Category: Prayer of the Week

God of the wilderness, your Spirit leads us to face the truth, unprotected and exposed:
in our times of trial help us to resist the worship of empty power
so that we may find our true food in Jesus Christ, the broken bread.
Grant us, Almighty God, that through this yearly observance of Lent we may enter more deeply
into the mystery of Christ and draw upon its power in the conduct of our lives.
Amen

Holy God, mighty and immortal,
you are beyond our knowing, yet we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ,
whose compassion illuminates the world.
Transform us into the likeness of the love of Christ,
who renewed our humanity so that we may share in his divinity,
the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

God of righteousness, we adore you for the depth of your wisdom.
You see the light in us and in others that we fail to recognise,
for you are the source of that light, and you seek to nurture it, no matter what we have done.
God of love and light, we adore you.
Amen

Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another
and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered.
In our community, we are many different people;
we come from many different places, have many different cultures.
Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding
the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us.
We pray in faith.
Amen

As we draw near to you, God, today, we praise your holy name
for allowing your Kingdom to break through into our lives.
We thank you for the things that are ordinary to you, God, but extraordinary to us
and we thank you for calling us to be part of your story–
ordinary people, caught in the extraordinary story of your wonderful plan for our salvation.
We give praise in Jesus’ name.
Amen

Lord God and Father,
we remember before you all those who bear the inner and outer scars of the Holocaust and of subsequent acts of genocide.
Let them not be overwhelmed by the horrors that engulfed them.
Be close to them.
Help them to see that you suffer with those who suffer,
and that no wickedness can ever extinguish your infinite love.
Restrain those who are filled with hatred and use violence to pursue their ends.
Change their hearts.
May remembrance make us alert to the reality of evil and its deceptive allure.
Help us to recognise our own capacity for evil, and allow your Spirit to purge it from our beings.
Help us to stand up against evil and oppression, even if that means we have to suffer ourselves.
Enable us to defend those who are not strong enough to defend themselves,
and to be ready to bring the light of your truth into the dark areas of human experience.
Deepen our respect for everything you have made,
and help us to share in securing the maximum good of every person who is alive in your world.
We ask this in the Name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for our sins, carries our sorrows,
heals our wounds, and is risen for our freedom.
Amen

Living God, who called us to serve your Son in the least of our brothers and sisters,
grant, we pray, that by the example and intercession of the saints gone by,
we may burn with love for you and for those who suffer.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, so that our hearts may possess the strong love by which you created us.
You govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people
and bestow your peace on our times as we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen

Generous God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power.
You turned the ordinary into the extraordinary at a wedding in Cana
and so we come to you this morning,
ready for you to transform our ordinariness into something extraordinary.
Amen

God of all creation, the  fertile plains and wilderness belongs to you, and it is there you often call us to find you. From the wastelands of our lives, we seek you, as did those who sought John by the Jordan River. We now humbly bow our heads for cleansing and joyfully renew our baptismal vows acknowledging that Baptism is a gift from you through Jesus our Lord.
Amen

Lord Jesus, we gather at the start of a new year, we gather to worship you.
May you journey with us always, especially through the dark and uncomfortable places,
and into places filled with hope and new possibilities, into a place of light and love.
Amen

Lord God, you are light in our darkness. What a blessing you are!
You are purpose in our wandering. What a blessing you are!
You are revealed in the angel’s greeting. What a blessing you are!
You are known in the acceptance of Mary. What a blessing you are!
You are felt in the care of Joseph. What a blessing you are!
You are received in the following of the shepherds. What a blessing you are!
You are given in the gifts of the magi. What a blessing you are!
You, Lord God, are a blessing today.
Amen

To you, O God, we lift our hearts; how great you are.
You are our saviour; you are our power; you are our strength.
You are the giver of life-giving water to quench our spiritual thirst.
You are a bounteous one beyond our imagining.
You are the giver of gifts beyond compare.
To you, O God, we lift our heart, we raise our eyes, and we shout in adoration.
Amen

You, Loving God, are the God who gives peace.
In this second week of Advent, we pray that you will cause us to remember that because of Jesus
we can experience peace even within the turmoil and chaos of our world that passes understanding.
We are able to have the fullness of peace in our hearts,
because our Saviour and your Son sits at your right hand and makes intercession for us.
We are comforted by the knowledge that he paid our sin debt, and for this we give you our humble gratitude in his name.
Amen

God of promises, you sent your Son to be born among us by Mary and to take our human nature.
Grant that we, who have been born again in him and made your children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit.
Guide us through this time of Advent by the same Spirit
as we prepare to celebrate his birth and look forward to his return in glory.
Amen

Loving God, in weakness or in strength we bear your image.
We pray for those we love who now live in a land of shadows,
where the light of memory is dimmed, where the familiar lies unknown,
where the beloved become as strangers.
Hold them in your everlasting arms, and grant to those who care a strength to serve,
a patience to persevere, a love to last and a peace that passes human understanding.
Hold us in your everlasting arms, today and for all eternity; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen