefore, we pray today for …Joy in the birth of children, in whom You declare You have hope for humanity.
We ask You to guide parents who seek to fulfill a wondrous and solemn calling to nurture sons and daughters toward following Your Son, Jesus. Give them wisdom, courage and love. We pray Your comfort to those who are feeling loss at the other end of life, who grieve the death of a loved one or miss a dear friend who’s gone. Jesus, Healer and great Physician, please come also to those who are ill or injured, going through recovery and recuperation, and to those anticipating surgery.
Heal marriages and families torn apart by conflict and mistrust. Free the addicted. Comfort and protect the abused. Where forgiveness is needed–bring genuine sorrow, repentance, and forgiveness. Give hope. We also pray for reconciliation between nations and peoples, and between those within nations. Replace hatred, prejudice and suspicion with understanding, empathy and peace.
Let compassion and generosity overcome poverty and neglect. Let Your justice roll down like a river and Your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream; and may Your kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven. We pray, too, for Your church–may we be one so the world will know You’ve sent Your Son to be the Savior. Make us more like Jesus so our love shows His love, our grace … His, our holiness …His, and our life, reflects more of His to all. Make us as generous as You who gave Your very best to us: may we give our best toYou. All this, and more, we pray in the name above every other: the name of Jesus. AMEN