Prayer for April 26-May 2, 2015 

Sermon Text: John 10:11-18

That we may grow in ready obedience to your voice

O Good Shepherd, we are thankful for your constant attention and care.  We rejoice that You know us by name and that You have been present to us so fully that we know You and recognize your voice.  We are surprised, but grateful, that we may know and be known by You in a manner that is similar to the knowledge that You and God the Father have of each other. 

Help us to grow in knowledge of You.  Help us to grow in ready obedience to your summons and command.  

Thank You for never abandoning us in the midst of trouble or threat.  Thank You for choosing to put your life on the line in order to save us and keep us safely enfolded in your precious flock.  

Thank You for taking your life back again, through the resurrecting power of God.  And thank You for renewing our lives as nurturing Shepherd and Sovereign.  Amen.

Prayer for April 19-25, 2015

Sermon Text: Luke 24:36b-53

That our minds will be fully open to the scriptures

Jesus, thank You for showing yourself to us and for overcoming our fears by your presence.  Overcome whatever doubts linger among us about who You are and how You have fulfilled your role among us.  Open our minds to the scriptures so that we may understand more fully and act more wisely in faith.

You have called us as witnesses to You.  You have given us your Spirit to guide, energize and assist us in carrying out the task You have assigned.  Enable us to be faithful and fruitful as we invite others to repent and find forgiveness through you.  Let us serve your mission and your reign in genuine gratitude. 

We worship You with gladness and praise You every day with all our hearts.  Amen.

Prayer for April 12-18, 2015 

Sermon Text: John 20:19-31

That we may affirm You as “Lord and God” each day

Jesus, we rejoice that You are able to walk into our places of fear, show yourself to us, and speak peace so that it creates peace in us and among us.  

We rejoice that You are alive and that You send us in witness and service as the Holy One sent You.  We rejoice that You have breathed your Spirit into our lives in order to energize us for the witness and service You have commanded.  We thank You for giving us authority to forgive and to withhold forgiveness, and pray that your Spirit will give us discernment as each opportunity unfolds.

Thank you for enabling us to believe You on the basis of the witness of others.  Forgive us when we become too doubtful and too insistent on evidence that You are alive among us.   

May we affirm You as our “Lord and God” each day.  And may the assurance that You have given us life as we have believed in You enable us to act with boldness.  Amen.

Prayer for April 5-11, 2015 

Sermon Text: John 20:1-18

That we will witness to the wonders of your power when Jesus calls our name

God of wonders, we rejoice in this greatest of all wonders—that You have raised Christ Jesus from the dead. 

We rejoice that Mary went to the tomb before it was light, but found it empty.  We rejoice that others believed her words enough to run to the tomb and find it empty.  But more than that, we rejoice that Jesus appeared to Mary and spoke her name, and cut through her confusion and fear so that she could rejoice and tell others that she had seen her Lord, that she had witnessed the great act of new life that You had accomplished.

We rejoice that through the testimony of Mary, and thousands of others who have passed on the word, we have heard and believed that Jesus is alive.  And we rejoice that Jesus has spoken to us, and called us by name, and enabled us to worship You in joyful wonder.      

Energize us to tell this good news with courage and enthusiasm.  Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS

WALKING WITH JESUS

Day 40: Saturday

Mark 9:14-29

Jesus, we encounter so many situations in which people are caught in the grip of an apparently intractable problem.  We want to help.  We want to be your agents of healing.  But we are stymied by the resistance of the disease, addiction, or oppressing spirit.  Or we are limited by our own wavering faith so that we are not able to act in effective ways.

We believe!  Help our unbelief!  

Enable us to trust You in every situation.  Enable us to discern and follow your guidance in each of our encounters.  Enable us to act with love toward all, but especially those people who are trapped in problems beyond their control.  Energize and focus our prayers so that we may be persistent and not give up even when we do not see quick or clear answers to the needs of the people around us.  Help us to see when your glory shines through and when healing occurs in unexpected ways.  Then, let us voice our praise with boundless joy.  Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS

WALKING WITH JESUS

Day 39: Friday

Mark 9:1-13

Jesus, You reveal your glory to us in unexpected moments.  You dazzle us!  You terrify us!  We speak, but do not know what to say. 

Somehow your promise is answered in the dazzling glimpse You give of glory that is usually concealed.  Somehow, God’s reign has come in power through your blazing presence.  But we do not know how to grab onto it or enter into it fully. Somehow all of the instruction and prophecy of God’s covenant with Israel has found its fulfillment in this moment.  But we do not know what we should do.

We are more astonished by your presence than we ever have been.  You are revealed to us as Beloved Son of God.  And we believe it!

Listen!  That’s what we are told.  Listen!  Obey!  Follow!  

We listen as we continue to walk with You.  And we remember your glory—glory that we can barely speak about.  Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS

WALKING WITH JESUS

Day 38: Thursday

Mark 8:34-38  

O Christ, we are not very good at denying ourselves.  We are practiced at satisfying every need and sating every desire as soon as we feel a twinge of lack.  That often makes it difficult for us to focus on your presence and follow your lead.  We are more likely to see You out of the corner of our eye as we gaze with longing at something that we do not have.

Forgive us for being more devoted to our own satisfaction than we are to following You wherever You lead us.  Forgive us for being unwilling to deny ourselves, and set aside the fine lives we have constructed, in order to give of our lives as You have given yours.

Every effort we make to protect and save our lives turns to ashes in our hands.  When we seek only what we want, we come up empty, dissatisfied, insecure, and paralyzed.  When we follow You gladly, even into the depths of suffering and the terror of death, You give us new joy, new energy, new insight, new hope, and new life.  

As we follow You and cling to You, we cling to what is really real.  Let us give our lives gladly for your sake, as You have given yourself for us.  Amen.

LENTEN PRAYERS

WALKING WITH JESUS

Day 37: Wednesday

Mark 8:31-33

    

Jesus, because some of us have followed You for so many years, it sometimes seems that we know every word and every turn in your story.  But we are still shocked when we read and remember that You “must suffer many things,” and “be rejected,” and “be killed.”

Even though You offered some hope by saying, “and after three days rise again,” there is a part of us that wants to say, “No way!  Stop talking like that!  None of those evil things can happen to You!”

We want to give You guidance that You neither need nor request.  But, mostly, we do not want to feel guilty about your pain and death.  We don’t want to think about the fact that our choices have been no small part of the reason You had to suffer, be rejected, and die.  

We deserve your rebuke when we stand in the way of the completion of your mission.  Turn us around so that we can see where You are going and where we must follow.  You know the way even when we are confused, so we will trust You to lead.  Amen.