Posts Tagged ‘future’
May 16, 2021
Widen our lens O Lord, well beyond the narrow aperture of our phones.
Help us to lift our heads and see the beauty and the wonder of the world around us, and know that you are with us, that we are not alone nor in charge.
Help us to see your love and and forgiveness in the people around us, so that we too might respond with compassion and mercy.
Help us to see the many revelations of your grace that surround us, inviting us to move beyond our resentful and quarrelsome ways.
Open our eyes Lord to the possibilities of our future were we to work together.
Amen
Tags:beauty, compassion, country, forgiveness, future, grace, invitation, love, mercy, politics, possibility, Prayer, see, seeing, United States, USA, working together
Posted in politics, Prayer | 1 Comment »
May 10, 2021
Today’s prayer borrows from Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, even as the very foundations of our democracy come under attack, and the political norms that gird our Constitution are threatened in the swelling waves of extreme partisanship and disinformation.
We will not fear for we know that God is with us, and the truth will someday set us free to pursue His paths of justice and peace.
Amen
Tags:country, disinformation, future, justice, partisanship, peace, politics, Prayer, refuge, truth, United States, USA
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May 2, 2021
Bless our children Lord.
When we were expecting, the doctor told us, “a child is God’s way of saying the world must go on.”
Help us change Lord, for their sake.
Protect them from a legacy of fear, hate, and resentment.
Instead let them know joy, peace, and opportunity.
Help them love and be loved by their fellow citizens.
Give us all hope.
Help us change Lord, that our children might more fully live.
Amen
Tags:change, children, country, future, joy, love, opportunity, peace, politics, Prayer, United States, USA
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January 24, 2021
Thank you Lord for our democracy holding and a peaceful transfer of power.
Help us to recommit to democratic values,* repair our foundations, and rebuild.
Turn us from the sins of anger, hate, factionalism, and resentment. (Galatians 5:20)
Lead us in your paths of justice, kindness, and mercy. (2 Chronicles 7:14; Ps. 25:4-5; Galatians 22-23)
May we, in the words of our Vice President,** emerge from our trials with new wisdom, imagining new possibilities. Help us to open our hearts to one another.
May we, with your help, be so zealous and successful at pursuing your justice and peace that we, like Hezekiah and his people, find ourselves rejoicing at the speed of our progress. (2 Chronicles 29:36).
Amen
*As identified in the National Council For The Social Studies C3 Framework: honesty, mutual respect, cooperation, attention to multiple perspectives, equality, liberty, and freedom.
**Paraphrased from Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks at the Covid-19 Memorial Service, January 19, 2021.
Tags:anger, change, country, democracy, democratic values, factionalism, future, hate, healing, justice, kindness, mercy, partisan politics, peace, politics, trials, United States, USA, wisdom
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November 8, 2020
As we start a new chapter in our nation’s history we share the following prayer from the encyclical “All Brothers” published by Pope Francis on October 3, 2020. The encyclical provides guidance for our civic lives. The prayer is titled “A Prayer to the Creator” and appears in paragraph 287. Let us commit ourselves to our common good.
“Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.”
Tags:brotherhood, common good, country, encyclical, future, justice, politics, Pope Francis, Prayer, shared dreams, United States, unity, USA, wisdom
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October 11, 2020
“Show us your ways O Lord . . . “ (Ps. 25 v. 4-5)
You have shown us a better way Lord. A way of
- compassion,
- love,
- mercy,
- forgiveness,
- generosity,
- patience,
- kindness, and
- self-control.
And you have shown us the way we should not go. A way of
- factions,
- hate,
- oppression,
- anger,
- fear,
- self-absorption,
- death, and
- destruction.
Forgive our missteps and misdirection, and guide us into the better way.
Amen
Tags:anger, compassion, country, factions, fear, finding our way, forgiveness, freedom, future, generosity, greed, guidance, guide, hate, kindness, love, mercy, misdirection, opression, patience, politics, Prayer, self-control, selfishness, United States, USA
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October 4, 2020
We are grateful O Lord.
Grateful for the fall leaves, crisp days and beautiful skies, for love of friends and family, for music that calms and soothes, for books to read, for space to walk and think, and for all that brings us peace.
Grateful for those who serve and care and protect and guide and heal.
Grateful for the generosity of shared food and resources.
Grateful for the resilience of the human spirit.
Grateful for small moments of joy.
Grateful for the forgiveness and forbearance that point us towards a better way.
All this and more assures us that you, our Creator, are creating still.
We are grateful for your presence O Lord. Help us lean into your love in hope and faith.
Amen
Tags:country, faith, future, generosity, grateful, gratitude, hope, love, politics, Prayer, United States, USA
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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
Tags:country, despair, divisions, fear, future, guidance, hope, politics, Prayer, prejudice, trust, United States, USA
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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
Tags:change, comfort, country, future, justice, listen, politics, Prayer, protest, USA
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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
Tags:country, future, grace, healing, help, hope, mercy, pray, Prayer, trust, United States, USA
Posted in Pentecost, politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
Prayers For Our Country 