Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category

Free Us

September 27, 2020

Free us Lord from our despair, that we might find hope.

Free us Lord from our quarreling, that we might find peace.

Free us Lord from our denials, that we might understand and live into our reality.

Free us from our prejudices, that we might find ways for all to thrive.

Free us from our fears, that we might trust in you.

Free us O Lord, from these shackles of our own making.

Guide us, and help us find our way forward.

Amen

Your Kingdom Come

September 20, 2020

We thank you Lord for those who build your kingdom –

  • for those who step forward to care for us, even at risk to themselves;
  • for those who accept the call to military service;
  • for those who, despite fear and threats, take action in the pursuit of justice;
  • for those who speak up to defend rather than diminish our democratic ideals of community and trust;
  • for those working to ensure all can vote;
  • for those who feed the hungry and provide support to those who have lost their jobs;
  • for those who shelter the homeless;
  • for those who educate our children;
  • for those who comfort the grieving;
  • for those who reach out in hope and healing.

Bless all of these who are doing your kingdom work here and now.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

Love

September 13, 2020

Today’s prayer is adapted from Romans 12:9-21 and 14:17-19.

Teach us to love O Lord –

  • to share, not hoard or waste, our resources and assets;
  • to welcome the stranger;
  • to hate what is evil yet cling to what is good;
  • to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer;
  • to forgive even those who harm us and ever focus forward on what we might be if we loved others as you do.

Help us to find the ways that lead to peace and mutual learning.

Guide us with your Holy Spirit as we seek the justice, peace, and joy that love can bring.

Support us Lord, as we confront evil, so that we might not be overcome, but might overcome evil with good.

Amen

Healing

September 6, 2020

Help us to heal O Lord.

Help us to heal both from our self-inflicted wounds and those inflicted by others.

Help us to change the systems that direct our wealth away from those who labor and from the common good.

Help us to heal our hatred and divisions.

Help us to find hope in the courage and dignity and forgiveness of our fellow citizens.

Help us to calm our anxious minds and commit to the hard work of rebuilding our democracy.

Help us to heal O Lord.

Amen

Deceit

August 30, 2020

Lead us O Lord, through the divisive rhetoric, appeals to fear, misinformation, and other deceits of our political times.

Help us to trust in you and follow your paths.

Awaken us O Lord, to the world as it is and to our own role in its suffering.

Help us to see the possibilities for peace and future prosperity for all.

Create with us O Lord, a democracy and a country where all might thrive.

Let us not be deceived or turned from your ways.

Amen

Discernment

August 23, 2020

Help us to think clearly O Lord. Help us to think beyond the

  • lies,
  • mendacity,
  • hyperbole,
  • hypocrisy,
  • finger-pointing, and
  • incoherence.

Help us to find our way, through the noise. Help us move towards

  • truth,
  • sincerity,
  • wisdom,
  • compassion,
  • coherence, and
  • accountability for ourselves and those we elect.

Guide us, O Lord.

Amen

Inattention

August 16, 2020

Forgive us our inattention, Lord, to the suffering of others.

Forgive us our willingness to ignore oppression when it brings us economic gain.

Forgive us our inclination to hoard our time, talent, and treasure and to distract ourselves with trivial entertainments.

Open our eyes Lord. Show us how we can reallocate our wealth, and strengthen us to follow-through. (Lev. 25:8-17).

Open our hearts Lord. Teach us how to share and care for one another. (Acts 2:44-47, 4:32-35).

Open our minds Lord, that we might not be misled by the temptations of this world.

Help us to discern and pursue the riches of your kingdom that we might live in peace and prosper as one people, one country. (Luke 12:13-21, 1 Timothy 6:6-16, Proverbs 3:13-18, 27).

Forgive us, and guide us O Lord.

Amen

Using Our Freedoms

August 9, 2020

Free us from our fears O Lord, so that we might embrace the freedoms we have create our future.

Freedom to move beyond prejudice, beyond partisanship, beyond the old narratives of division and anger and loss.

Freedom to grow in relationship with others.

Freedom to learn and grow in wisdom and understanding

Redeem all of your children Lord, that we might heal from the sins of our past.

Release us from ties that too tightly bind us to ritual, to place, to power, to the familiar, so that we might explore and experience the beauty of all of your creation.

Forgive us and guide us, O Lord.

Amen

For Our Elections

August 2, 2020

Today’s prayer is adapted from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

Lord, please help us protect our elections which are the heart of our democracy.

Guide us in our responsibilities as citizens that we may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for our common good.

Ensure the faithful administration of our voting processes so that the rights of all may be protected.

And in our thoughts and in our actions, help us to align ourselves with your justice and mercy and grace so that we might be a people at peace among ourselves.

Amen

In Need Of Courage

July 26, 2020

Lord, give us the courage to move forward and not fall back –

  • courage to work through our fears,
  • courage to put aside the old patterns of exclusion and denial,
  • courage to confront our hate and anger,
  • courage to care for one another.

Give us the courage to challenge –

  • mendacity,
  • fake news,
  • narratives of hate and fear,
  • paranoia and conspiracy theories masquerading as facts.

Give us the courage to bridge our divides and work together to build a future better than our past –

  • more just,
  • more equitable,
  • more merciful,
  • more compassionate.

Guide us O Lord, teach us your paths, show us your ways, guide us in your truth and give us hope. (Ps. 25:4-5).

Amen