Prayer
Prayer of the People – 8 December 2019
Heavenly Father,
You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We praise you for this grace. You have brought us from darkness and into your light. Our souls have been made alive by you. In fact — you woke us up.
Praise to the Father.
Praise to the Son.
Praise to the Spirit.
Praise to our God — the great Three in One.
Our souls glorify You; You are magnificent!
Thank you! Jesus when we heard of your great love for us — faith in you rose up in us. Finally There is someone worthy and fully able to heal our souls.
You delivered us from slavery and into freedom from sin at such great cost. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for taking up flesh. Thank you for laying down your life for us at the cross.
Our senses were so numb — we did not know were slaves to sin till the good news quickened our conscience and we grieved the death we could not shake off. Now you are making us new creations. Now our trust is in you. Now we have a hunger for your Word and a desire to do your will.
Come Lord Jesus. Have mercy on us. Grant us the joy of your salvation.
Heavenly Father, we are concerned — for the tasks we have taken up weigh on us. Help us with our studies. This world you have made is so beautiful! There’s more to it than facts and figures — yet there are a lot of those to learn! Help us develop the skills to steward what you have entrusted to us, help us develop the character needed for courageous love.
Lord we lift up people whose dignity and glory as dearly loved and precious creations of God has been forgotten. We lift up the families of ISIS fighters living in camps on the edges of Syria and Turkey. Oh Lord would you reveal yourself to them? Please send your kindness to these children and free them from hate and despair. Let your peace reign that a generation would walk in the joy of your love and delight. Reveal Yourself to them in the night and in the day ‘till hearts are softened and the Holy Spirit has His way.
Now we pray with them and for ourselves with the requests you taught us:
(Please pray the Lord’s prayer with me:)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
Prayer of the People, 1 December 2019
Heavenly Father,
We cry out to you,
“Come.” Come and be with us Immanuel – today,
In this Christmas season,
In this exam season.
Be with us in our struggles and in our joys.
We are waiting for You. Reveal to us the glory of being with you in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We yearn for Your counsel, Your strength, Your guidance, Your peace , Your justice and righteousness.
And yet we are busy, sometimes too busy to stop and pay attention to Your counsel and to receive Your strength, Your guidance, Your peace, Your justice and righteousness.
Right now we quietly sit before You to reaffirm our longing for You and our willingness to walk with You. (pause)
We pray over others who are not paying attention to Your kingdom or are unaware of Your goodness, and greatness, light for life; Reveal to these dear ones in darkness — Your counsel, Your strength, Your guidance, Your peace, Your justice and righteousness.
We ask for hope and justice for the patients impacted by the Zimbabwean doctor’s strike, for the doctors and nurses. Grant them your wisdom and generosity.
In many places Peace seems far away and pain seems more powerful. We look for You, the Prince of Peace to show yourself to those impacted by shootings in Mexico, by political changes in Namibia, and by struggles in Iraq and Iran. We need Your guidance to steward the earth so people experience your love and care. Come Lord Jesus, Come.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer —
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
A Father’s Habit
“Thus did Job continually.” Job 1:5
Sometimes when a man dies
it’s only his children who knew
The contours of a smile turned up
when troubles pulled him down
The soft tears of laughter formed
in the crucible of tenderness
The quick retort of a word marked
by pain — the fear that he was not
enough. But do they know his
prayers? These shall live on
Prayer of the People, 24 November 2019
Heavenly Father,
You are the God who saves. You have reached across the barriers of our ignorance and have made yourself known to us. Thank you for this grace. You have rescued us from darkness and have delivered us into the glorious light of the Kingdom of your Son. Now we reside with you in the communion of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We Praise you. You are the Living God. Where else could we go for life and the words of life? Open our ears that we may hear your voice. Cause life to spring up in us. We long to know so much — we long to know you.
May your Spirit generate in us a greater curiosity about you. May we be drawn to see Jesus. Grant us the grace to grasp the immensity of His love for us.
We confess Lord — we are not like you. Sin keeps talking hold of us, the old nature resists your Spirit in us. We repent of:
our reluctance to be known.
our quickness to judge.
our desperate need for the world’s approval.
our greed, which is idolatry.
our silence which steals your glory.
our unforgiving hearts and
our sluggish love.
Create in us a clean heart Oh God. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Renew our minds — even transform our minds — so that we may have power to live the way of the Gospel in our daily lives.
Lord while we have been looking inward we know many people bear the weight of great conflict from powers outside of them. Oh, that you would grant wisdom from heaven to the students in Hong Kong and to the people of Iran and Bolivia. Here in British Columbia we ask you to be present and to bring clarity of heart and mind to the negotiation tables for beneficial agreements to the people who serve our Province daily.
We are looking to you — so we pray as Jesus teaches us —
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.