Prayers of the People/Intercession on Renewal
Based on I Timothy 4.10 NEB
We have set our hope on you, our living God, as those who set course for home from distant places. But we need your help if we are to keep on course: we need fresh sight of you, on which to check our bearings. Let this service be a check-point for us. Show us where we are and where we should be. You are near as well as far – accompanying as well as beckoning: make this a meeting-place between our minds and your mind, so that we may see that the controlling interest in human affairs is yours.
We pray for the life of the world:
that every nation may seek the way that leads to peace;
that human rights and freedom may everywhere be respected;
and that the world’s resources may be ungrudgingly shared.
We pray for the homes of mankind:
that husbands and wives may accept lifelong marriage as their ideal.
We pray for broken homes
and those in danger of breaking,
that your love may redeem and remake them.
We pray for the homeless,
that no family may have to face a lifetime without a home.
We pray for those who are ill:
that illness may not break their spirit;
that through the healing skill you have given
they may be made well;
and that those who are permanently handicapped [alt. disabled]
may find the way to use and overcome their suffering.
Finally, we pray that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ may be known and accepted by increasing numbers of men.
Draw to yourself all seekers after truth and goodness:
may they find the unfathomable riches
which can be found in you alone.
And may all the nations you have made
come and worship you
and honour your name.
Caryl Micklem, Ed., Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship, Erdmans Publishing Co, 1973.
Holy and Gracious God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We give you thanks for the gift of life, for the gift of Jesus our Savior, for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and for the gift of this sacrament that nourishes our souls. Like a potter at the wheel you created us, shaping us in secret in the hidden depths.
You read our inmost thoughts and desires and you keep your hand upon us always, reshaping us as seems good to you whenever we allow ourselves to become misshapen, pressed into the world’s mold. Lord, lead us through the trials, the suffering and sorrow, the challenges and struggles, the tired times and dark places. And use those experiences to make us more like Jesus.
Ever present God: Be with those who weep, with those who can’t sleep, with those who have no peace, with those who seek release. And reassure them of Your love. Comfort them. Sustain them. Free them. Good Father, we pray for your hand of blessing to be upon all who need you. We ask you to bless those we now name before you in the silence of our hearts…Lead us, good Lord, with grace, with love, with peace.
Fill us, by your Spirit, with hope, with patience, with stamina; making us the people you want us to be; helping us to follow in the way of Christ each day in all that we say and do. Creating and Renewing God: Transform us in your image, in your Son, in your Name. Transform us that we can be made whole …. And in that wholeness may we actively be the hands and heart of Jesus the Christ – who saves us, loves us; and leads us. AMEN
God of grace and truth—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Thank You. Thank You for being there even when we don’t feel it. Thank You for keeping Your eyes on us, even when we lose sight of You. Thank You for Your faithfulness in the face of our faithlessness. And that’s why we can come to You as we are … with what troubles us.
We pray for those in need of Your healing grace today—whether in body or mind, in soul or relationships. You are the Lord our Healer—please restore and make them well. We pray for those who need Your comforting grace, as well; for those who mourn—whether their grief is fresh or lingering. You are the Lord our Companion and Comforter—give them Your peace, that peace which surpasses all understanding, consoling our hearts, minds and souls.
We pray for our world and our nation—where fear looms large and chaos seems to reign, You are still the Sovereign One whose promises are true and whose arm is strong. We pray for peace—between peoples and nations. We pray for supernatural wisdom to be given to the leaders of nations. We pray for the restraint of evil; and we pray that what is right and good, would prevail–we pray for the coming of Your kingdom!
For our community—we pray for those who have too little: too little food, too little hope, too little work, too little money to afford a safe, warm shelter, clothing and medical care; and too little compassion from others. We pray as well for those who have too much—so much that it numbs them to the needs of others, or even the true state of their own souls; and deadens them to the wonder of generosity.
We pray for Your church—and for our church: or Your church living and even thriving in places where it’s not just hard but dangerous to name Your name; Your church that struggles to live and service faithfully in a world where truth is up for grabs, values are set by advertisers, and ethics and morality are based on expedience or pleasure.
May we be a colony of heaven on earth; a people of grace and truth, a peculiar people who dare to defy the world’s ways, a people who are clear about who we are and what we believe …as Your holy people. This is our prayer—offered in the name of Jesus, the crucified, risen and living Christ. AMEN