Prayers of the People/Intercession on New Creation
God of grace–generous Giver of all good gifts: You bless us abundantly every day—In Your Son our Savior who makes us new creations; in the smile of child, the greeting of a friend and the hug of a loved one; in shared laughter, tears, words of encouragement and words of discipline. You’ve met so many of our basic life needs for warm shelter, food and clothing; and for many of us in this room–you even bless us at the point of our desires.
We are a very blessed people! We want to be a grateful people and a caring people. Help us, Lord! Help us, Lord, when we’ve lost our way–guide us. Help us, Lord, when we’re discouraged–give us hope. Help us, Lord, when we’re anxious and worried–give us peace. Help us,Jesus …and those we love, when we are sick or hurt, when we are looking ahead to surgery or recovering from it–heal us, Lord.
Help us, Jesus, when we grieve a loss …the loss of a loved one to death, the loss of a job to downsizing, the loss of a relationship when a friend moves or when we have a disagreement. When it’s a loss we must accept–help us to mourn well, as those who have hope and comfort in the resurrection; and when it’s a loss we can recover–help us to do the hard work of reconciliation, restoration or renewal.
Help us, Father–to see the world as You see it, and care as you care. Help all those who name the name of Jesus in difficult places like Sudan, China, Indonesia or Cuba; like India, Iraq, Egypt or Israel. Protect them. Keep them faithful. Give them courage to speak the Truth of the gospel and to live the truth of the Gospel.
Help those who continue to serve in the military–shield them with your power and support them with your love. Help us as a nation, Lord–guiding our president and vice-president. Enable us to heal divides widened in the recent campaigns and return us to paths of holiness, truth, grace and gratitude. All this, and more, we pray in the precious name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; God of hope, of new life–All our times are in Your hands. We thank and praise You, for you are the Lord of our yesterdays, and our todays and our tomorrows.
In You, the old is redeemed and everything has become new! Knowing that You are good and strong, loving, wise and faithful; we trust you with all that’s on our hearts today–from that which brings us to tears in laughter, to that which causes us to weep in sorrow.
Loving God, we thank You for the grace You have shown to us this week, for prayers to which You’ve said “Yes,” and those to which You’ve said, “No. I have a better idea.” We also give you those things that keep us awake at night, and fill our days with anxiety.
We pray for those struggling to rebuild lives from natural disaster and for those recovering from human disasters, from political and economic disputers; from wars, and from terror attacks near and far. We also pray for those struggling with illness. We pray for strength and grace for their caregivers.
We pray for all who mourn, whether their grief is fresh or has lingered for a long time, please show them Your kindness; give to them comfort in Your presence; and the hope and peace that comes with Your promise to make all things new.
Lord of the church, we pray for this congregation: May they be anointed with your touch, empowered by Your Spirit; and formed in Your image so everyone may see You in them, and through them; that as You are lifted higher, You can draw all people to Yourself in glory. Anoint us, Holy One and fill us with Your loving touch. Fill us, so that we can, in Your love, touch and fill others. We offer this our prayer, in the name of Jesus.
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–generous Giver of all good gifts:
You bless us abundantly every day—In Your Son our Savior
who makes us new creations;
in the smile of child,
the greeting of a friend and the hug of a loved one;
in shared laughter, tears, words of encouragement and words of discipline.
You’ve met so many of our basic life needs for warm shelter, food and clothing; and for many of us in this room–you even bless us at the point of our desires.
We are a very blessed people! We want to be a grateful people and a caring people.
Help us, Lord! Help us, Lord, when we’ve lost our way–guide us.
Help us, Lord, when we’re discouraged–give us hope.
Help us, Lord, when we’re anxious and worried–give us peace.
Help us,Jesus …and those we love, when we are sick or hurt, when we are looking ahead to surgery or recovering from it–heal us, Lord.
Help us, Jesus, when we grieve a loss
…the loss of a loved one to death, the loss of a job to downsizing, the loss of a relationship when a friend moves or when we have a disagreement.
When it’s a loss we must accept–help us to mourn well, as those who have hope and comfort in the resurrection; and when it’s a loss we can recover–help us to do the hard work of reconciliation, restoration or renewal.
Help us, Father–to see the world as You see it, and care as you care.
Help all those who name the name of Jesus in difficult places like Sudan, China, Indonesia or Cuba; like India, Iraq, Egypt or Israel. Protect them. Keep them faithful. Give them courage to speak the Truth of the gospel and to live the truth of the Gospel.
Help those who continue to serve in the military–shield them with your power and support them with your love.
Help us as a nation, Lord–guiding our president and vice-president.
Enable us to heal divides widened in the recent campaigns and return us to paths of holiness, truth, grace and gratitude. All this, and more, we pray in the precious name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.