Prayers

A prayer for those in need:

Father God, source of all wonder and beauty in this world of ours, origin of all love and compassion, it is difficult for us to look at suffering and not ask the question 'Why?'
When family and friends fall ill, or we ourselves are stricken down, we turn to you and look for peace, comfort, reassurance but most of all for healing.
We rejoice when healing comes, and thank you for your loving concern for each of one of us,
But when illness progresses, and sometimes leads to pain and death we turn inward and begin to blame ourselves…….. the healing has not begun because our faith was incomplete.
Yet we know this cannot be so, because this concept is incompatible with the God of Love we serve.
And so the argument revolves and oft times fails to find an answer.
We know we all have needs, both spiritual and physical, and needs are met in various ways - not always obvious to our earthly eyes.
Help us to see that in the end, all will be revealed in the presence of your glory and our 'Why?' will turn to the nod of understanding. And that despite our fears, despite our lack of faith one thing remains secure and that is your loving concern for each one of us.

A prayer for Pentecost

Pentecost is indeed a time of celebration. A celebration that two thousand years of oppression have failed to extinguish the fire of the Spirit

God of Pentecost
Keep alight your fire in our hearts

It's a celebration that remembers the surprise on the faces of those gathered on that first Pentecost, when they heard Your word speaking to their hearts

God of Pentecost
Keep alight your fire in our hearts

It's a celebration that remembers the generations of disciples who have carried the torch of your flame to the furthest corners of this world in which we live

God of Pentecost
Keep alight your fire in our hearts

It's a celebration that remembers the warm feeling in our hearts when we first heard you speaking directly to us through your word and your messengers.

God of Pentecost
Keep alight your fire in our hearts

It's a celebration that not only looks back, but looks forward to all that you are going to do, as we take up the flame of your Spirit and hold it aloft to a world which chooses darkness rather than light

God of Pentecost
Keep alight your fire in our hearts

 "AS I PRAYED" I said, "God, I hurt." And God said, I know."

I said, "God, I cry a lot." And God said, "That is why I gave you tears."

I said, "God, I am so depressed." And God said, "That is why I gave you Sunshine."

I said, "God, life is so hard." And God said, "That is why I gave you loved ones."

I said, "God, my loved one died." And God said, "So did mine."

I said, "God, it is such a loss." And God said, I saw mine nailed to a cross."

I said, "God, but your loved one lives." And God said, "So does yours."

I said, "God, where are they now?" And God said, "Mine is on My right and yours is in the Light."

I said, "God, I miss them." And God said, I know. "But worry not, for the second coming of MINE is close at hand.

"AMEN"

A prayer of blessing:

May you know the love of the heavenly Father deep in your heart
May you understand your significance in the centre of His family,
and the bonds that hold you and I so close as brother and sister
May you understand the lengths that He was prepared to go for you and I
and freely respond in the Today which he has given for us to cherish.

A prayer of thankfulness:

In the midst of darkness, this world, this country, this city, this street, this house in which I live, it is your light by which I see, all others too dim to break through the smog that conceals your glory to my neighbour
May your light so shine in our lives
That others might see you, and seeing you respond - hold out their hand to grasp the flame that cuts through the grime of lives spoiled and cloudy, to show the beauty of the person within.

A Blessing:

May God the Creator grant you the insight to see the beauty that exists both in city and in countryside, sometimes in hidden places.

May Jesus the Saviour grant you the courage to share your faith with others, and the wisdom to know when the time is right

May the Holy Spirit grant you the wisdom to see the good in others,

the knowledge that all love has its origins in the Godhead,

and the understanding that His love extends to all that He has created.

 An intercession leading up to Easter:

Forty days alone, a wilderness of thoughts, tempting and inviting thoughts which could so easily have distracted you from your task, your mission, your vision.

Yet you emerged, stronger and more attuned to all that had to be done, despite a time constraint that to our eyes would have seemed hopeless.

We too live in stressful times. Demands are made of our time that leaves so little for the important things of life. We are so easily distracted in the wilderness of our lives, by every call to go this way or that, to turn stone to bread, leap from mountains and do all that would keep us from the truth.

We listen to the voices of this world and ignore the one who endured all this and so much more, and emerged triumphant that we might not have to suffer so.

Forgive us, Father when we get distracted from our task, our mission. Forgive us those times when we try to be all things to all men, and fail to be anything.

 

 

A Prayer for Spring

When you created this world and all that exists upon it, and breathed your life-giving breath upon those first organisms, did you get a thrill as that first flower bloomed?

Was it exactly as you had designed it?

We buy our seeds in packets, drawn by the promise of a photograph or drawing, aided by books and TV programs and yet still marvel when those first seeds germinate, grow and eventually burst into flower. You had no such help in planning your garden and yet achieved perfection.

I look at any wayside bank and see a herbaceous border balanced in size and color. I see the broad sweep of a hillside and the subtle shades of green transform through the season to give a breadth of color that any garden designer would be proud to have created.

Thank you for Springtime, Creator God, and for the inspiration it provides to me, a gardener.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:

 He came that we might have life

And have it abundantly

Thanks be to God

He came that we might know love

And knowing, might share

Thanks be to God

He emptied himself of life and love

That we might be filled with both

Prayers for Easter

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us a little child, one of us, flesh and blood to share in our humanity

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as carpenter, and yet in whose creative hands a world was fashioned

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as fisherman, and yet pointed to a harvest that was yet to come

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as teacher, and opened eyes to truths that only the poor could understand

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as healer, and opened hearts to the reality of wholeness

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as prophet, priest and king, and yet humbled himself to take our place upon the cross

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus who came to us as servant, and revealed to us the extent of his Father’s love for human kind

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

Blest are you, Lord Jesus, who rose from the ignominy of a sinner’s death, to the triumph of a Savior's resurrection

For God so loved the world

That all might have eternal life

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
for the sake of me
and you
and other sinners too
God so loved the world
Father, help us to love the world as well

ADORATION

God of storm and raincloud
of wind and biting cold
of hail, thunder and flood
in these darker days, these loud and fearful days
we see something of your awesome power,
and recognise our own weakness
our own inability to control the elements.
God of sunshine and birdsong
of calm mists and warm breezes
slow moving streams
and blossoming trees
in these lighter days, these funfilled brighter days
we see something of your overwhelming love
and recognise our own unworthiness
Help us to recognise you within the elements
within your created world
and be grateful

Watching

It is not ours to know the time or place
when you will return
your second coming as it is known
we've enough to concern us in these present times
in the day to day business of living
but one thing is certain
we are all a part of history
and history has a purpose, an end point
a destination
and we should live our lives
as if that destination is also ours
lives lived with purpose
watchful
prepared
for if the time is hidden
it may catch us unawares
with our trousers down, so to speak
our temples full of unwashed linen
dirt and debris
we'd better get the dustpan out, Lord
do some unseasonal Spring cleaning!

A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR
Creator God, at the start of this new year
when thoughts turn again to beginnings
starting afresh, new leaves and turning
skeletons free from cupboards
be with us as we gaze into the distance of fresh mission grounds
of hopes and dreams
Take our fears and turn them into strengths
Take our lack of faith and empower us, through the Spirit who breathes life into this world, whose presence is reflected in the icy chill of winter's breath as well as the comforting warmth of a summer breeze.
Walk with us into this year of opportunity

God enjoys a laugh

God smiles, this much I know
for he created laughter
so that we might join in the enjoyment
of his creative energy
those wicked colour schemes of bird,
butterfly and flower
The shapes and expressions on some of those creatures and insects out there
they weren't created by a boring God
they were drawn and planned by a God with a sense of humour
and I like that thought!

Time

Time of course is something I have so little of, Lord
But then you know that
I am a busy person
busy for you, Lord
doing your work
It's tiring, very tiring, and at times I wish it were not so, that I had time for others
for myself
for you

Son, you have all the time in the world
and beyond
You give so much
and yet leave no time
for receiving
That's not how it's meant to be
It should not be you doing my work
It should properly be I doing my work
through you

There is a difference

The prayers of Soren Kierkegaard -
Each Morning Broken
"Lord! Make our heart Your temple in which You live. Grant that every impure thought, every earthly desire might be like the idol Dagon - each morning broken at the feet of the Ark of the Covenant. Teach us to master flesh and blood and let this mastery of ourselves be our bloody sacrifice in order that we might be able to say with the Apostle: "I die every day."

REASSURANCE

It's all in the touch
the touch of love
the touch of healing
the touch of compassion
the touch of reassurance
the touch that says
'You are special, wanted, held in high regard'
It's all in that touch
that very special touch
the touch you give through us
who reach out to those in need
to those who need to know
help us to be channels of your touch
in this dark world
to bring your love
healing
compassion
and reassurance
to a world that knows none of these

 

A PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Father God, when we look into the brightness of your radience, the light that blinds,
the light that illuminates each dusty corner of our everyday lives,
it is hard to feel anything but embarrassment
as we stand, kneel or sit in your house
sing your praises
say amen
haleluia
Something, that still small voice, whispers insistently in our ears
'There's unfinished business here'
and we know it means cleaning out those corners
vacuuming out the dust and debris of the past
throwing away all that we have clung to
derived undue comfort from
to start afresh
clean
refreshed
pure
ready to do your will
Help us to make that effort
to rid our lives of all that is unclean
that your light may not be obscured by the darkness of our lives but shine through us.

FORGIVENESS
We can never match your perfection Lord
Try as we might, we stumble and fall
grasping for that which we feel is unobtainable
We are nothing if not consistent
in our falling from your grace
For you are perfect love
and we are not
perfect love casts out fear
and we are afraid of failure

'Son, I never ask for the impossible
I never set a goal that cannot be be reached,
a mountain that cannot be climbed, even by those of a nervous disposition.
All I ask is that you come to me as you are at this moment in time, and accept me as I AM.
There is no part of you that cannot be made clean, renewed, restored.
Don't stumble, hold out your hand instead.
That's not too much to ask, is it?'

 

 God weeps with us

Father God, let me never forget
that in your dear Son Jesus Christ
you hung on a cross for me
and for all those who have gone before
or who are yet to enter this dark world
You suffered, bled and died in agony
and the agony that you bore that day
was the agony that we so often heap upon our own shoulders
our hopelessness, illness, suffering, disappointments, lost hopes and dreams
sin
Joined to you
branch to vine
you feel our pain, weep as we weep
hurt as we hurt
You know more about us than we do ourselves
and the sap that rises from depth of your love will always refresh, renew
mysteriously
as in the vine that has been pruned or damaged
and we shall show fruit again
in your time
and in eternity

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