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

 Prayers of Church & Community, March 10, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, eternal light, savior of our souls …

We are grateful for this moment, dear God - to be here in this place of vast memories, and unhindered hope … a place connected to the deepest currents of time and faith … a place to find ourselves … ground ourselves in the eternal truths of Christ … find strength to work and to life and to love … to sing the great hymns of faith, to read and ponder the Scriptures, to see ourselves in the light of Christ, and in the light of Christ, to see your enteral glory, O God - all that is good and right and beautiful.

Holy God, you are the rising cloud of the day and the pillar of fire at night … you are water from the rock, and manna in the morning … you are the sustenance of our lives, you are the law of the soul, you are the light ahead, and the way forward.

How many times, O God, have you parted the sea, to take us by the hand, and lead us to the Promised Land … how many times, O LORD, have you saved us, protected us, seen us through the wilderness, to make a way for us through a barren land?

How many times, O God, have your forgiven our faults and failings … how many times have you given us a fresh start, a new day, to begin all over again the tasks of living.

Holy God, eternal light, we give thanks … 

We pray for Israel and Palestine - the children of Abraham … we pray that peace will be found, justice achieved … forgive our warring ways, O God … the dogs of war devour the human soul … ancient hatreds resist healing … the merchants of death prosper … let the road to a better day be ours, O God … the green pastures and the still waters of truth.

We pray for loved ones, family and friends …

We pray for our nation, our President and Vice-President, members of Congress and the judiciary. We pray for state and local governments … we pray for our colleges and universities … local school systems and school boards … teachers and librarians … we pray for the preservation of our Democracy.

Let the bells of freedom ring loud and clear … let half-truth clouds be swept away … let the foolish notions of selfish religion be transformed to serve the welfare of all. Reveal, we pray, to one and to all, the greater truths of Christ.

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.