Prayers of Intercession 22 May 2005

By Mr Alan Bayliss

 

A prayer for Trinity Sunday:

Let us pray...
Living Love, beginning and end, giver of food and drink, clothing and warmth, love and hope, life in all its goodness

We praise and adore you. Jesus, wisdom and word; lover of outcasts, friend of the poor. One of us yet one with God, crucified and risen, life in the midst of death.

We praise and adore you.

 
Holy Spirit, storm and breath of love, bridge-builder, eye-opener, waker of the oppressed, unseen and unexpected, untameable energy of life

We praise and adore you.
 

Holy Trinity, forever one, whose nature is community, source of all sharing, in whom we love, and meet, and know our neighbour, life in all its fullness, making all things new.

We praise and adore you.

 
The Government has recently announced that its annual funding is being withdrawn from some Christian Youth organisations. This will make it very difficult for many of them to continue, or at the very least will mean cut backs in the range of services they can offer young people.
 

Lord, we pray for Christian Youth Organistations as they struggle to cope with reduced incomes and for their leaders who give so much of their time in helping children and young people grow into responsible adults with Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer.

A prayer for those who are oppressed for their beliefs.
God of hope, you have given the rainbow as a symbol of your faithfulness, in its colours you have shown us the variety of human life and your call to unity, Its span between heaven and earth reminds us that our hopes for the future are founded on your grace, You have turned your face from judgement to redemption and have called us to be peacemakers. Lord God, make us your rainbow people, glorying in our God-given variety, passionate for peace, trusting in your grace; in the name of Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.
Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer.

A prayer for the Communion of Saints. We give thanks to you, our Father, for all your servants departed this life in your faith and fear; for the memory of their words and deeds; for the sure and certain hope of reunion with them hereafter; for the joy that is now theirs, free from earth's sin and sorrow; and for our communion with them in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are ill in body or mind.
Lord God, in Jesus you touched the suffering, listened to the ignored, gave the depressed something to hope for. You bandaged the broken with love, and you healed them. We believe that your power to heal is still present. We remember those whose minds are menaced by thoughts which worry or wound them. We remember those whose hearts are broken because love has gone, or because the light they lived by has turned to darkness. We remember those whose flesh and bone or mind and spirit are filled with pain.
Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer.

We remember now those who have died and those who mourn.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which no darkness can quench. We remember before God those who have died and light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ which eternally shines and brings hope. We remember May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Merciful Father,
Accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer.
 

 

By Mrs Pat Leusby

Lord we ask that you quieten our hearts as we come before you to bring our prayers and requests to you. May we always be aware of your greatness and majesty, yet you are still ready to hear the prayers of your people, and we ask you to hear us now.

Let us pray in hope and trust for our world.
Dear Father God, we long for a world at peace yet so many are killed, maimed or made homeless in war. We long for a world of justice, yet many are hungry and others tortured or imprisoned for their belief in you. We long for the nations to work together, yet still there is hatred and stockpiling of weapons of war. Lord we bring to you this morning those places where there is no peace or justice. We think of Iraq where the violence continues in spite of the hope their new government generated. We remember the refugees in Dafur- they haven’t been in the news lately but their distress and hunger continues.

We pray for the people of Uzbekistan, especially those caught up in the recent violence there and the families who have lost sons, husbands and fathers, and pray for peace and order to be restored there.
And we pray for the people of Zimbabwe living difficult lives under a harsh government.
We remember those who are still suffering from the effects of the tsunami.

So Lord, we pray for all in parts of the world where there is no peace, for those who will be unhappy today; for parents who have no food to cook for their children; for those who cannot earn enough money for their families; for children who are sick and frightened, and for all those who are alone today and without people to love them.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer.


A prayer for our churches here and at Putnoe Heights.
Lord we thank you for our two churches and the fellowship we share. We thank you to for Charlie and Sam, Joan and Neil, and ask your special blessing on them in the work they do, and for all others who serve in the ministry of word and sacrament. Bless those who serve the church in different ways, that their abilities may be wisely used. We bring before you too the elderly of our churches, the lonely and the weak, that they may find the help and friendship they need with members of the church. Lord may our two churches be strong in all that is good and so serve your purposes.
Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer.

A prayer for family life.
Heavenly Father we thank you for our homes and families and the blessings of your Son who shared the life of an earthly home. Help us as families to love and serve you as we care for one another’s needs and enable us to make our homes worthy of your of your presence. We pray for those we know among our own families who have no Christian faith _ Lord speak to their hearts that they may feel the need to know you in their lives, or to come back to you if they have fallen away. We pray for families facing changes that they may meet them with hope ; for those with heavy burdens that they may find the strength to carry them and for those with no families Lord, we pray that you would surround them with your love and the knowledge that they are part of your great family. Help all of us to be more loving in our homes. Make us thoughtful for others, keep us from grumbling and ill temper and help us to be strong when things go wrong. May your peace rest on our homes and dear ones, wherever they may be.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Now let us bring to the Lord all those who suffer in mind, body or spirit, especially those known to us.
In a moment of silence let us name them before him………………………………..
 

Be with them all Lord and grant them your healing grace. We bring to you this morning Lord those families who have suffered recently from the violence that seems so prevalent in our society today, a society where guns, knives and drugs seem to be so widespread. Be with them in their sorrow and despair and , yes Lord, in their anger too that young family members can be taken from them or badly injured in such violent ways.
So be with those families who mourn and for all who have been bereaved, that you would give them comfort in their sorrowing. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which no darkness can quench. We remember before God all who have died and light a candle to symbolise the light and love of Christ, a light which eternally shines. We remember
Rosemary Ann Brown
‘Bub’
 

You turn our darkness into light, in your light shall we see light.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Finally a prayer for ourselves.
Lord Jesus give us your gentleness and make us sensitive to the needs of others, even when no words are spoken. Help us never to rush in with thoughtless words, nor to brush others aside with sweeping assertions. Help us never to quench the hopes and aspirations of others , nor deepen another’s sorrow. May we convey your peace , your comfort and love on all those we meet in the coming days.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.

Merciful Father , accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ

Now let us join in saying together the prayer Jesus taught us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours
Now and for ever. Amen.