Posts Tagged ‘country’

United For All

June 10, 2020

This prayer was submitted by a reader, Kay, from the heart; First Presbyterian Church Elder, Presbyterian Women Moderator

Dear God help us to listen to one another and to unite in our actions for the good of all.

Help us change our ways.

Each of us needs your spirit to light the way.

When we march lead us.

When we pray hear us.

When we cry give us comfort.

Protect us from the virus as we are drawn to demonstrate.

Lift this movement into action for a better future for us all, but especially for our black brothers and sisters who have struggled for so long.

Guide us to universal change that brings justice to all.

In the name of your Jesus we pray.

Amen

In Need of Mercy and Grace

June 7, 2020

Today’s prayer is an adaptation of Ps. 33:18-22 that appeared in The Book of Family Prayer by Robert Webber (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.)

Lord, we believe Your eye is upon those who fear You,

Those who have hope in You.

Lord, we wait upon you;

For You are our help and our shield.

Our hearts rejoice in You

Because we have trusted in your holy name.

Lord, let Your mercy be upon us

As we hope on You,

And send upon us

Your Holy Spirit, we pray.

Amen

Hope For Our Future

May 24, 2020

. . . There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me. From the past will come the future; what it holds a mystery, Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” Hymn of Promise, v. 2, Natalie Sleeth, 1986.

Lord God who knows our future, strengthen our hope in the unseen. (Romans 8:24; 2 Corinthians 4:18)

Guide us through these difficult days towards life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

Help us to persevere that we might know, and share, and build on your love. (Romans 5:1-5)

Help us rise above hate and fear, disrupting factions and finding a better way. (Galations 5:19-26)

Move us forward, O Lord.

Amen

Open Our Hearts

May 17, 2020

The waiting is the hardest part. – Tom Petty

Our world changed suddenly and now we wait

in our doubt,

in our grief,

in our loneliness

in our impatience,

in our fear.

Open our hearts O Lord that we might find hope, and comfort each other.

Give us the courage to speak up, reach out, and together build a stronger, more just, more compassionate world.

Help us as we begin to move forward, O Lord.

Amen

Open Our Eyes

May 9, 2020

“Open my eyes, that I might see glimpses of truth thou hast for me . . .”

Clara H. Scott, 1895; Open My Eyes That I May See, Chalice Hymnal, #586

With you Lord all things are possible (Mt. 19:26).

Please show us the possible in our broken world.

Show us the possible of a people-centered economy, the possible of rebuilding our communities, the possible of healing and caring for each other.

Show us the possible of a path to peace and the quieting of our partisan bickering. Show us the hope of a better future for all, O Lord.

Show us your ways, teach us your paths; guide us in your truth and teach us (Ps. 25:4-5).

Walk beside us through these difficult days.

Amen

Open Our Ears, That We Might Hear

May 3, 2020

“Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain. Tell its grim, demonic chorus “Christ is risen! Get you gone!” God the First and Last is with us. Sing Hosanna everyone.”

Brian Wren, 1986. Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! Chalice Hymnal, #222.

For too long Lord, we have allowed ourselves to be misled by the grim demonic chorus emanating through all of our media and playing to our hates and our fears.

Open our ears that we might hear beyond the shouting, the sneers, the chatter, the dismissals, the deflections.

Help us to hear through the mendacity to find the truths that are aligned with your justice, your wisdom, your mercy.

Open our ears that we might listen for and find the voices of compassion, and knowledge and love.

Help us to hear your hope, your peace. And then help us to follow your word, O Lord.

Amen

Here To Guide Us

April 26, 2020

Christ is risen! Raise your spirits, from the caverns of despair. Walk with gladness in the morning. See what love can do and dare.”

Brian Wren, 1986. Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! Chalice Hymnal, #222.

Lord support and guide us as we work to heal the sick, comfort the grieving, shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, reach out to the lonely, and support the unemployed. Help us to think beyond our fears, find joy in those around us, and work for a more peaceful and prosperous world for all. Help us embrace and share the hope that flows from your love, O Lord. Amen

A Mighty Fortress

April 18, 2020

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, but there is one who takes our side, the one of God’s own choosing. You ask who that might be? Christ Jesus, it is he with mighty power to save, victorious over the grave, Christ will prevail triumphant! – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, vs. 2

Lord help us through this troubled time. Help us to confront the evils of injustice, corruption, and denial that are present among us. Heal us, protect us, and guide us toward a more just, more merciful, more thoughtful, more caring world. Amen

Coronavirus

March 15, 2020

Lord, it is not our natural way to plan, invest, and prepare for the difficult times ahead. Forgive our hardheadedness O Lord.

Forgive us for choosing easy answers, for our failures to engage, for our complacency.

And thank you for those who heard the wake-up call and sounded the alarm, those who chose to face the hard facts and take action.

Thank you for our medical professionals. May we, like them, affirm the dignity of every human life.

Thank you for those who are bridging the partisan divides to provide relief. Thank you for all those who see their neighbors and reach-out to help. May these efforts strengthen our country and our communities in the long-term.

Help us to trust in you as we fight this disease.

Protect us and heal us O Lord.

Amen

Being Faithful In Politics

March 8, 2020

Lord, help us to find the information we need to make wise choices. Help us to filter the loud voices, the brash voices, the voices that lie.

Give us the courage to engage, to reach-out rather than retreat; to listen and work with others rather than to distort, deflect, or dismiss the thoughts that challenge ours.

Help us Lord, be a reconciling rather than a dividing influence as work to rebuild our communities and our country.

Amen