"Prayers of the Community"

A Prayer by Tom Little
February 8th, 2009

 

God of all creatures, God of all comfort, God our champion, hear our prayers now. Bless this day Lord, as we feel the breath of your spirit all around us.  Feel the stirrings of new growth in our lives, as we wonder in awe at the buds and sprouts, even now pushing their way towards the light.

Help us receive your liberating freedom each day as we confess our sins to you, Lord, certain of your forgiveness and healing. Let us hear your voice, in the same way Jesus did, rising from the waters of the Jordan :  “You are my son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”

In city or in desert, in action or in retreat, faced with hard choices, help us remember Lord, that – like Jesus – we are all your children. When life surrounds us with the nashing teeth of wild animals, like our Saviour in the desert, may we know that angels attend us.

The poet and the prophet says “You're gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.”  And though, Oh Sacred One, we may not be tempted by a devil with horns, we are surrounded by temptation daily. Things that whisper us away from the Christ-centered life we cherish.

Take our hands, Lord, as you took the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law and fill us with your healing love, so that we too may rise each day and serve you by serving one another. Breathe new life into us each morning, Holy One, so that our life in Christ is as natural as breathing the air.

Giver of Life, lead us to your word so that we may live by your example, and be examples to others. Help us do this naturally, as you gently open our hearts. Show us when we walk your path, as we enter the villages and temples of our lives, that you are with us. Surely then, Gentle One of the Earth, as our lives unfold in yours, demons will flee – or at least discretely leave the room – in the brightness of your love.

Help us remember, in these troubled times, the comforting words of our Saviour:  “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.”

With the world in financial crisis, and full of more violence than ever Lord, lend your wisdom and compassion in relieving pain and finding solutions.  Lift us all, not merely for profit, but in awareness of your grace and love. Let us create a heaven on earth where all of us have at least the bare necessities.

Help turn swords into plough shares around the world Lord. Let the people of the United States guide their leaders to end the bombing of villages in Pakistan and the wars in the middle east. Show us the way, Oh Holy One, to peace through greater cooperation, development, education and eradication of disease.

Bless the work of this Church and the Peace and Justice Team as we embrace the idea of a  World March for Peace and Non-violence this fall, featuring rallies and a Peace Train from Vancouver to Sacremento as part of a world wide March. Bless this process as it embraces the globe, growing in your grace from a simple seed planted by World Without Wars.

Bless our environmental ministry and the work it is doing with Be The Change Earth Alliance, and thank you for their successful Be the Dreamer symposium here, two weeks ago. Continue to guide all the amazing ministries under this roof, Lord. Especially bless the Raise the Roof concert tonight in the sanctuary.

Give your blessing to the leaders and participants of our remarkable heart-opening Spiritual Journey for Healing starting tomorrow night at the Peace Centre. We acknowledge that we are all broken Lord. We are thankful for the holy spirit that created this program 75 years ago, starting with AA but since blossoming into 12 In-depth, Life-sustaining Steps to Change Our Lives, open to all.  Twelve easy steps, Lord, but only if we place our hand in yours.

We ask your healing for those of us in physical and mental pain, Lord, around the world and within our midst. Please bless Carol Ross, who is now home from VGH and is recuperating at home.   Lillian O'Hara, in Blenheim Lodge, who turned 96 last Thursday, and is very ill.
The Beer family as they surround Andrew with loving care after a serious car accident,
Dawna Tong as she grieves the recent death of her grandmother, Elizabeth MacLeod and Jean Moore as they adjust to life in their new residences and please give thanks for Kay Metheral who turns 90 on Tuesday.

And now Lord, as we prepare to go into your world for another week, let us pray in the words our Saviour taught us:

 

Loving God, in Whom is Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom

The Power

And the Glory

Forever and ever,

Amen.