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

 Prayers of Church & Community, Feb. 25, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, LORD of creation and covenant, cradle and cross … you made us from the dust of the earth and filled us with your very own breath … 

In this holy place, O God, the whispers of faith surround us, your divine presence is felt a bit more keenly, our spiritual sensitivities are awakened - we find relief, encouragement, hope … we find our strength, and the courage to be strong … we find ourselves, and the courage to take one more step … we find something of ourselves, O God, as we find you … and YOU find us.

By the light of Christ, dear God, we see your glory … your love at work in all things for good … the tears you shed on behalf of your people, the pain you feel on the cross we build, the crown of thorns we weave … the nails of hatred, the spears of greed … ancient grudges and persistent sins.

We see your glory, high and lifted up … in the heavens and in the wonders of creation … we see your glory, O God, your creativity, your love, in the ways of our hair - straight and firm, short or long, tightly curled with a will of its own, bountiful or sparse, a splendid array of color and tone.

Your glory, O God: within our souls … mountains of love and beautiful courage … we are gifted, we are talented - we sing and dance, and write poetry … we follow recipes and bake an apple pie … we offer our hand to the weak, we speak words of wisdom … we care, we love, we dream, we hope.

Holy God, we pray for loved ones and friends … we pray for their wellbeing, in mind, body, heart and soul … we pray for healing and peace, for wisdom and love … protect them, we pray, from the predatory charms of materialism, save them from the vain promises of wealth and beauty … guard them, we pray, from the politics of fear and the religions of power.

Holy God, we pray for our land, our nation, our leaders - we pray for their welfare … may they lead with dignity, guide with vision - faithful, vision - one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.

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.

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

LORD God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, give us the eyes of faith … that we might see the glories of your love, the wonders of your creation, the beauty of humanity, and it’s sorrows and pains, too … 

Give us the eyes of faith, we pray, to see the world as you might see it … in all of its goodness, and with all of its sin … to see the glory of those who love, and the horror of those who hate … 

To see with the eyes of Christ, to see with the heart and the soul … to see your love within all things, your love moving hard and fast to set right what has gone wrong, to heal what has been broken, to restore what has been lost … a great love, O LORD, a boundless, fascinating love, repairing the broken wall, laying the foundation of a new world, charting a course to hope and peace … your great love, O God, at work in all things … 

Be with us, we pray, to comfort us in our distress and pain, and to compel us to live in the Larger World … 

Forgive us, O God, if we have used faith to shield ourselves from the sorrows of life … forgive us, O God, if have used the gospel to avoid seeing the need for engagement and sacrifice … forgive us, O God, if have pledged ourselves to follow Christ, but have gone our own way, instead, to serve our own interests. Forgive us, O God, we pray.

Strengthen us with the Holy Spirit … that we might love all the more … that we might give thanks with our entire being, heart, soul, mind and body … to give thanks for the blessings of life, and the opportunities of serving Christ, to be his ambassadors, to share his love, to create the world for which he gave his life.

Be with us, we pray … guard and guide our loved one - our families, our friends … guard and guide our towns and cities, we pray … guard and guide communities of faith - whatever their creed, or how they say it - may the quest for truth never cease, may the effort to live in the Larger World never be set aside, may the love we all desire, may the peace we want, be given away in order to be found … for in the sharing, all is made new, in the giving, we receive … in the building up of others, we ourselves are made new … as you have given unto us in 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.