Prayers of Church & Community, April 28, 2024
Westminster Presbyterian Church
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make us holy, let us die that all be free!
While God is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Holy God, Eternal Light,
We pray for our nation, we pray for our President and those who serve with him …
we pray for Congress,
we pray for the courts of the land …
we pray for our armed forces around the world … may they keep peace with the force of ideas more than the force of arms … but if arms are needed, O God, than preserve them, we pray … and may the promise of peace and freedom be realized.
We give thanks for the Founding Fathers and Mothers of this land, who dreamed a glorious dream of freedom and hope … a dream not yet fulfilled, O God, a dream still waiting to be finished.
We thank you, O God, for all whom you have brought to America - from lands to the south, and lands across the seas … an endless parade of peoples and cultures … we are all from somewhere else, dear God, and finally, all from thee.
Help us all, O LORD, to put our hand to the plow, and not look back to what was, but to look ahead to the dreams that beckon us onward.
Holy God, Eternal Light, help us, we pray, to care for your Garden, your earth, all your creatures, great and small.
Holy God, Eternal Light … touch our souls, we pray, with the power of your Holy Spirit … shine the light of faith all around us:
If we are complacent, dear God, disturb us …
if we are discouraged, revive us …
if we’ve wandered from Christ, bring us back …
if we’ve forgotten our promises, awaken us …
if we are tired, dear God, give us rest …
if we are frightened, give us comfort …
if we doubt our abilities, tell us again how good we are …
if we have lost our way, find us …
if we lack purpose, dear God, remind us of our baptism …
Holy God, Eternal Light … we are painfully aware of distress and sorrow all around the world … especially, we pray for our universities and colleges, their students, faculties and staff, and their families.
We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia and surrounding nations … we pray for Israel and Palestine and the nations of the Middle East - may the wisdom of peace prevail, may the courage of forgiveness give light, may the power of tomorrow reveal a pathway through the chaos of the day.
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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