Evening Prayer Thursday, 15 July 2021
A reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians
The Supremacy of the Son of God
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1: 15–20 NIV®
Dear God, we thank you for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is your firstborn, before creation.
Most of all, we thank you that you sent him to live among us, and to die for us on the cross,
so that we might be reconciled to him, and through him to be reconciled to you.
We thank you that the whole creation is held together in Jesus.
We are the body of Christ, the church, and he is our head.
Help us, we pray, to continue in faith, established and firm, following closely in the steps of Jesus.
May we not waver, even when the going is tough.
As we begin to recognise that our treatment of our planet is unsustainable,
help us to understand what we must each do to work towards a sustainable future for the whole world.
We pray that our national leaders, together with the powerful multinational corporations,
work together to make and implement decisions that will ensure
that economic development and industrial growth does not destroy the environment,
that international trade does not widen the gap between the rich and the poorest nations.
May they and we recognise that time is running out; decisions must be made and implemented immediately.
Help us to recognise that the daily choices we all make, about what we buy, how and how much we travel,
what we choose to eat and drink, what we spend on clothing,
all have an impact on the world-wide systems that have been developed to meet our demands.
Fair trade is not just about tea and coffee.
Dear Lord, help us to seek to meet the spiritual and physical needs of those about us,
sharing with those that have less than we have.
Turn our attention away from material wants to our spiritual needs.
Teach us to be content with what we have.
Help us to recognise what we and our neighbours truly need,
and to strive to improve the lot of our whole community.
We ask all these prayers in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
