Prayer for August 30-September 5, 2015 

Sermon Text: James 1:17-27

That our belief will be expressed through sensitive action for the most vulnerable among us

Generous God, we rejoice in the many good and perfect gifts that You have given us, particularly the gift of Jesus Christ, through whom we have been reconciled to You and have been enabled to walk with You in faithfulness.

Enable us to reflect your loving character and generosity by listening carefully to one another.  Free us from the need to have the first and last word.  Free us from the control of anger that drives a wedge between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Purify our hearts, through your powerful word, and enable us to set aside every practice that is rooted in evil instead of in love and righteousness. 

Help us to link belief and action in consistent ways, so that we are not deluded about our faith.  Make us particularly sensitive to those among us who are most vulnerable and in need of assistance and advocacy.  

Let our lives be a continuous expression of our faith in You.  Amen.

Prayer for August 23-29, 2015 

Sermon Text: Psalm 84

That we may grow stronger as we seek You together

God of all, we long for You with every fiber of our being.  We want to be in your presence.  We want to live continually with You and find our place with You.

We want to worship You in the congregation of those who love and obey You.  We long to journey with those whose longing for You turns dry places into places of refreshment and renewal.  We want to walk with those who grow stronger as they travel and as they sense the nearness of your presence. 

We rejoice to worship you together with each of our hearts and minds focused on your glory.   

You are our strength.  You are our blessing.  You are the One whom we seek, the One whom we trust, the One to whom we turn each day.  Amen.

Prayer for August 16-22, 2015 

Sermon Texts: Psalm 111, 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14; Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58

That we may grow deep in wisdom as we worship You

Jesus, You are our source of life and our source of wisdom and we turn to You with rejoicing. 

We ask for wisdom that we may live justly.  We ask for wisdom that we may “walk in the way of insight.”  We ask for wisdom that we may follow You in faithfulness, and that we may discern wisely in the face of temptation and evil.  

Let us feed upon You in our hearts so that we are nourished for constant and courageous faithfulness.  Enable us to grow deep in wisdom as we worship You with songs of the Spirit that stir us to joyful obedience.  Amen.

Prayer for August 9-15, 2015

Sermon Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2

That our lives will be a fragrant offering as we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit

God of compassion and mercy, enable us to follow your loving example as we relate to our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Enable us to forgive each other.  Enable us to let go of every form of anger and bitterness that we use to control, hurt and limit each other.  Enable us to set aside every form of evil desire toward one another and to abandon the quarreling by which we compete with each other for supremacy.  Enable us to speak the truth to each other in ways that strengthen the faith of each member of your community.  

Help us to follow the guidance of your Holy Spirit in such a way that our lives will be a fragrant offering to You.  Amen.

Prayer for August 2-8, 2015

Sermon Text: John 6:24-35

That we may receive all your gifts in order to give all for You

Christ Jesus, many days we are more interested in having our physical needs met than we are in discerning the signs of God’s presence among us and responding to those signs by thoughtful belief and diligent discipleship.

We believe that You are God’s Anointed and Chosen One, but our faith is often flimsy—limited to intellectual assent to a statement about You, or to good emotions about God’s care for us during our good days.  We seldom take significant risks in order to demonstrate our trust in you through the twists and turmoil of daily life.  We hesitate to expend all that we are and all that we have in order to follow You.  

Enable us to see You more clearly.  Enable us to trust You wholly.  Enable us to follow, without hesitation, as participants in the reign of God that You have made so real among us.  Enable us to receive all that You have for us in order that we may give all for You.  Amen.