Prayer- January 4, 2009

In the turning of the page, O God, a fresh start …
A new year upon us …
A chance to review the way it’s been …
And maybe craft a few new ideas for how we’re going to live.

We thank you, O God, that we’re here …
It’s good to be alive,
To have friends and family …
To love and be loved …
To have a church called Covenant…
To have a job …
To be retired …
To have bread on the table and a place to lay our head …

Help us, we pray, O God, for the year to come …
To be people of faith … to put ourselves more completely into your hands … to become better acquainted with Jesus and to follow more clearly …
To believe deeply and fervently in the spiritual character of life … that life is more than just food and drink, and the passing of time like sand through our fingers …
To see the sacred in every moment … the sacred in every human being … to see your son Jesus in the least of the least …

Help us, we pray, to be women and men of hope …
Because you are at work in all things …
And all things work together for good …
When others see only darkness, help us to let our light shine.
When others are discouraged, give us patience to walk slowly with them on their own dark road …
When the angry voices of our world shout loudly, give us words of peace and forgiveness …
When the news brings so much sadness, energize us with hope, O God, so that we, your people, can apply ourselves creatively and hopefully to the resolution of the world’s ills …
And for all those groups who work for peace … who work on behalf of hope …
Who light a candle in the dark …
Who offer a helping hand …
Who stand beside the poor and the oppressed …
Who challenge the corrupt values of power and greed …
O God, we thank you for the grace at work in our world … and the hope we have in Jesus our LORD.

Help us, we pray, to be a people of great love …
To love the sunrise and the sounds of music …
To love the wind in the leaves and a fresh cup of coffee …
To love with action as well as words …
To love life with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind …
To love kindness, practice justice, and walk humbly with you …
To love you and to love one another as Jesus does … for he is love, and to love is see you, and to see you is to love …

To be people, O God, of faith, hope and love …
For the year ahead …
For 2009 …
For all that shall be …

In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done …