Prayers of Church & Community, September 3, 2023
Westminster Presbyterian Church
This is the day you have made, O God … a day of rest for the weary, a day to recover from life’s labors, a day to reflect on the deep questions of who we are, and what we value.
A day, O God, to catch our breath, recalibrate our moral and spiritual compass, and find our soul …
A day of worship, O God, a day to ponder our creation, that we have been made in your image, that we live and breath some of your divinity, your glory and goodness, your power and majesty.
A day to give thanks for Christ, dear God … for the good news, the glad tidings, of great joy … the words he speaks to us in this moment, the cross he carries to save us from our sins, the glory of his resurrection, that we might always have hope, in life, and in death, in body and in soul …
A day, O God, to open wide our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit … the flames of Pentecost, the fires of your infinite love, the bright light of your wisdom, your goodness, your purpose for creation, your work in each of our lives.
Helps us, we pray, to value this time, to cherish this church, this place, and its many stories of faith and work, justice and peace, love and service. Help us, to give our lives anew to Christ the LORD!
We pray this day, O God, for our President and Vice President, for members of Congress and those who sit upon the bench of justice … bless them, one and all, we pray, that our leaders will speak intelligently, lead courageously, pray much and pray often.
We pray this day, O God, for loved ones - our families and our friends … where there is pain, we pray for healing … where there is sorrow, we pray for comfort … where there is poverty, we pray for wellbeing … where there is fear and frustration, we pray for peace and wisdom … where there is doubt and anxiety, we pray for the comfort of your Holy Spirit … where there is pride, we pray for humility, where there is anger, we pray for inward peace and reconciliation, where there is confusion of mind and heart, we pray for the light of Christ.
On this Labor Day Weekend, O God, we give thanks for the jobs we have, those with whom we work … we’re mindful of the millions who are underpaid, who work from day-to-day, without security, those without a job; the homeless, the bereft, the challenged and the weary … we pray for those who labor long and hard throughout the nights of our rest - police and fire fighters, hospital workers and the donut store staff … those who make the bread for the day, who deliver fresh vegetables to the stores … for the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker.
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.
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