Category: Prayer of the Week

Gracious God, we are gathered here today as one body, because you chose to call us your friends.
We come from all walks of life. We have had our share of good days and bad days.
In the world’s eye, we aren’t good enough or worthy enough to have this bond;
but in your sight, we are exactly who you need.
Despite all the drama, we made it here to worship and praise your name.
May the love we experience today in worship restore us, revive us, refresh us.
Thank you for loving us and calling us your friends.
Amen

Merciful God, you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the Good Shepherd,
and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again:
keep us always under his protection and give us grace to follow in the steps of the Risen Christ.
Teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to your glory and that of the Saviour slain for our sins.
Amen

God of grace, you know our weaknesses, and how we let you, ourselves, and others down by the things we say and do, or fail to do. As we come to worship, open our hearts and minds, to learn from our mistakes, to know more of your ways, and live and love as Christ loves us.
Amen

Risen Lord, stand among us and cause us to hear what is written in the Scriptures
so that we may believe that you are the Son of God;
and that believing, we may have life in your name.
Melt our hearts that we may accept your love.
Renew our minds, so that we may know your truth.
Strengthen our wills so that we may serve you faithfully
and be the light and the salt in the places and communities where you have called us.
Amen

Amazing God, we praise you that from the silence of an empty tomb,
a message of joy has spread around the world.
From the brutality of a death on the cross, healing love has touched the earth.
We pray earnestly for this healing love to touch Ukraine.
From the initial uncertainty of the first disciples, your church has grown and reached out in faith to all.
Thank you for Easter, thank you for life, thank you for your underserved Grace.
Amen

Living God, we come before you in humility,
seeking your guidance and comfort in the midst of the challenges our world faces.
As we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on this day,
we are reminded of his sacrifice and the hope that it brings.
In the midst of uncertainty, we trust in your divine providence
and surrender our worries and fears to you.
Fill us with hope and gratitude, knowing that your presence is with us always.
Bless this Palm Sunday and guide us as we journey towards Easter,
rejoicing in the hope of your resurrection. In Jesus’ MIGHTY name, we pray.
Amen

As we gather, make us mindful of the wonderful variety of people and experiences
in our church community, in our local community, in our nation and in the wider world –
so much more accessible to us now than it was a hundred years ago.
May we be truly thankful for all these riches.
Amen

Lord Jesus, thank you for everyone who looks after children,
especially mothers on this Mothering Sunday.
Thank you,
for our families – for dads and brothers and sisters,
for grandmas and granddads and uncles and aunties, for foster carers and step parents.
Thank you,
for special friends and neighbours, childminders, nursery workers and school staff
who all share in caring for children.
Thank you,
that you love and care for us even before we are born
and that we can discover your love through the people around us.
Amen

Amazing God, you are our God, and we are your people, your children.
Help us to learn your ways, that we may love you more dearly, and learn to live more truly,
enjoying and sharing your abundant life with the whole planet.
Amen

Heavenly Father, you anointed your Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit
and with power to bring to us the blessings of your kingdom.
Anoint your Church with the same Holy Spirit,
that we who share in his suffering and victory may bear witness to the gospel of salvation;
through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen

God of All Newness and Creation, even deep in the wilderness of Lent,
we are nevertheless new creations in your sight.
Even when we are deep within trials and tribulations,
even there we are held within your loving embrace.
In Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself.
Come, Holy Spirit, that we might be trustworthy messengers of that spirit of reconciliation.
Amen

Holy and loving God – whose nature and ways are far beyond our understanding,
we thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus – who lets us see your face in his:
who shows us your love in his actions and your grace in his manner of being.
In him too, O God, we see ourselves as you would have us be and as your power is able to make us.
Make us more like him now, we pray.
Amen

Loving God, we praise and thank you that through the saving work of your Son Jesus,
healing and life have been given to us.
Jesus’ life transforms ours, revealing hidden depths and strengths
where we only see doubt and limitations.
Thank you for the purpose that living with Jesus brings to our lives.
We know we haven’t earned what we now enjoy; it is a free gift by your Grace.
As we realise more and more fully how much Jesus means to us,
may we, like the Apostle Paul, be able to spend our lives showing others the difference Jesus makes.
Help us make ourselves all things to all people for the sake of the Good News.
Amen

Creator God, you have created us to have life, and life in all its fullness.
Help your wounded Church to be a source of hope and healing.
As we follow Jesus’ way with determination, may we lead others to you.
May the gift of your Holy Spirit enable our eyes, ears, and minds to receive
the unconditional love with which you love us.
Purify our hearts that we may always be ready to love our neighbour, however different, as ourselves.
Through the self-giving life of Christ our Lord.
Amen

Gracious God, you listen attentively to the cry of holocaust, yet also encourage us to sing the song of hope.
With sorrow we remember before you the tangled tale of our bonds with the Jewish people.
We repent of the centuries of hostility and hatred.
May we continue to foster a new spirit of mutual understanding,
building deeper relationships which honour the heritage of faith that we hold in common,
so that together we may bear witness to the generosity of God’s compassion and steadfast love,
which seeks to bring heaven in ordinary here on earth.
Amen