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

 Prayers of Church & Community, Dec. 15, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Teach us how to pray, O LORD … we want very much to do it well … 

Give us the courage to pray … to bow our hearts before your glory … to open wide our minds to your will … 

Give us eyes to see those moments in our daily journey when prayer is needed … give us pause in the midst of our busy lives, to breath the words of thanksgiving … give us ears to hear the songs of life … songs of sorrow and songs of joy … make us sensitive to the ebb and flow of your Holy Spirit, we pray … 

We can do so much on our own, O LORD, but only so much - we need your grace to complete the day … to finish what we begin, repair what we break, heal our wounds, cleanse our souls, restore what is lost, refresh our resolve.

Today, O God, we celebrate Mary … you gave yourself unto her, and through her, you were born into this world … she walked with you when you took your first steps, she fed you in the middle of the night, she bathed you with tender care … she heard your first words … she and Joseph took you to Jerusalem, and there to see the Temple, your Father’s house … your beloved mother wasn’t always sure what you were up to … but she stayed the course, and in the end, she stood by your cross and watched you die … she was at the tomb on the day of your Resurrection … and in glory, she shines with you and all the Saints.

Blessed is her name, O God … and blessed is her courage, and her faith … by her example, teach us how to say “Yes!” to the great things of life … teach us that it’s ok to be afraid, to be uncertain … helps us to see the angels who visit us, the moments of opportunity for life and for love … and within the womb of our own soul, dear God, come and make a home with us … and help us, then, to birth your love into the world.

This day, O God, as Mary prayed for her world, so we pray for our time and place … mindful of Syria, Israel & Palestine, the Koreas, Ukraine and Russia, the nations of NATO, and our neighbors to the north and south … may the vulnerable be respected … may the powerful be mature … may goodness and peace be the highest priorities … may the church be faithful to 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.

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, Dec. 8, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Oh LORD our God, in your mercy, we find our hope, in your love, our peace … deliver us, we pray, from the fears and worries that so easily grow out of hand … help us, we pray, to engage with our world, but not to be swept away in the chaos of the day.

We offer up our prayers, O God, in faith - that every prayer uttered anywhere, by anyone, adds to the welfare of the world. 

Our prayers, feeble as they are, rise to heaven’s gate, and there, our prayers, and those of all humanity, are well received.

We pray for South Korea, O God … for the people of that great nation and their democracy …

We pray for the city of Manilla … may your love comfort the bereaved … may your Holy Spirit prompt an outpouring of assistance.

We pray for Syria in the throes of civil war … we pray for the State of Israel and the Palestinians … we pray for Ukraine and Russia … we pray for the nations of Africa … may your Holy Spirit strengthen the church in all of these lands … may the gospel be proclaimed with joy and courage, integrity and mindfulness … may the right hand of fellowship be extended to all … may the works of compassion and the deeds of mercy be amplified by your love … may the church be the church of Jesus Christ, dear God … never the church of a nation, nor ever to bow down before the idols of wealth and power … but the church of the resurrection, rising to a new day of hope and peace … giving unto others the treasures of faith, forgiveness, and fortitude.

Bless us, now, we pray, in the remains of the day … see us into a new week … lead us upon the pathways of righteousness … remind us, we pray, that we never walk alone … you walk with us in the wind, in the rain, in all the storms of life … you are the silver lining in every cloud, and the rising sun of every 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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, Dec. 1, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light, creator of the heavens and the earth … we give thanks for the gifts of life … to love and be loved, to learn of new things, to grow in our faith … to have friends and be a friend … to be followers of Christ … to know his grace, and see his glory.

Give us new hearts, we pray, every day … hearts fit for his grace … and give us good eyes, we pray, to see his glory - the radiance of his goodness and mercy … and ears to hear his words …  

In these moments of worship, O God, move mightily within our souls … that we would leave here with a fresh sense of purpose and everlasting hope.

With hope, dear God:

We pray for our nation and those who lead us … 

We pray for the city of Manilla … for those who lost their homes to the fires, and those who lost loved ones … 

We pray for the city of Aleppo … we pray for the nations of the Middle East.

We pray for loved ones near and far … we pray for our children, and grandchildren … we pray for our parents and grandparents … and all who came before us … you loved them through and through, and through them, O LORD, the energy of life was sustained … 

We pray for Westminster …

Bless us, we pray, as we carry the torch of life in our time and place … may we not fail you, O God … when we are weak, give us your strength … when we are afraid, give us your courage … when we stumble and fall, raise us up to walk again.

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.