God
of infinite patience and wisdom, we come to you burdened with things that claim
our time, our energy, our resources, our very lives. We are easily drawn away
from a relationship with you by the enticements of the world … we strive for a
life of wealth and comfort. Turn our
hearts away from the easy way. Realign
our desires and move us towards the life that you set before us.
Often,
we are like the man in the scriptures, we are owned by our possessions,
and held captive by our treasures. Help
us to loosen the firm grip we have on our material goods and comfort. Direct us to seek ways to be generous with
the blessings we have received.
We
are grateful for a church that pushes us to reach out to others. Be with the youth as they gather clothing for
homeless LBGTQ youth in the city, and with our PADS team as they collect socks
for our guests. Help each of us to open
our hearts next week and find ways to meaningfully connect and serve with the
Community Partners that will be here for Outreach Commitment Sunday. Open our hearts to the needs of others and
help our arms reach out to the hurting world in ways that transform those we
serve and ourselves.
Abundant
creator, You continue to offer to us healing and hope. Be with Mike and Francine as they mourn the
loss of Vernon and with Pres as his
heart is full of sorrow following Gail's passing. We know that you have a plan for Jeanne, and
we pray for comfort for the Weir family as they walk gently together. Surround the Thompson family on Monday as
they await news of John's surgery. We
rejoice with the Rogers and Yoder families on the arrivals of Melvin and Ananya
and recognize that each new life is a promise of hope. We uplift those who are struggling with
unemployment and financial stress. Pour
your healing on those in our lives who are in need of deep healing … healing of
physical wounds, emotional scars and spiritual damage.
You
seek to transform our lives from captivity to freedom in witness and service.
We look at the world in which there is so much warfare and strife, anger and
hatred, and we become overwhelmed by the needs and the stresses. Loving God, remove the numbness we feel
when confronted by repeated violence and despair … warm us to deeply feel the
woundedness of your hurting children.
Light a spark in our hearts so we can seek creative solutions to complex
problems and demand that evil that exists in the world be stamped out by your
love made visible by our work. Today
we ask for your special care for the people of South Carolina recovering from
devastating flooding. We also lift up
Ankara, Turkey and the thousands of people whose lives were painfully touched
by the bombings at a peace rally. Be
with the families of the 95 that were killed, the 186 injured and the countless
witnesses of this violence. We seek to bring about your Kingdom, here today … a
world where children are not shot, schools are safe, no one is displaced from
their home by violence or terror, everyone has access to education, medical
care and clean water. Show us the way,
Lord, we feel so lost.
Help
us to place our lives and our trust in you, knowing that with your help, we can
accomplish anything. Guide us to
provide comfort, hope and peace for others and ourselves. Give us the courage
and the strength to truly be your disciples.
We ask this in Jesus’ Name, who guided us to pray saying …
