Prayer for July 1-7, 2012 

Sermon Text: Mark 5:21-34

That we may share what You have blessed us with

Christ Jesus, we rejoice in your ability to bring freedom from suffering and give peace.  We rejoice in your ability to overcome death and give new life.  We rejoice that You respond with compassion and tenderness to all who come to You in need.

How often You have healed our afflicted bodies and eased our troubled minds!  You have restored us to the community of faith.  You have renewed us so completely that everything seems new.

Enable us to walk with You in courageous faithfulness.  Enable us to be agents of your compassion, who bring your healing, your liberation, peace, and renewal to many around us.  We long to share what You have blessed us with.  Enable us by your energetic Spirit.  Amen.

Prayer for June 24-30, 2012 

Sermon Text: Mark 4:35-41

That we may rest in You in times of unrest

God of power, we rejoice that no matter how severe or dangerous the stormy moments of our lives may seem to us, You are never out of your depth.  You are able to act calmly, and in transforming ways, even when we are inclined to panic.  You are able to bring calm, to create peace.  No situation is beyond your ability to intervene and save your people.

You have promised that You would never forsake us.  Yet we often act as though You have abandoned us and left us to face chaos alone.  Our faith often seems fragile or non-existent.  We are inclined to panic first and pray later.

Enable us to trust You fully!  Give us faith that is free of anxiety and courageous in the face of threat.  Help us rest in You when unrest swirls around us.  Amen.

Prayer for June 17-23, 2012 

Sermon Text: Mark 4:26-34

That we might be faithful and glad servants

Sovereign God, we rejoice in You and in your merciful reign.  We rejoice that You allow us to participate in bringing your reign to fullness by faithful acts of witness and service.  But we acknowledge that the extension of your reign goes on, unseen, and uncontrolled by us.  You invite us to participate in the harvest You have prepared, but all of the growth is given by your nurture and care.

God, we rejoice that You are relentless, tenacious, in the extension of your reign, yet gentle, subtle, in its sure increase.  In spite of ongoing opposition by defeated powers, your reign spreads your nurture and shelter among us, and in an ever widening circle.

God of wisdom, we rejoice in Jesus’ thoughtful instruction to whoever would hear.  Give us ears to hear Jesus’ word for us today.  Give us understanding that we might be faithful and glad servants of your reign.  Give us energy to participate in the harvest You have prepared.  Amen.

Prayer for June 10-16, 2012 

Sermon Text: Mark 3:20-35

That we may see your power and truth and do your will

God of wonders, we rejoice that your Spirit has enabled us to see your power revealed in the works of healing and liberation attributed to Jesus in the gospel stories, during twenty centuries of church history, and in our own experience. 

There is no one like You in power to liberate and heal!

God of truth and wisdom, we rejoice that your Spirit has also enabled us to see your truth revealed in the teaching of Jesus that the evangelists have passed on to us, and that many translators and teachers have passed on in faithfulness, so that we too might hear and believe and follow in obedience.

Your wisdom and instruction are incomparable in truth and beauty!

God of all people, we rejoice that your Spirit draws all who follow Jesus, by doing your will, into one family united in your presence.

We rejoice to be called brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus!

We rejoice to be identified as your children!  Amen.

Prayer for June 3-9, 2012 

Sermon Text: John 3:1-17

That we may submit to ongoing renewal

Christ Jesus, when we come to You in our fear, with our many questions and unspoken agendas, You confront us with the truth.  But You confront us in the love of God and with a desire to rescue us, not condemn us.

You invite us to live within your peace making, life giving governance that will endure forever.  But you inform us that we cannot participate in your reign unless we become new people ourselves, people reborn by the untamed wind of your Spirit.

We rejoice in You, for You have allowed us to see You in the vulnerability and glory of your crucifixion.  You have helped us to trust You in spite of our limited understanding.  You have led us to the waters of baptism.  Your Spirit has surged through our lives, transforming us and making us new. 

Enable us, as your redeemed and transformed people, to submit to the ongoing renewal of your Spirit.  Let our trust in You be as fresh as your faithfulness and mercy to us.

You are our life!  We rejoice in You with thanksgiving!  Amen.