3.26.23 Prayers of Church& Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 

Holy God, creator of the heavens and the earth …

Holy Trinity, forever our guide and our stay …

Eternal God, the anchor of all our hope …

Loving God, our inspiration, and our courage …

Deliver us, we pray, from the distractions that dull our spirits and weaken our faith … deliver us, we pray, from all that moves us away from peace, away from love, away from hope … 

Deliver us, we pray, unto your self … that we might, in these few moments of prayer and pondering, recenter ourselves in Christ, reclaim our spiritual legacies, regain our composure, and renew our confidence …

And so to face the world with a sense of what’s real and what isn’t … what matters and what doesn’t … what needs to be done, and what can be set aside … give to us, we pray, the priorities of Christ our LORD … to be prophets of truth, heralds of love, champions of faith, defenders of freedom, messengers of learning, wisdom, and knowledge.

We pray for family and friends … where healing is needed, may there be grace … where peace is needed, may there be mercy … where there’s hurt and sorrow, may there be the touch of friendship, and the gentle presence of your Holy Spirit.

We pray for our nation, dear God - for our President and Vice President … for members of Congress, for judges and juries  … may there be a great presence of mind in our midst, deep convictions for the welfare of the nation, a commitment to preserve our Democracy, to be a beacon of hope for the world … living proof - that justice for all, is possible.

We pray for all who are in transition … from one job to another, from a home here to a home elsewhere … and for those who cross the threshold of this church, established members and faithful visitors, some new to the neighborhood, looking for you, loving God …  

For each of them, this day, and for those with us via YouTube … may they all, in their own way, hear the gospel … behold the glory of Christ, experience the power and redemption of Lent … may the wonder and beauty of faith rise up strong in each of them … may the call of Christ be their joy, may the life of Christ be their assurance, may the peace of Christ be their strength.

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, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. 

3.5.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

God of light, God of love,

Open our eyes that we might see something of your glory … 

To look upon the mountains, moved by their majesty … 

To hear the smallest of birds greeting the morning sun, to feel something of the joy expressed

in that morning song of praise.

To watch clouds form and move and merge into an endless parade across the sky … 

To look upward at night, and beyond the horizon, to worlds far and beyond … where a thousand years are but a day, or day a thousand years … 

And for a few moments, O God, to be lifted up and taken away in praise and wonder … for the healing of our souls … a closer walk with Christ, and more love to you, O God, and more love to those around us … 

Heal us, we pray, in mind, body, heart, and soul …  

Awaken within us the deep longings of our spirit - it is your love we seek, your love we need, your love that constitutes the framework and the energy of the universe … the universe of galaxies unnumbered … the smallest bits and pieces of mystery that constitute our bodies … how we think and talk, and what we want, and how we live.

In our youth, O God, life is endless and full of possibilities … as we age, things change, dear God, as they should, as they must … in the last third of our life, we look back with gratitude, and some regret … we’ve done our best, and we hope for the best, for those we love, and the world in which we live.

You have prepared us all along the way, dear God, prepared us to live, to live with purpose, meaning, courage, hope … in the final third of our life, you help us give way to others who will take up the work justice and peace … in the end, O God, you are there to greet us … as you were in our first breath of time, then in our first breath of eternity.

For all who came before us, saints and sinners, we give your our thanks and praise … and for all who shall follow in our footsteps … bless them, we pray, one and all. 

Grant to us, this day, we pray, our daily bread, wisdom for the living of our lives, dreams to seek, dreams to fulfill, a world to make, and a time to live.

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, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.