Prayers of the People/Intercession on Incarnation
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
Gracious and faithful God–our Creator, Redeemer and Comforter: When we don’t know the way–You show us the way; and when we can’t find a way–You make a way. Thank you! Thank you for Your gift of a Savior–not a savior who stays distant and aloof, but one who enters the warp and woof of our existence as Emmanuel–God with us; and who then sanctifies every place and time in which we live.
Therefore, we come to You confident You care about whatever concerns us. For those who are infirmed, ill or injured, for those who are recuperating from or anticipating surgery–we ask for your healing, in a word of grace, a touch of compassion, an act from skill or training. Make those we care for whole physically, emotionally and spiritually.
For those who grieve–we ask for your comfort, in the companionship of your Holy Spirit, the encouragement of Your Word, and the warm presence of a friend. Take them through the way of grieving to a place of peace and hope. When families gather around trees and tables this week, may You birth in them renew joy in your love and life which is ours in the cradle, the cross and the empty tomb.
For marriages stressed and stretched by conflict, for relationships broken by hurt or conflict, for families torn apart by everything from pride to envy, selfishness to greed: Come to rule as the prince of peace to restore, reconcile and renew. Break hard and proud hearts so that “I’m sorry” “You’re forgiven” and “I love you” are uttered afresh. For those uncertain about what lies beyond the New Year–give them the peace that comes from knowing You are in charge–and You are good and You are strong.
For the hungry of our world–provide food and nourishment for the body and the soul; for the homeless–give them a place and a people to call “home”; to the unemployed or underemployed–give them worthwhile work by which they can serve You, and meet the needs of a family; and to nations, including our nation–give leaders wisdom and mercy, and the courage to do what is good, right and just in Your eyes for the people.
For your church–may we be a light on the hill in a dark world, showing the way home to Your kingdom. May those we send out and support in mission be given strength to remain faithful to You and loyal to the gospel. All this … and more … we pray in the name of Jesus, our precious Lord and Savior. Amen.
Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh, You know what it’s like to be us.You know what keeps us awake at night, or yanks us out of sleep in the early morning. You know what it’s like to have good days and bad days, too. You know the feelings of being physically tired, emotionally exhausted and mentally drained.
We’re grateful for a God who knows what it’s like to be us. You know the joys of a newborn child in a family. You care about parents who care for their children with wisdom, love, grace and faithfulness so that one day they’ll turn and follow You. Give them what they need to fulfill their calling to love as You love.
You care about weddings and marriages that follow. Bless husbands and wives with your love that bears all things,hopes all things, endures all things, that never fails. May our homes reflect Your love for us and ours for You to all who see them.You also know what happens when the wonder fades and real life takes its toll on families and marriages—when relationships get strained, sometimes to the breaking point, when our own strength is not enough, when forgiveness and reconciliation is tough.
Lord—come as the One who specializes in reconciliation, in hope and in persistent love. Make a way home for those who’ve wandered; and an open door when they return. Lord: You’re aware of what sickness does to us. You showed compassion for the ill or injured. Lord—come as the One who can and does heal.
Come to make well and to uphold, to encourage and to restore. Come also to caregivers, imparting strength and patience, so that they won’t flag in their loving care. We pray especially for: You also know death, grief and mourning.
You’ve wept at the graveside of a loved one, You’ve even walked through death’s door, and in so doing, broke its hold on us by Your resurrection. Come, Risen One—as the Lord of Life. Comfort those who grieve with Your presence. Give them peace, hope and courage. We pray especially for the parents who’ve had to bury their children: something no parent should ever have to do.You also know the ways of nations and kings, of armies and diplomats.
Father—we ask you to comfort families in grief because of war—those who’ve lost sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. Be to them a warm presence, and a gentle light in the cold, dark shock of grief.
And, Lord—may there come a day when nations will not need armies to protect peace and justice, when there will be no more war; and may it come in our lifetime. Today—we especially want to remember the refugees and immigrants who have no place to call home–some displaced by wars, others who are targets of oppression and persecution, still more for whom deprivation, hunger or hopelessness have driven them out. We also pray for….This–and more still within our hearts–is our prayer, offered in Your name. Amen.
Abba – Father: Because of Your love and strength, we trust You … believing You are faithful, true and gracious. Thank You for coming into our world when we could not and would not come to You. You walked our dusty roads.
You moved in among the crowded streets of our cities, amidst the noise, the chaos and the commercialism. And You are still there when we have eyes to see You, ears tuned to Your voice and wills quick to follow You.
You say this is Your world: help us to believe it – and live like it is. You say, You know our sin and forgive us anyhow: help us to believe it, and so forgive others. You say, You have a better life to give if we’ll open our hearts and hands to receive it by your grace: help us to believe the Gospel of Your grace. You say You can do what we can’t: help us to believe it, to find hope and to stop trying (and failing) to make it on our own.
You say, You come to give us life – and life abundantly: help us believe it and live it. You say, You want to make our lives count for eternity: help us to believe it, to willingly risk failure in something worthwhile rather than success in something worth little. You say, You can heal our hurts: help us to believe and trust You.
You say, You can reconcile us to Yourself and to each other through Christ: help us to believe it, to live it and to experience it. We pray for the sick, the injured, the worried and despairing – asking You to heal bodies, to rebuild souls and encourage anxious hearts by igniting the light of hope in the darkness of depression.
Today we especially ask your healing for the sick/ We pray Your comfort for the grieving – We pray Your blessing on all that’s new, for You make all things new – And we pray for your world: bring peace to troubled lands of the Middle East; break down walls dividing people from people; heal war-torn and battle-weary nations; and embolden Your people in those lands to live and declare the Gospel with power. AMEN.
Gracious and loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We praise you for how wide, how high, and how deep is Your vast love for all people. Incarnate in Jesus, You offered Your life for the healing of the world through the forgiveness of all our sins. Your arms outstretched on the cross embrace us all as Your love transcends our divisions and differences.
Breaking out of the tomb, You broke the powers that bind us and released us to live new and free. Your wide and welcoming love for all challenges us. Forgive us when we find it hard to forgive others. Teach us how to value and respect one another. Give us the necessary strength and courage to reach beyond ourselves.
To those who are unfamiliar, and even those we find disagreeable: Make us a safe place in a dangerous world, a people in which Your Hope lives, Your Love welcomes, Your Compassion restores and Your Grace lifts all who are downcast. We pray for our deeply divided world: for peace in all lands that are war torn or threatening violence or retribution. We pray for those affected by the racism that injures us all.
We pray that our state and federal officials can find ways to work effectively across partisan lines, valuing the common good above all else. We continue to lift up to You those who mourn, whether their grief is fresh or lingering. We pray for the ill and injured of this community and congregation.
Heal body, soul, mind and spirits … and strengthen caregivers. All these things we lift up to You, our loving God, confident that You hear our prayers and care for us in all seasons of our lives. Now, Jesus Christ, Son of David, have mercy upon us. Amen.
Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh, You know what it’s like to be us. You know what keeps us awake at night, or yanks us out of sleep in the early morning. You know what it’s like to have good days and bad days, too.
You know the feelings of being physically tired, emotionally exhausted and mentally drained.We’re grateful for a God who knows what it’s like to be us. You know the joys of a newborn child in a family. You care about parents who care for their children with wisdom, love, grace and faithfulness so that one day they’ll turn and follow You.
Give them what they need to fulfill their calling to love as You love. You care about weddings and marriages that follow. Bless husbands and wives with your love that bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things, that never fails. May our homes reflect Your love for us and ours for You to all who see them.
You also know what happens when the wonder fades and real life takes its toll on families and marriages—when relationships get strained, sometimes to the breaking point, when our own strength is not enough, when forgiveness and reconciliation is tough.
Lord—come as the One who specializes in reconciliation, in hope and in persistent love. Make a way home for those who’ve wandered; and an open door when they return. Lord: You’re aware of what sickness does to us. You showed compassion for the ill or injured. Lord—come as the One who can and does heal. Come to make well and to uphold, to encourage and to restore. Come also to caregivers, imparting strength and patience, so that they won’t flag in their loving care. We pray especially for: You also know death, grief and mourning. You’ve wept at the graveside of a loved one, You’ve even walked through death’s door, and in so doing, broke its hold on us by Your resurrection. Come, Risen One—as the Lord of Life.
Comfort those who grieve with Your presence. Give them peace, hope and courage. We pray especially for the parents who’ve had to bury their children: something no parent should ever have to do.You also know the ways of nations and kings, of armies and diplomats.
Father—we ask you to comfort families in grief because of war—those who’ve lost sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. Be to them a warm presence, and a gentle light in the cold, dark shock of grief.
And, Lord—may there come a day when nations will not need armies to protect peace and justice, when there will be no more war; and may it come in our lifetime. Today—we especially want to remember the refugees and immigrants who have no place to call home–some displaced by wars, others who are targets of oppression and persecution, still more for whom deprivation, hunger or hopelessness have driven them out. We also pray for….This–and more still within our hearts–is our prayer, offered in Your name. Amen.
You know all about us–our weakness, our failing, our sin; and you still love us enough to give your Son to redeem us. Hear the cries of our hearts today. There’s someone for whom it was hard to get out of bed today. They’re tired, discouraged or stressed out. It was an effort just to get here. Give them hope today: a light in the darkness, a whisper in the silence.
There’s one for whom everything they touch comes apart: She’s having a hard time holding the marriage together; his project at work is going poorly; there’s a divide between him and his son, between her and her daughter; everything he touches turns to sawdust; and no matter what she does, she can’t get well.
Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come and redeem the relationship. Take the lessons learned in failure and build a new life. Use the pain to create compassion. Create something delightful out of what feels like disaster. Restore what the devil has stolen; turn what was meant for evil to good. We pray on behalf of those who can’t pray for themselves.
We pray for those afflicted in body or soul, who need your healing. Put your hand on them. Touch a mind that’s tormented; a body that’s ill or injured, a heart that’s broken. Restore them all. We ask your peace for families whose loved ones in the military paid the ultimate price, giving the last full measure of devotion, that we might live free and we ask your shield and protection for those still serving in harm’s way, especially in Iraq.
We intercede for our nation; that as a country, we might find our moral bearings in you and your truth as we are tossed around by the winds of confusion and the waves of self-interest. This year, we’ll be awash in political rhetoric and posturing. Save us from those who’d give us image without substance, spin without conviction.
Save us from putting our own interest ahead of the nation’s. Make us wise and discerning, that we might see your path and choose to walk in it. And we pray for your church in this land, that we might be salt and light, making a real difference; and for our church around the world. Encourage our missionaries. Protect them. Keep them faithful–and keep us faithful to them in prayer and in our support. This and more, we pray in the name of your Son and our Savior–Jesus Christ. Amen.
God of grace, love, and hope–Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You know and understand us–not just because You made us in Your image, and not just because You are omniscient and all wise. You took on flesh and lived among us.
You walked where we walk, and experienced what we experience, so we turn to you today with all that brings us joy and sorrow, anxiety, and exhilaration knowing that you understand and care. We’re grateful for Your sustaining grace in difficult times.
We have what we need for today—and enough to help others. We have family and friends–who love us and who we can love. We have brothers and sisters in Christ–to lean on and laugh with, to serve beside and to share with. We have new life in Jesus, forgiveness for sins, and purpose and power to live our lives with meaning and in hope.
We have more than “just enough.” Thank You. But we also have anxieties and worries, concerns and needs. So, because You’re sovereign and we aren’t, we bring them to You because You are wise and strong, compassionate and good.
For the newly wed and those married many years–make them grateful for one another, supportive and encouraging, forgiving, patient, persevering, and in all things: loving. For the ill or injured we pray and in quiet supplication lift them to you by name to ask you to heal and bless them (silence).
For the grieving–grant them peace and the restoring presence of Your Spirit in Your people and their loved ones with them. Hold them in the warmth of Your loving hand. For new parents and parents of any age–give them love beyond their own, grace beyond their own, wisdom beyond their own, and strength beyond their own.
For those unemployed or underemployed–give them meaningful and productive work. For the lonely and isolated–bring to them a lasting friend or true companion. For the homeless–give them shelter; for the hungry–food; for the imprisoned–hope; for the naked–clothing; and for the poor enough to make it through.
For our nation make us a good people: generous, just, wise, compassionate; and bless our leaders with good sense, courage, and a spirit of humility and service as they seek to lead.
For your church–make us willing to be different from the world around us, like light is different than darkness, and peace different than war, so that the world may know You as the Light of the World and the Prince of Peace through us, your Body. We ask all this in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. AMEN
Our heavenly Father: You’ve seen how hard life can be for us. You hear our prayers for forgiveness and help. You listen when we cry aloud in pain or when we just weep into our pillow alone in the night. And You are moved: Your heart breaks and Your hands act in love. We’ve heard it of old, and we’ve known it in our own lives.
Therefore, we turn to You confident in Your grace and goodness, Your strength and wisdom. You know–You care–You act. So we pray for those who suffer–in pain and illness, at the hands of oppressive governments and due to the hard hearts of people. Lord—deliver them!
Especially the children and those most vulnerable. We pray for You to comfort those who grieve a loss, any loss: the loss of a spouse, parent, child, or even beloved animal to death; the loss of a friendship broken by pride and anger; the loss of a position or possession, a job or home; the loss of respect, honor and esteem or the loss of love.
Restore peace of mind and give them each the hope they need. We pray for Your church–in whatever shape or label it comes: that You’d keep us faithful to your great commandment to love as You have loved us, and to your great commission to go, live and tell the Good News of the Gospel.
Give leaders and pastors the wisdom they need to know Your way and to shepherd your people accordingly. And wherever You guide us to serve you, and whatever you call us to do–provide all we need to fulfill your calling; and do the same for all anywhere who proclaim Your gospel and build-up those who call You Lord. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus who came once as a child that we might become children of God. AMEN
God of grace and truth, holy and compassionate—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: You hold the universe in Your hands and earth’s oceans hardly moisten Your palm; yet—You number the hairs of our heads and know us each by name.
You know those who need healing—and we place them in Your healing hands: free bodies from disease and restore them after injury. Expel the haunting demons of addiction, depression, anger, and anxiety. For those who are caregivers—sustain them by Your loving power.
You know those who grieve—and we place them in Your life-giving hands. Bring comfort in Your presence and in the presence of friends and family. Assure them with a trust in Your resurrection might and mercy.
You’ve walked where we walk: You know what it’s like to be us. You’ve been disappointed, denied, and even betrayed by a friend. You’ve grieved over the loss of a loved one. You’ve been hurt, discouraged and alone … AND You’ve laughed, rejoiced, and celebrated birthdays and weddings.
You know it all—and so we share it all with You, confident that You hear us, You care, and You will work what is best for us so that we experience your abundant life … and share that life with others in Your name.
We pray for those estranged from each other in families, neighborhoods, offices, and classrooms–restore broken relationships, give hope, enable confession, repentance, forgiveness and change.
We pray for our nation—for the wisdom, guidance, civility, and humility our leaders need.
We pray for Your church universal everywhere Jesus is named as Lord, and for this congregation: make us more like You—inspiring hope in a dark and hopeless world; declaring truth in a world awash in lies; loving one another—and all—actively and unconditionally. This and more we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN