Lord give us ears that listen and are attentive to your word.
Help us to understand and heed your word.
Give us hearts that desire to worship you in reverence and Love.
Thank you that you well supply our needs. May we share willingly of our bounty with those who have greater need.
Lord in your mercy,
Lord we pray for the church throughout the world… For a heartfelt desire to look to you as the Head of the body. That all her members may be valued and respected whatever their gift or contribution.
At the end of the week of prayer for Christian Unity we pray for unity and for discernment of direction and purpose. …that as a church, you would empower us to be part of the wider struggle for justice and promote the dignity of life.
In our diocese, we pray for our Bishop’s Viv and Lee and for all who minister to us. We remember too our friends from other denominations and pray that we would share the same vision.
We pray for St Paul’s congregation as they celebrate their feast day and we ask that you would be with us all next week when we worship and share lunch together.
And we remember our charity of the month …
Lord in your mercy,
We pray for the world. For all in positions of power, that they may exercise that power with justice and compassion. For a will among all politicians to build bridges and accept differences. That they would respect and engage with the concerns of all their citizens regardless of wealth or position.
Lord in your mercy,
We pray for our planet… for scientists working to discover new processes which can help keep us warm and feed us efficiently while avoiding destruction.
For a u-turn in commerce. A willingness to accept less in material terms.
For a change in values, so that time and peace, friends and family and the beauty of the natural world are appreciated more than fashion and money.
Help us to fulfil our own responsibility to live more simply… taking only what we need and being generous with one another.
Lord in your mercy,
We pray for all who suffer… for those who live in the past because they cannot face the present.
For those who live in the future because the present is so awful.
We ask that the hungry may eat, the poor find shelter and the sick be healed in body and mind or spirit.
Among those for whom prayer has been asked we remember…
We pray for all…. Your peace, love and fulfilment.
Lord in your mercy,
Here us as we remember those who have died recently… Derek Jay and Patricia Westmacott, and near the anniversary of her death Bonnie Meech.
We also remember all those who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
Gather them up into your Kingdom with all the saints to live and sing your praise for ever.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen