PASTORAL PRAYER: SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

 Good & gracious God,

in the morning when we rise, 

and in the night when we lay down, 

and in all the moments in between, 

You are there. 

In the night while we sleep, 

or toss and turn in anxiety, 

even then, O Lord, 

You are there. 

 

You are waiting for us to turn to You. 

You are waiting for us to look for You. 

You are waiting for us to make time for You, 

to pay attention to You, 
to attend to our relationship with You. 

Far too often, Lord, we find ourselves too busy.

 

You call us to be still. 

We confess that this is difficult for us. 

We prefer to be active. 

We prefer to be busy. 

We prefer to be surrounded by activity and noise. 

Silence unsettles us. 

Solitudes intimidates us. 

Reflection rattles us. 

 

So, we seek diversions and welcome distractions. 

We fill our schedules to overflowing.

And yet . . . deep within us, 

there is a hunger that grows and grows: 

A hunger for silence. 

A hunger for solitude. 

A hunger for time to reflect. 

A hunger for You, O God. 

The busier we become, the more this hunger grows. 

We feel it – an emptiness, a loneliness.

 

Grant us, O God, the strength of steadfast will to feed our hunger, 

to step away, even when there are other demands on our time. 

Shield us from the temptation to put off our prayers 

and postpone our time for reflection. 

Drive away the fears that make us shrink back from silence. 

Teach us how to be still and know You.

These distractions are amongst our greatest temptations, 

an enemy to keep us separated from You.

But You… You are greater than any sin we face. 

You have won the battle at the cross. 

You are the Lord, our Rock, and our salvation. 

 

Though we stumble, 

though we fall, 

though we let the world get the best of us, 

Remind us of Your steadfast presence.  

 

Trials and responsibilities come at us each day, 

even aggressions shake the earth underneath us. 

They seek to tear us apart – from You and from each other.

But upon You, we stand firm.

You alone are solid ground,

the Savior of our souls. 

Free us from the jaws of brokenness 

and fill us with unshakeable hope,

for we give You the glory in our sufferings. 

We stand firm in knowing suffering produces perseverance,

perseverance produces character,

and character produces hope. 

This resolute hope does not put us to shame.

We bask in the abundant love

You have poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. 

 

And so O, Lord, we call upon You to rise up! 

Cast out the enemies

and calm our hearts once more. 

We seek nothing more than strong character

and undaunting courage. 

No matter the challenge, 

we will remain committed, standing firm in each moment. 

 

Give us the Spirit of Christ, 

to stand firm in Your will,

to walk the path You make before us. 

It happens only by Your grace, O God. 

In You alone can we find rest. 

In the heart of Christ, our souls fly free. 

May we persevere in prayer, 

and remain grateful for Your mercy and love. 

 

We ask all of these things because of Jesus. Amen and amen.

PASTORAL PRAYER: SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

 God of our hearts…here we are!

We gather today, many of us drained by another week.

We are like a parched desert, 

empty and in need of replenishment.

We come with thirsty hearts,

praying that Your Word will satisfy us.

We come with aching hearts,

praying for Good News to comfort us.

We come with overflowing hearts,

praying for a chance to share Your love.

 

We thank You that, like the woman at the well, 

You know everything about us. 

Lord, You know our sins –  

the ones that are publicly known and the ones that are hidden. 

Thank You, Lord, that You speak to us, you SEE us,

when others may reject us or say we aren’t good enough.

Thank You for crossing every barrier 

to bring us out of darkness and sin,
and into Your truth. 

 

Thank You for teaching us that 

our small story is part of one big story, 
a story that leads from bondage to liberation, 
from fear to love, 
heartbreak to transformation, 
isolation to trust, 
and death to resurrection, 
again and again and again.

 

Thank You for surprising us with Your presence 

and interrupting our daily lives to remind us 

that only You can quench our thirst. 

If there’s anything that we are doing out of habit

to quench our thirst for You… 

if there is anything we are accepting as a filler or replacement for You, 

reveal it now 
so we may relinquish our control 

and leave our idol pots behind. 

We don’t need dead water;

we need only the living water that You give!

 

 

 

Just as Jesus and His disciples journeyed through Samaria 

to reach their appointed destination, 
teach us to how to walk through strange, foreign places,
how to meet those different from ourselves —
that we might say to them "come and see".
for You bypass no one, 

and we want to follow Your lead.

 

May we also be like the Samaritan woman: 

willing to examine our lives in the presence of Jesus.
May we continue to be true worshipers of the Father, 

in spirit and in truth.
May we be ignited to share with those we know 

what it is like to meet with Jesus.

 

Give to each of us, who thirst for You, 

that living water of Your Spirit:
water of refreshment,
water of healing,
water of cleansing,
water of life.

 

Visit us with Your presence, 

Saturate us with Your Spirit.

Bathe us in Your streams of living water.

 

We pray these things, in the name of Christ, the Living Water, who taught us to pray saying these words: 

 

 

Our Father, who art in 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.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

PASTORAL PRAYER: SALT & LIGHT

 We give you thanks, O Loving God, for the gift of Jesus, the Christ, 

for that face that is so dim in the eyes of the world, 
but so clear in the eyes of the spirit, 
the one in whose countenance is life and light.

 

We give you thanks, Almighty God, 
for this day that you have made, and allow us to share. 

 

We thank you, merciful God, 
for those who are the salt of the earth, 
who give life its flavor. 
We thank you for those who cast salt on icy streets and icy souls 
so that we will not slip and fall. 

 

We thank you, sort of, O God, for designating us to be the salt of the world, 
but salt is just so common. 
It’s so easy to lose our saltiness, 
but it’s not really our fault. 

Salt is so mundane. 
Who notices salt, really? 

 

A saltiness app would be nice, to remind us of who we are, 
or you could let us be something a little more palatable, 
like the cookies of the world, so that people would like us better, 
the ice cream of the world, that would be nice, 
at least some flavoring a little less common, 
more exotic, more cool and current, 
like the cardamom of the world, 
or the turmeric of the world. 
We’d seem more interesting and exciting. 

 

But if we must be salt, 
may it be that when the hard rains come, 
we may be those who still pour, 
pour out wisdom and love upon our community. 

 

We pray, O God, for those for whom life has no flavor, 
those trapped in the boredom of sin, 
in the dull routine of addiction, 
in the drab pursuit of greed and lust, 
in the tedious grasp for power.

 

We pray for those in pain, 
whose lives are a constant struggle for just a bit of peace, 
who fear each coming moment, who pray for surcease of agony.

 

We pray for those who live in worlds of delusion and lies and the false paradise of selfishness.

 

We pray for children, whose lives so often are laced with fears they cannot understand, and forces they cannot control.

 

We pray for those who are always on the outside, always left out, who have no community of hope and love.

 

There seem to be so many these days, O God, in high places and low, who want to rub salt into the wounds of your people instead of binding up those wounds with the oil of healing, who scatter salt on the fields of our common life so that those fields cannot produce the daily bread we need and pray for. Help us to repent of the misuse of our saltiness and to commit ourselves anew to being salt and light, flavor and hope.

 

We give you thanks for the communities you have given us—family and friends and church and nation and world. Help us to be good salty citizens of these communities.

 

PASTORAL PRAYER: PSALM 23

 Dearest Lord,

Shepherd of the world,

You lead us to respite and relief.

You are our provider and sustainer and through Your providence,

we will never want for Your Presence.

You lead us to fields of plenty

and You refresh our souls with the cool clear waters of Your spirit. 

 

Holy Lamb of God,

You are the Good Shepherd.

We follow You Lord because we know Your voice.

We know that You will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death.

You are Yourself the Gate—

we can only come to the Throne of Grace through You.

And You are truly with us—Emmanuel, God with us—

so we will not fear evil but be comforted.

You came to give us life and give it to us abundantly. 

You have prepared Your table for us and anoint us for service.

Anoint us with Your Holy Spirit:

help us to devote ourselves to Your good teachings,

to worship, to fellowship and to prayer.

We eat the food that You have given us,

both spiritual and physical and You nourish us.

 

Holy Lamb of God,

today we pray for our sisters and brothers,

especially for those who suffer.

We pray for the children—

those who live in plenty, but also for those who live in want.

We pray for all of those who live alone, the homebound and the aged.

We pray for those who are absent from us—

those who live far away,

or are stationed in far places and live in great danger

or those who are absent from us even though we share a house with them.

We pray for those who grieve and mourn.

We pray for those who are imprisoned by addiction or disease. 

 

Holy Lamb of God,

we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

All of us are like sheep who have gone astray—

we have not loved You with our whole heart;

we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

Forgive us and free us for joyful obedience.

 

Help us to follow the example of Christ. 

 

He left his petitions in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.

Help us to remember that He personally carried away our sins in His own body

so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.

Help us to rejoice that we have been healed by His wounds!

Once we were wandering like lost sheep,

but now we have turned to Your Shepherd, the Guardian of our souls.

All we can say is thank You

and pray that Your goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.

 

These things we pray in the name of your Son, the Holy Lamb of God,

who taught us to pray saying…Our Father……

 

PASTORAL PRAYER: OCTOBER 18, 2020

 O, Lord, 

Right now, we assemble the armor You have given us. 

We will not be led by our emotions,
but by Your word, which is truth. 

We submit, therefore, our emotional lives to You and Your truth. 

We submit our hearts to the righteousness of Jesus Christ 

and refuse to trust in ourselves for righteousness. 

All righteousness comes from You. 

We confess all known sin that stands between You and us 

and between ourselves and others. 

Reveal to us anything unresolved remaining in our lives 
that will prohibit us from being able to witness today -

both verbally and by lifestyle. 

We are Your ambassadors, 
no matter where we are, today or tomorrow. 

 

Faith in You is our protection, O Lord; 

We take You as our shield of protection. 

You stand between us and the enemy. 

Help us to recognize the origin of every thought that comes to us today. 

We choose to bring all our thoughts captive to Your thoughts. 

We place Your helmet of salvation upon our heads. 

We have been redeemed. 

We have been delivered from this present evil age 

and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son who You love. 

We take Your written Word and hide it in our hearts. 

We yield our minds and our mouths 

to the Holy Spirit for Scripture recall and proclamation. 

We yield our lives to the filling of the Holy Spirit. 

Help us to walk on “high alert” to Your presence in our lives today. 

 

After all is said and done, Lord, 

we ask that You would make us strong in the Spirit. 

We seek to rely on Your strength, not our own. 

We need You as Protector and Shelter, God.

We cannot stand against the plans 

that the enemy has for us 

in our own ability.

As we move through life, 

we understand that we aren’t facing 

mere frustration with other people; 

the source of much of our conflict 

is from unseen spiritual forces of evil in our world.
Therefore, we resolve to hold before us 

every defense You give us, 

so that we might stand against 

whatever opposes Your plan for Your Kingdom, 

and having done everything we can do, 

we trust in Your grace to be our foundation.
And so we stand, braced by Your truth, 

and guarded by Your righteousness (and not our own); 

we are enabled by the power of the gospel 

to actively bring Your peace to this sin-sick world – 

prompt us to step out in confidence.
No matter what happens to us, 

we are safeguarded by the faith which You give; 

the subtle schemes and the blatant attacks of the evil one 

can’t pull us away from Your love for us. 

Your salvation keeps and holds us even 

in the midst of pain that we didn’t imagine was coming.
We have the sword of the Spirit – the word of God – 

which dwells in us. 

 

Holy Spirit, continually prompt us 

to give You free reign our lives, 

reminding us to keep our ongoing conversation 

with the Father alive and vibrant.

In all our prayer, keep us alert and consistent; 

put in our hearts the issues and situations 

for our loved ones and for the world 

that You want us to discuss with You. 

And when You prompt us to pray, 

protect us from distraction, 

so that we can partner with You 

in Your work for the world.

In this, we want to be like Jesus, 

who was constantly pointing back to the Father; 

reminding us that He wasn’t living by his own agenda, 

but only by what the Father was showing Him. 

Show us, Father, as well, how You want us to follow Jesus. 

Hear us as we follow Christ’s example in prayer, 
as we pray together, saying… 

 

Our Father, who art in 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.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

PASTORAL PRAYER: OCTOBER 11, 2020

 O Good and Gracious God, 

of boundless mercy and grace, 

we come before You now in prayer, 

not by our merit, 

but only by the perfect work of Christ,

by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, 

who unites us to Christ, 

that You might not stand far from us, 

but be close to us, 
so close that You invite us to call You, “Our Father.”

We approach You in joyful awe of who You are. 

You are all-powerful, able to accomplish anything and everything. 

You are all-together good.

You restore those things that bring You 

the greatest glory and Your people the greatest joy. 

You are all-together wise, 

able to devise perfect goals, 

and achieve those goals by the most perfect means. 

Yes, Lord God Almighty, You always work with flawless precision. 

Not only could Your acts not be better done, 

but a better way to do them could not be imagined. 

You, an infinitely astute God, 

work in ways that are far beyond our comprehension. 

O Lord, how manifold are Your works! 

In wisdom and creativity, You have made them all. 

The earth is full of Your riches and glory.

 

We praise You for calling us into a family of believers.  

We thank You for giving us one another, 

for giving us the community of the church.  

We thank You for the opportunity to come to this place 

and to join our hearts and voices together with others 

and to know that You hear us and restore us from all our troubles.  

We praise You that in our fears, You are our rescuer and refuge.  

 

You call us to do our part - 
to work, pray, trust, and believe 
that You are who You say You are. 

You can turn our losses into gains, 

our rollercoaster lives into straight paths. 

You can restore the broken and the crushed, 

the hurting and the lonely. 

You can do all things. 

 

Like Job, when we ask for Your presence and intervention, 

we will end up on our knees, astounded at Your greatness, 

and humbled by our own unworthiness.

When we authentically share our hopes and dreams with You, 

You promise a harvest of joy. 

Fill us with expectations of Your goodness. 

Help us see You in this world, active in love, 

and help us notice Your presence by our side,

so we may walk Your way without stumbling. 

 

You, who makes all things new;

You, who brings beauty from our ashes: 

bind up our broken hearts, 

proclaim freedom over our lives, 

and release us from darkness. 

For You are the One who promises 

to comfort those who mourn, 

and bestow upon us crowns of beauty, 
oils of joy, and garments of praise. 

You will turn our despair into rejoicing. 

For we will put our trust in You 
and believe in Your promises of hope. 

Our suffering will become a testimony 
to Your greatness and faithfulness.

Our brokenness will become a testimony 
of Your miraculous power of restoration. 

 

Lord, plough the Gospel deep within each of us, 
that our hearts may be a fertile field, 
the roots of Your grace spreading far and wide in our lives. 
Give us a deeper trust in Christ Jesus; 
give us a deeper knowledge of Yourself 

as Savior, Restorer, Lord, and King.  
Give us deeper communion with You in prayer, 
more sweetness in Your Word, 
a more steadfast grip of its truth. 
By Your Spirit, knit us together in love, 
to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding 
and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 

and who gave us these words to pray:

 

Our Father, who art in 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.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

PASTORAL PRAYER: OCTOBER 4, 2020

O Good and Gracious God, 

we come to You this morning in the name of Jesus, 
our Lord and Savior.  
We come, not as strangers or foreigners, 
but with the confident knowledge that 

we are Your children, and You are our Father.  

We thank You today for Your faithfulness, 
and Your mercy and grace.  

You are always there when we need You.  

You have never turned us away. 
You have never neglected us.  

You've never failed to fulfill Your promises to us and to Your world.  

In our troubles and tribulations, 

and when the road seemed too long, 

You've been right there beside us, yoked to us, 

and today we seek to glorify You 

through our lives and through our words.  

Thank You, Lord, for walking the journey of life with us.

Thank You for Who and What You are.

Lord, we earnestly want to do Your will 

and fulfill Your plans and purposes for us.  

We’ve surrendered our lives to You, 

and You can do with us whatever You choose.  

Or at least that is what we say…

So often, we are overcome 
with the busyness of living and the day-to-day activity.  

We have jobs. We have families. 

We have responsibilities -  

some of vital importance,

yet some are only trivial.

 

We are stuck in a world of instant gratification, 

and easily become distracted from our calling 
to be Your faithful disciples.  

We drift until we desert You.

We fail to count the cost of following You. 

We lack endurance and perseverance.

We love the present world and forget our eternal home.

Our vision fades, and we fail those who depend upon and love us. 

 

So help us, Lord, to put first things first.  

Help us to keep our priorities straight.  

Remind us to seek first Your Kingdom and righteousness 

and let the other things fall into their rightful places.  

Guide us to make the right choices that will count for eternity.

 

Lord, we confess we are weary. 

This year feels like we’ve been 

running a marathon with a sprint mentality. 

We are like hamsters on a wheel, 

trying to flee this abnormality, 
but instead we’re running in circles and going nowhere. 

May we stop trying to escape our frustration, 

and instead hold tight to Your vision, not letting it fade away.  

We know that because of You, 

we are ultimately the victors over the trials in our lives. 

We lean into the saving grace that nothing in this world 

can separate us from Your steadfast love. 

 

Lord, incline your ear, and hear; 

open Your eyes and see,

and save us from the sin, which clings so closely, 

and the weights, which slow us down.  

Turn our eyes upon Jesus this morning,  

for He alone is our goal, our aim, and our treasure.  

 

Grant Your Spirit to come,

that we might, 

with great hope and expectant joy, 

look to Jesus, 

the author and perfecter of our faith, 

and in so doing,

may we encourage and inspire others to follow You, too.  

Grant us a spirit of unity among ourselves, as we follow Christ Jesus, 

so that with one heart and one mouth 

we may glorify the God and Father of our Lord and Savior, 

who taught us to pray by using these words:

 

Our Father, who art in 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.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.