Daily Prayers Friday, 8 July 2022
Welcome to our Friday prayers.
We begin with a reading from the first chapter of St Paul’s letter to the Colossians:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1: 2b–6 & 9–12 NIV®
Let us pray:
Thank you, loving God, for these words of hope and assurance.
May we find in our own hearts the faith and will to follow the example of these early Christians, grounding our lives in the love of Christ and caring for one another in his name.
We thank you for the world we live in,
for its beauty and variety.
We thank you that you provide for us, protect us, and encourage us to take risks. We know that you will be there if we stumble or fall.
Help us to appreciate those people who support us.
Help us to be courageous and imaginative in the way that we live
and in the things which we do to help others.
God of love,
hear our prayer.
We thank you for the way you respond to us
when we realise our mistakes and decide that we want to change.
Knowing that you forgive us keeps us going when we feel ashamed
and when we feel discouraged.
Teach us to be more alert to your prompting,
to listen to those whose voices have sometimes been drowned out
and teach us to change those habits
which do not reflect the life and attitudes of Jesus.
God of love,
hear our prayer.
We pray for all who are sick and those who care for them.
We ask you to place your healing hand on all who are in pain.
May they all be conscious of your presence with them,
bringing them a sense of peace in their hearts.
God of love,
hear our prayer.
We pray for all who are lonely or isolated or bereaved, anxious or afraid.
At this time we remember, especially, the family of Margaret Horner.
We pray for all who live in stressful situations,
those who are unemployed or whose jobs are insecure;
those whose relationships are breaking down
or who suffer abuse or domestic violence.
When we see people in need, whatever their difficulties,
we ask you to help us to recognise if there are ways
in which we may bring comfort or support.
God of love,
hear our prayer.
We ask all our prayers in and through the name of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Saviour.
Amen
Let’s close our time together with a hymn recorded during lockdown – Peace, perfect peace, is the gift of Christ our Lord.
