Prayer for Proper 8C / Ordinary 13C / Pentecost +6

Lord,

We thank you for our freedom that we celebrate today.

We thank you for our forefathers and foremothers
who worked to set us free.
We pray for those who are not yet free
 that they too may one day be at liberty.
We pray for those who have fought to obtain their freedom.

 

But let us not forget that we have an even greater freedom,

 that comes to us through your son Jesus.
Let us not turn to our selfish desires.
But rather let us live in the spirit, walk in the spirit
with lives that show the fruit of the spirit.
May we treat each other with the love, patience, g
goodness, gentleness, and kindness that comes from you.
May we be faithful to you.
May we master self -control.

 

May the spirit lead us in our days.

Lord sometimes our days are like whirlwinds full of activities,
 meetings, and business.
We don’t know whether we are coming or going,
And we need a double portion of Elijah’s and Elisha’s spirit to make it.
Slow us down, focus us, make us to rest in you.
May we find our peace and joy in you.
Thank you again for our freedom. Amen.

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Proper 7C / Ordinary 12C / Pentecost +5

Oh God our Rock and Strong Deliverer,


We often wonder where you are when we go through troubling times.

It often feels like you are not here that you are more far away from us.

We can’t see you, we can’t feel you and we can’t hear you.

Sometimes we think you will speak to us in a loud voice, and sometimes you do.

Sometimes we think you have to make your appearance in some form of huge supernatural event,

And sometimes you do.

Sometimes we think you have to hit us over the head with a two by four since we can be so stubborn,

And you do find a way to get our attention.

And sometimes we forget that you speak to us through the silence and so just for a moment we sit silently waiting for you to speak…..

And as our hearts calm down and our breath becomes deeper and slower

We focus on you and can hear you…..

And as the tension in our body begins to relax as we give it over to you we are calmer

And can hear you in the midst of the silence…..



And we feel closer to you, filled with your love and grace as we breathe in your goodness into our lives

And as we listen to you…..

We feel we are wrapped in your arms and yet free to move about

And we hear you in a new way……

You enable us to then love the unloved, take away the negative labels from people, see them as you see them, love them as you love them……

We are empowered to reach out to those who are the unseen, the wounded, the lonely, the outcasts, just as your son reached out so long ago to those considered unclean….

And we are given a voice to tell others of what you have done for us and what you will do for them.



And Lord we now pray for those in our lives who are sick, homebound, in nursing homes, and rehabs…

We pray for those who are grieving…….

We pray for those who deal with mental illnesses, addictions, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic illnesses…..

We pray for all these and more your son taught us to pray…….

prayer for Proper 6C / Ordinary 11C / Pentecost +4

God of our fathers and of our mothers,

We pray to you today for our fathers; fathers who were present, fathers who were absent, fathers who showed us love, fathers who did not show us love, fathers who taught us well, fathers who didn’t teach at all, fathers who held us in their arms, fathers who abused us, fathers who tried hard to be good fathers, and fathers who didn't try at all. The list goes on of the different kinds of fathers we have all had and we have been ourselves.  Most of all, we are grateful that you are the father of us all, a father who loves, cares, is always present, who forgives us and holds us in your arms. We all need that kind of father.

We pray today for all of us who are like the woman who crashed the Pharisee’s dinner party and anointed you. We break open our alabaster jar of sweet oil as we cry tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of years of pain, and tears of sin poured out on your feet. Accept our offering of love and gratitude for your forgiving us, welcoming us and loving us.

We pray today for all of us who are like Simon the Pharisee, who are caught by religion, eyes of judgment, hearts of stone, and voices of criticism of ourselves and others. We pray father that you would set us free by your forgiveness, love and mercy.

We pray today for all of us who are like the women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. We thank you that we get to be there with you, follow you and give out of our resources especially out of who we are.  We thank you that you have healed, cured us, set us free, forgiven us, welcome us and love us.

Sunday Prayer for Proper 5C / Ordinary 10C / Pentecost +3

Gracious God,

Here we are your children coming before your throne of mercy.

We pray for healing and restoration for those devastated by the tornadoes, wildfires and flooding.

We pray for those that are sick and need your healing touch.

We pray for those who have experienced loss this week, may thy be comforted in their grieving.

We pray for our churches and our communities.

We pray for our leaders that you would endow them wisdom

We pray for countries where war continues may your peace and good will come.

May your kingdom come into our lives and into world.

Sunday prayer for Proper 4C / Ordinary 9C / Pentecost +2

On this holy day we do worship and adore you.

We bring our praises of love to you.

We bring our hopes our dreams our visions of a better world and of a new tomorrow created by.

We bring our faith in you when it seems hard to have faith.

We seek you in the midst of our sorrows, our illnesses, our broken bodies.

We seek you in the midst of mighty winds of destruction, winds of war, winds of gossip and rumors,;

We bring ourselves today as your servants to bring your good news to others.

May your love reign in our hearts.

Easter 5 C Sunday prayer

Oh God who created all things including humans, we praise your name for you faithfulness.

We praise you just as all of the creatures of the earth sing your praise.

We look forward to that day when we live with you in our eternal home.

In the meantime come make your home in us.

Come into our neighborhoods, our work places, our schools.

Come live in us Lord.

We await the day when every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more grieving.

In the meantime Lord, wipe our tears when we do mourn our losses, like those in West Texas after the explosion.

We look for the day when there will be no more sickness, in the meantime when we are ailing bring your healing touch to our lives.

We look for the day when all things will be new,

 in the meantime renew our tired land, our old falling down housing, our broken systems, our empty spaces of worship and our aging bodies.

We await that day Lord, when your justice, your love, your mercy rules and thy kingdom has come.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Easter 4C

Lord,

You are our Shepherd,

Jesus said he was the Good Shepherd.

But God if you are the good Shepherd, why?

Why must we be so violent? Is it because we don’t trust you as our good shepherd?

Where are you if you are the good shepherd?

Its not just in Boston or New York that people are killed by bombs

Its everywhere God.

It doesn't much feel like green pastures or still waters.

But we need you to make us lie down in green pastures and to lead us beside the still waters.

We all need green pastures and still waters to sooth our souls.

Lord we walk through some dark valleys now with the violence in the world.

We walk through our own dark valleys of death, illnesses, crisis, hardships, and tough times.

We want to believe and to not fear evil, but God sometimes we do fear.

How can this world feel safe if you can even run in a race or

walk in a run/walk event anymore without worrying if there is a bomb planted at the finish line.

We aren't always sure you are there right beside us.

But Lord we all need you right there beside us, guiding us, protecting us and comforting us.

God, our Shepherd we need you to prepare a feast for all of us,

Especially all who are hungry.

We need you to anoint our heads with your oil.

We need goodness and mercy to follow us all our days instead of the hatred, badness, mistreatment,

Bullying, and harming one another.

We all need to live in the house of the LORD our whole life long for there we find peace, your peace that overcomes that which is mean, violent and hard in this world.

Wait a minute Lord,

 it’s us you need to bring the goodness and mercy,

 peace and reconciliation into this world.

It’s us that you need to work toward justice and nonviolence so that we can have shalom in this world.

It’s us that need to prepare the feast for all and homes for the homeless.

But God, we want to remain safe and secure.

We don’t want to go to help change the world.

We are afraid.

We don’t want to be the ones you called to go into all the world and make disciples.

Lord forgive us, encourage us, equip us, and yes, send us Lord to change our world.

And Lord go with us as the Good Shepherd of the world. Amen

Based on Psalm 23 

Cross posted at revgalblogpals

Interfaith Solidarity Service for Boston

Last night, we attended the Interfaith Solidarity Prayer service in Big Spring Park to show support for the victims of the Boston Marathon.  It was done very well. Here are some pictures of my children at the service.  I have had a hard time wrapping my mind around this.  I was moved by Suzanne Taylor's story, who had crossed the finish line five minutes before the bomb exploded at the marathon. My friend Rabbi Beth Bahar closed the event with a very moving prayer. She reminded those who gathered that taking a sense of peace, hope and courage into the community becomes one way that each person can push against the forces of violence and hatred.

Kara is in the individual photo.

Kate and Kara fed the ducks while we waited for things to begin.

Prayer for Easter 3c

God, our God,

You stay by us day and night and.

You deliver us from life’s messes.

We thank you God.

We thank you that you hear us when we cry out for help.

You love us, you heal our wounds, and you deliver us from our downheartedness.

 

We pray for those who are grieving that the time of their weeping

may not last forever but be turned into days of joy.

We pray for those who are in the midst of a crisis

that you guide them through the crisis and that they find their strength in you.

We pray for those who are sick and ailing that they may find

 peace, rest and restoration in you.

Lord you make yourself known to us in so many ways,

help us to not miss those moments.

And just as you told Peter to feed your sheep you call us to feed your sheep today.

Lord may we be faithful to loving you and feeding your sheep.

 

cross posted at revgalblog pals

Sunday Prayer for Easter 2C

God,

We are your Easter people living in the hope of resurrection.

Yet, we live in a world that is increasingly more difficult to live in

Lord we need hope and we need to share that hope with others.

Lord we prayer for those whose world may still be covered in the darkness of grief

instead of the sunlight, lighten their load of grief.

We pray for those who are ill, in the hospitals, facing surgery, or going through treatments,

Sustain them with your loving care.

We pray for those who live with chronic illnesses, Surround them with your peace and faithfulness.

Lord may we be messengers of Easter hope to those in need by our word and deed.

May we be your Easter people bringing restoration and justice to this hurting world.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Sunrise at Bald Rock

I did not grow up observing Lent. I had no idea what it was.

In the little town I lived in as a child I don’t recall seeing foreheads with the marks of the ashen cross. I do remember that Easter was a big deal in my family and church. It was a joyous occasion marked by eggs and chocolate, church and a big Sunday dinner with extended family. It was special because I got new shoes, new dresses, hat and little pocket book. I loved the whole big to do about his resurrection in worship on Easter Sunday.

As I grew up I have always enjoyed Easter because it often meant new life, new hope, and new beginnings with the advent of springtime. Several years ago, I was serving a three church circuit in Randolph County. It was my first year there after moving from serving a good size church in Huntsville. I had left lots of friends, a good ministry, and a growing church to go serve a small rural area with no friends, a dying town, and an older congregation. The winter had been cold dark and cloudy. My best friends were more than two hours away. I was lonely, isolated and somewhat depressed.

It would be my first Easter sermon and Easter sunrise service. The sunrise service was on what was called Bald Rock and since I was the new Pastor in town it was my turn to preach. What would I say? What did God want me to say?

Bald Rock is a beautiful geological formation of a rock outcropping left by the movement of glaciers long ago. On that Easter Sunrise, it was cold, cloudy and drizzly. I thought to myself, some Easter Sunrise, no one is going to come. No one told me that people came home from far away on Easter Sunrise, just for that special service. And so we all who were there sang some songs, prayed and I preached. As I was preaching the sun began to peek in between the clouds, shining on the wet bald rock. It was like the sun rising on the first Easter morning so long ago when Jesus was resurrected.

So for me, Lent prepares me to be ready. God will show up again and not just on Easter morning. And the son will come peeking in between the clouds of my life.

I wrote this several years ago for a Lenton Devotional that Trinity did. This morning it appeared again in our Trending Trinity a weekly email.  It is a cloudy, cold and snowy day today. This was the perfect article to read for such a day as we head into Easter through the dark week of Jesus' sufferings.

Prayer for Lent 2C

Lord,

you are the giver of light,
Come into the dark places of our lives and light our way.
Lord we are afraid,
We feel insecure and fear what lies before us.
Keep us safe, be our strong deliverer, protect us,
So that we are not overcome by these fears.

And Lord we will trust you.

We ask Lord that we get to live in your house
To see how wonderful you are and to spend time talking daily with you.
Lord we need your sanctuary, we need the quiet,
the place we can go to slow down and to take a deep breath.
Lord we all need the peace we can find there with you.
And we thank you for that peace and time we spend with you.

Lord,

Please listen to us when we pray
Hear our cry for those in need of prayer,
those who are downtrodden—lift them up
Those who are ill—bring your healing touch.
Those who have lost a loved one---comfort for their sorrow.
Those who have felt rejected—acceptance and support.
Those who have become homebound, disabled, chronically ill, terminally ill, or
Gone into nursing care—send them your loving presence.
Be gracious to all Lord and answer our prayers.

Lord,

It is often hard to know which way to go in this world,
And so we ask that you teach us your ways.
Light the path well for Lord so we may see our way.
We may stumble and we may fall,
But pick us up, brush off the dirt,
bandage our wounds and send us back on your path.
And encourage us along our way as your believers.
Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

based on Psalm 27

Prayer for Lent 1C

Lord,

You are our fortress, our place of safety;
you are our God, and we trust you.”

We seek to live in your presence,

and stay in the shadow of the Almighty

Lord spread your wings over us like a mothering hen,

Protecting her babies.

We have nothing to fear living in your faithfulness.

Though circumstances become tough, illness strike us,

Death comes our way, whatever befalls us we have nothing to fear.

 We know this because you God, are our refuge.
and our sanctuary.

Though temptations come to lure us from small

Ones to big ones, though evil one looks like he is winning the day;

We can trust in you.

No matter what happens in life we can hold on to you Lord,

Because we know you are with us, caring for us, loving us, and delivering us.

Lord, we can call on you anytime and anywhere

And we can believe and trust that you will answer.

You alone are our refuge, our place of safety;
you are our God, and we trust you.

Based on Psalm 91
Cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Transfiguration Sunday

Lord,


You have put your wonderful hope in us born of the spirit of Jesus.

This hope empowers us to be your servants in this world

bringing light into darkness.

Hope into despair.

Warmth into coldness.

Friendship into loneliness.

Food into hunger.

Care into trouble.

We are out in the open, not hidden away with shame for our beliefs and love of you.

We practically shine brightly with your spirit in us as we bring a healing touch, a shoulder to lean on, an arm around a person who is hurting, a hand to lift someone up, a ride to the grocery story or the Doctor’s office, or ourselves being present.

Lord Jesus let us remember that after you were transfigured and you were blessed by God as his chosen son, you came down off the mountain. You didn’t stay up there, you came down among your people. And the first thing you did was to heal someone. Lord, you are still in our midst. You are still healing. You are still touching lives. And so we pray that you will do so today in our midst.

Lord we pray for those who are overwhelmed with the snow, cold and no electricity in the North East. We pray for those who live in places of drought. We pray for those who live in areas of flooding. And we pray for those who don’t have clean water for drinking.

We pray for the violence in our world to end. We pray for the countries that are torn by civil war. We pray for the children who are taken into slave trade and trafficking. We pray that your light would shine and transform our world.

Amen.

Prayer for Christmas 1C

Holy one,

We thank you for coming into our world as a baby brining your love, and your joy into the world.
It seems like just a short time ago we were celebrating his birth
and now we are taking a peek into the New Year.
We have no idea what the New Year is to bring;
and at the same time some of us are setting goals and making resolutions.
Lord, we pray for a good year for all, we pray that we all may grow in your wisdom.
We pray that all grow in your grace with you and with each other.
Lord our world could use more people who are wise and have grace with you.

But often Lord we don’t know how to grow in wisdom and in grace with you
so we pray you would clothe us in your wisdom;
         with your love which brings perfect harmony to the disorder of our lives.
         with your compassion that brings calmness and soothes the anger in us.
         with your kindness that is a balm to our pain.
         with your humility that allows the ire of pride to settle down to join
         and collaborate with others.
        with your meekness that stops the wars and bleeding.
        with your patience that keeps us from impulsively giving into our urges.
       with the ability to bear with one another instead of turning our backs on each other.
       with your forgiveness that we can forgive others as you forgive us.
       in your peace so that we could live in peace with one another.
       in gratitude that we would praise you and thank you with grateful heart.

Lord,
We pray for comfort those who have had deaths during this season
or facing painful and sad memories and anniversaries of loved ones.
We pray for healing for those who are ill, struggling with failing health, and whose loved ones are sick.
We pray for restoration for those who have been affected by tornados, hurricanes
and other forms of natural disaster.
We pray that violence would end and that your peace, love and joy may reign.
Amen


cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Advent 4C

Shepherd God,

You promised to take care of and feed your flock.

If ever there was a time we needed a Shepherd God it is now.

We need your strength as we feel so weakened by the tragic events of last Friday, by funerals for young children, teachers and a young man.

We are all looking for answers to why and how to stop this from ever happening again. And frankly we don’t know what to do. If we are to believe the media, someone is to blame or something.

Yet as your believers and followers you have taught us not to blame but to forgive and so God help us to forgive.

Lord this tragedy also reminds us to pray for those who have metal illnesses and to not turn our back on them but to assure them proper care and medical treatment.

Lord we are reminded through our scripture today that you did not look down on a young woman long ago who was pregnant out of wedlock but favored her and blessed her.

And you did not shame nor shun and older woman who had been barren for so long, but blessed her and filled her with your joy.

And you have not stopped loving the unloved, favoring the unfavorable, looking for lost, seeing the hidden ones, lifting up the lowly, embracing the poor and fed the hungry and neither should we.

It is through your great mercy that you have done this and it is your mercy that empowers us to give not just at Christmas time but every day.

Lord there are many who need restoring in their bodies, minds and emotions.

There are many who need healing physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually.

There are many homes, marriages, families and children that need to be made whole.

There are countries that are broken and at odds with their own people, that need to be made right.

Lord if there ever was a time when we need a Shepherd God it is now.

Come Lord Jesus come.

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Advent 3C and Newton, Conn.

Lord,

Today we lit the Advent candle of joy reminding us of the joy that the Christ child brought into this world.

And yet today Lord, it is difficult to feel any joy with death of 20 children and 7 adults just days ago in Newton, Connecticut.

We are stunned, silenced, saddened and angered that this tragedy could happen.

We think of our children and want to protect them, keep them safe and draw them close to us.

And we grieve for those who hearts are broken by empty hands, empty beds, and empty spaces in their lives.

We pray for the children and teachers who survived that they may heal from their traumatic memories, fears, grief and loss.

We pray for the First Responders and Policemen that their hearts and minds be healed also.

We pray for the parents, counselors, pastors who will help the children and teachers who survived that they will be good listeners and able to help in the healing process.

We pray for our country where it seems like violence has become too commonplace.

We pray for our world where often children are the ones who suffer most when there is war, hunger, poverty.

We pray for ourselves Lord that you would heal our broken hearts and help us to be healing agents in this broken world.

We pray for the day your son does come again bringing joy for everyone.

Come Lord Jesus come……..

 

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Advent 2C

Oh God,

You invite us to take off the attire of pain and sorrow in our lives and to put on new clothes of hope and joy.

You dress us in your beauty and your glory.

You give us all this through the arrival of your son Jesus.

You give us new garments of mercy and justice.

Oh Lord, we all need these in our lives.

And we are reminded as we put on our new clothes that

There are many in this world that just need a good pair of shoes, a coat to keep them warm and outfits for their everyday wear.  

Lord, we are reminded that it is you we clothe when we clothe the needy.

 

Lord,

You have blessed us with your favor

By saving us, cleansing and refining us through your love.

You raised up your son to be the savior for the world and to show your mercy to all.

And Lord we all need your mercy and love.

And it reminds us that there are many in this world who have not been shown love and don’t know how to give love to others.

And yet that is what you son came to do was to show your love to all.

 

Lord,

You have given us a light in our world a light brighter than any Christmas tree light that is a beacon for all.

It fills our darkness, It guides and leads us

Along the rocky paths of life, through tense and troubled times to bring us to a time of peace.

And Lord we know that in many places in our world there is no peace and what little peace there seems to be is fragile.

There are homes where peace has no meaning.

There are friends of ours and sometimes ourselves who search for that peace within that only you can give.

Lord, your sent your son to be the Prince of Peace to bring a peace that the world cannot give.

Come Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace come.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer for Advent 1C

God of our future, our present and our past,

Your son told us that he would come again and so we wait.

But God we are most impatient because we live in time of instant gratification.

We are like a child who wants what we want and we want it now.

And so God we have a hard time waiting for his promised return.

And yet we wait not knowing when, uncertain of the day and time.

 

Lord we live in perilous times when it would a good time for your son’s return.

We are waiting for the government to work together to fix things

before we fall off this fiscal cliff we as a nation are facing.

We are waiting for this recession to end so people will be working again; will once again be able to afford adequate housing, food to feed themselves and their children,  and other necessities of life.

We keep waiting for this long war in Afghanistan to be over

because we have lost so many of our young people over there.

We wait for there to be a cure for cancer, aids, m.s.,

and all the other chronic and life threatening diseases.

 

Lord we celebrate your first coming into the world having hope that you will come again.

In the meantime Lord, we pray for one another and our needs.

We give thanks for one another and for the blessings you send our way.

We try to show the world your love through our service, our action and our words.

We care for one another and those who have no one to care for them.

Lord we await your return with anticipation, of your promise fulfilled.

And in the meantime we look for your presence in our lives every day;

As you keep showing us glimpses of your kingdom.  Amen

 

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Christ the King Sunday Prayer

O Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come,

We live in a world that is constantly in change and flux.

It is hard for us to go through all of life’s many changes.

We look for someone who is constant, for something that is secure.

It is comforting that you are that one sure thing.

And so we put our trust in you to guide us and to walk beside us.

For some the changes in our neighborhoods and cities are cause for distress.

Some hate the aging process for what it does to our bodies and minds.

Some struggle with work related layoffs, job losses, higher demand on the ones left working.

Some are lost with divorces, losses, breakdown in communications in their relationships.

Some such as those in the Mideast are in shock over the civil unrest, terrorism, wars.

And we have all be effected by climate change whether its drought, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires.

In all this we look to you for our rock, our place we can go to for sanctuary and peace.

And in your love and grace we find that which we look for the peace we need.

Oh Lord God, you are the one who is and who was and who is to come.

In you we put our faith in trust to hear and answer our prayers and the cry of the needy.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals