PRAYERS FOR MARCH 2023

 March 5

Sermon Text: John 3:1-17

 That we may understand the gifts You offer and stretch to receive them

 God, enable us to trust You fully. Enable us to receive your word and live as people who fully believe what You have promised.

Abraham believed You when believing required pulling roots from everything that was familiar to him. It required making a long stretch to receive what You were offering. You promised a multitude of descendants and a world blessed through him and his descendants, even though he and Sarah were well past the age of childbearing.

Most of the time, what You ask of us does not require such a thorough uprooting or dramatic reach in order to receive the blessing You offer. But we refuse to stretch ourselves. We refuse to take the risk. We refuse to receive the dynamic blessing You have for us that will deeply enrich others around us as we trust You.

Help us comprehend what You offer us through the history of your people, Israel, and through the life and instruction of your Son, Jesus. Help us trust enough to allow the transformation that only your Spirit can generate as it blows freshly and wildly through our lives. Move through us as we open ourselves to your love, your Spirit. Move through us and continue to bless the world You created and are redeeming for your glory. Amen.

 

March 12

Sermon Text: John 4:5-42

That we may life fully into the new life and hope we found when You met us in Jesus

God of all creation, in Jesus You have humbled yourself to meet us where we are. You step over and around boundaries that separate us from one another. You step past fears of pollution in order to converse with, touch, and associate with people who have often been considered beyond the scope of your concern.

You establish common ground with us in our need. You meet us with our woundedness. You meet us as sinners who have turned from You. You meet us in our arrogant delusions of self-sufficiency. And you meet us in our honest questioning and confusion.

When our hearts are open, You meet us as bearer of good news, instructor, sovereign one, healer, liberator, source of forgiveness, and empowering one. You enable us to see ourselves in the light of your glory, in your penetrating truth, and in your embracing love that gives new life and new hope.

We rejoice that You have met us in Jesus. In Jesus we have found You and found ourselves. May our lives show forth your presence and love each day. Amen.

 

March 19

Sermon Text: John 9:1-41

That we will celebrate your healing work and welcome those You have healed and would heal in your compassion

Jesus, we rejoice in You! We rejoice that You came among us as God’s Chosen One, the embodiment of God’s character and reign among us.

We rejoice that You did not affirm standard views that illness and disability were automatically the result of personal or familial sin.

We rejoice that You came as one who was able to do the works of God, to bring new order out of chaos, new life out of paralysis or death.

Thank You for coming among us as one who gives sight to the blind and insight to the those whose spiritual perception is confused or obscured.

Enable us to receive the insight You would give us. Prevent us from hardening our hearts against the results of your compassionate action among us. Do not let us deceive ourselves into believing that we see clearly when we still resist your gracious, healing actions.

Enable us to welcome those You would heal and those You have healed, even as we rejoice in the various ways that You have worked healing and given new sight to us. Amen.

 

March 26

Sermon Text: John 11:1-45

That we may be Jesus’ willing partners in the work of forgiveness, healing, liberation and new life

God of wonders, we rejoice that You sent Jesus among us as the embodiment of your presence and character. In Jesus, we have gotten glimpses of your glory. We have encountered your Word. We have experienced your compassion. We have seen You bring life from death.

And we have received new hope for courageous discipleship in tumultuous times.

God, we have welcomed Jesus as your agent and our instructor and friend. We are thankful that he identified with us so fully that the death of a friend caused him to weep. Your life-giving action through and in Jesus have caused us to believe in You and give You glory.

Though, at times, we confess that the good Jesus did, the new life he offered, the transformed lives that we tell about, have caused us to resist him, because they have disrupted some facet of our lives, some things we thought we controlled, some profits we thought to gain, some advantage we did not want to give up.

Keep our hearts open to Jesus’ transforming work. Enable us by your Spirit to be Jesus’ willing partners in the work of forgiveness, healing, liberation, and new life. May all glory be yours through Jesus. Amen.

 PRAYERS FOR FEBRUARY 2023

February 5

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:13-20

That we may help preserve the vitality and goodness of your creation while giving a taste of your goodness

God of all creation, enable us to be salt that seasons and preserves the vitality and goodness of your creation, including all your creatures, human and otherwise.

May those who encounter us get a taste of your goodness, mercy, and love.

May we be light that brightens our own households and communities. May our lives illuminate the uniqueness and beauty of all that You have made while lighting the way into your wondrous presence because they are fully energized by and aligned with your word.

Forgive us when we think that we can be your faithful witnesses, who show forth your glory, when we take your instruction and commands lightly. Forgive us when we believe that we are a law unto ourselves, or when we descend into lawlessness altogether.

Enable us to practice goodness with boldness. But let all of our efforts to practice kindness, mercy, and justice be done solely for your glory and not for the praise that others may offer us.

By your Spirit, enable us to walk as Jesus walked, in utter dependence upon You, and in absolute obedience to You. Amen. 

 

February 12

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:21-37

That Jesus’ example of deep obedience will characterize our lives

God of all, enable us to follow Jesus with gladness and joy even though he calls us to a more difficult way than the law that he came to fulfill.

Eliminate our angry thoughts towards others.

Purge our scornful, insulting, and dismissive speech.

Remind us of our offenses against our sisters and brothers and prod us to act quickly, even interrupting our acts of worship, to reconcile with them.

Root out lust by which we imagine that others are objects for our dominance, manipulation, or pleasure.

Forgive us for discarding key relationships, especially our marriages, due to our hard hearts. Strengthen our resolve to practice enduring fidelity.

Enable us to speak directly and truthfully, avoiding all attempts to manipulate the perceptions of others by vain oaths or elusive speech.

Transform our hearts to make such faithfulness possible. Instruct and guide us by your Spirit. Protect us from foolish choices and hurtful actions. We pray in the name of Jesus who instructed us and modeled deep obedience that gave You glory. Amen. 

 

February 19

Sermon Text: Matthew 17:1-9

That we may listen and follow Jesus’ most difficult instructions as a response to the glory You bestowed upon him

Jesus, even a glimpse of your glory overwhelms us. We are easily dazzled when we gaze upon your presence. We are often smitten with an awareness of our guilt and unworthiness before You.

We do not know what to do. We fall down in dread and think we must understand and respond to You within the categories to which we are accustomed. We often fail to see that You both fulfill and transcend the categories of prophecy and divine instruction and command. You transcend every category of goodness and beauty.

We acknowledge that the voice of the Holy One, which we encounter in worship, preaching and instruction tells us over, and over again, to listen to You—You who are identified as God’s beloved Son. We are called and instructed to follow You who are worthy of our most diligent devotion. But we are slow to learn, slow to trust, slow to obey, slow to follow, slow to be the people whom You have created and enabled us to be by your Spirit.

Enable us to trust You and obey You. Enable us to speak boldly of your glory since You have been raised from death to life by the Most Holy One whom You trusted until the very end.

We trust in your presence and aid in everything as we listen to You.

Amen.

 

February 26

Sermon Text: Matthew 4:1-11

That we may immerse ourselves in your word and gain understanding and endurance from your Spirit

God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, we are dependent upon You in ways that we don’t even perceive. Some of the experiences that we would prefer to avoid are real opportunities to receive your provision and guidance, though we don’t always see them in that way.

Your Spirit generated Jesus’ life in Mary’s body. Your Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism. Your Spirit led him into the wilderness for testing. And your Spirit surely aided him by helping him remember the scriptures he came to fulfill and embody as he countered the tempter who wanted him to use his identity as license for presumptuous and self-serving acts that would draw attention to himself and divert it from You.

Jesus’ life was, through and through, directed and empowered by your Spirit. Jesus’ life was, from start to finish an expression of your abundant grace.

Jesus calls us to follow him on his way to the cross, but that call is, from beginning to end, a call to walk with knowledge of the scripture and in the strength and guidance of your Spirit. May we immerse ourselves in your word, gain understanding and endurance as we trust your Spirit, and receive generous comfort and provision from your heaven-sent messengers. May we walk with Jesus in your abundant grace. Amen.

PRAYERS FOR JANUARY 2023

January 1*

Sermon Text: John 1:1-14

That we may trust and receive your Word for us

God of all creation, it astonishes us that the One whose birth was promised and welcomed so long ago, could somehow be the living embodiment of your word.

Though your people have preached, sung, and written about the One we name with so many names, the life of Jesus, the Christ, remains a great mystery that we cannot fully comprehend or adequately explain.

We trust You because of your many promises and your faithfulness to your people. We trust You, because in this One who is Word, Life, and Light, You have come to live among us and to celebrate and endure the joys and trials of human existence.  We receive your Word because we perceive that in this One, You have risked everything in order to express your love, draw us to yourself, and heal all the wounds of your creation, human and otherwise.

We rejoice in this One who reveals your vast love and fills our lives with blessings that we cannot count and do not fully appreciate. We rejoice that in the Word, whom we call Jesus, we see your glory.

Glory! Glory! Glory! Amen.

* This prayer was written for December 25, 2022, but we had no worship that day due to bad weather and malfunctioning heat.

January 8

Sermon Text: Matthew 3:13-17

That our lives will continue to be shaped by the movement of your Spirit in and among us

God of all, we worship You with joy. We rejoice in the presence and work of your Spirit, which moved over chaotic waters before You spoke and gave form to everything. Thank You for the beauty and complexity which surround and sustain us!

We rejoice that your Spirit was present, unseen, at the conception of Jesus linking his life with yours in a unique and unrepeatable way. We give thanks that your Spirit was present, without angel announcement, at the conception of each one of us who worship here today. Thank You for your enduring presence with us!

We rejoice that your Spirit led Jesus to the waters of baptism and like a murmuring dove came upon him and empowered him for ministry as your beloved representative to the world You love so deeply. Through grace that precedes our thoughts and choices, Your Spirit has also led us through the waters of baptism and training to be Jesus’ disciples, friends, and coworkers in the world. Thank you for your mercy to us! Thank You for making us your own and making us partners with Jesus in your mission!

We rejoice that your Spirit led Jesus into the time of testing that would prepare him to resist ongoing temptations to pursue his mission in self-serving, self-inflating, and idolatrous ways. We rejoice that your Spirit enables us to perceive temptations to be your people and pursue your mission in ways that undermine both identity and mission. Thank You for providing guidance and sustenance as we seek your will and serve your reign in your world! Amen.

January 15

Sermon Text: John 1:29-42

 

That we may live from the presence, gifts, guidance, and energy or your Spirit

 

God of all, by your Spirit You have enabled us to recognize and acknowledge Jesus as your Chosen One, the embodiment of your word and enactor of your will among us. We praise You that You have enabled us to recognize and receive Jesus as the source of salvation from all the powers of sin and death. We rejoice that Jesus has submerged our lives in your enlivening, energizing Spirit.

In spite of all that You have done for us, and given to us, we often resist you.

Forgive us! - when we resist acknowledging Jesus as your Chosen One by failing or refusing to live in total commitment to You that allows first place to no other commitments, and with generous love to our diverse neighbors that refuses to diminish, exploit, or control them.

Forgive us! – when we continue to act as though our salvation is dependent primarily on our own ingenuity and ability, and not on Jesus as Lamb of God.

Forgive us! – when we resist your Spirit as the source of guidance, comfort, and energy for every faithful venture.

Enable us to receive your many gifts, with gratitude, so that they enrich our lives with You, and enrich our neighbors with your love. Amen.

 

January 22

Sermon Text: Matthew 4:12-23

That we may build upon the foundation of unity You have created and strengthen each other for works of righteousness and justice

God of all, we rejoice in You! We rejoice that You have called us to be disciples of Jesus together. We rejoice that You have laid the perfect foundation for our unity with one another: one body, one Spirit, one new hope to which You have called us, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, sovereign and present everywhere.*

Enable us to trust You as we build upon the foundation that you have prepared. Enable us to use the gifts You have given us in order to strengthen and encourage each other for the enduring practice of righteousness and justice.

Help us to know your presence by the movement of your Spirit among us. Let us to see the face of Jesus in the faces of the most vulnerable with whom he identified himself and for whom he did many wondrous works of sustenance, forgiveness, healing, and liberation that generated new life and new hope.

Forgive us when we forget that Jesus has called us to continue his ministry to those whom he loved. Forgive us when our self-focused lives blind us to the needs of others, and to our connection with them in our dependence upon You.

Enable us to look upon others with compassion so we may act with the extravagant love that Jesus practiced. Amen.

*Ephesians 4:4-6, paraphrased

 

January 29

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:1-12

That we may be fully committed to You and your agenda of restoring and blessing all of creation

God of all, we rejoice in your amazing love! We rejoice in your ability to redeem, rescue, and restore!

We thank You for revealing yourself to us in Christ Jesus. We thank You for Jesus’ counterintuitive pronouncement of blessing upon many whose lives did not seem blessed or who stood outside of the mainstream of self-serving pursuits. As your Living Word, and agent of your sovereign reign, his words of blessing were able to alter circumstances and enact your will on behalf of those poor and vulnerable ones who sought your intervention and those who were mistreated and shoved aside because of their devotion to You and your ways.

Forgive us when we deepen the poverty of the poor, the grief of the bereaved, and the rootlessness of the displaced. Forgive us when we refuse to recognize our daily dependence upon you. Forgive us when we fail to seek your righteousness, act in mercy, or practice peace. Forgive us when our hearts and vision are muddied by devotion to false gods of our own making.

Transform us into people whose lives are fully devoted to You, fully committed to your agenda of restoring your creation, and fully invested in blessing all people, everywhere, as agents of your love. Amen.

 

Prayer for March 27-April 2, 2022
Sermon Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

That we may celebrate and live in gratitude with all your deeply loved children

God of all, we rejoice that You wait for us, even seek actively for us, when we have forgotten You, wandered from You, or otherwise lost ourselves in pursuits that we deem more compelling or more reliable than your continuous presence and wise guidance.

God, You know the ways that we have devalued and diminished our own lives. You know the times when we have settled for slop instead of receiving the abundant nourishment that You offer by your Spirit. We cram ourselves full of empty calories and useless information. We attach ourselves to vain causes for our own self-inflation. We attempt to separate ourselves from You in order to create independent lives from the resources we expect You to provide, but for which we are unwilling to make any durable commitments.

You have waited patiently for us. You have watched for us to appear in the distance. You have welcomed us back and celebrated our return.

Don’t let us be belligerent and self-righteous when You welcome lost wanderers. Help us to recognize that You have provided everything for us. Help us to celebrate and live in gratitude with all your deeply loved children. Amen.

Prayer for March 20-26, 2022
Sermon Text: Isaiah 55:1-9

That we may release our grasp on that which could never sustain us and trust in You

God, our Provider, help us to trust in You completely.

We are so easily deceived by marketing hype that wants us to believe that we truly need things that are unnecessary and often harmful for our well-being, as well as the well-being of our communities and your creation.

But these forms of hype just build on our prior inclination for self-deception. We want what we want and we are willing to rationalize our desires. We are covetous and grasping. We acquire more and more because we are spiritually impoverished and will use anything to fill the hollow within us.

In spite of our need and in spite of your generous invitation and many gifts, we settle for junk and junk food, instead of receiving true sustenance from You. We toil endlessly for trash and trinkets, enslaving ourselves to what is ultimately meaningless.

Enable us to release our grasp on that which could never free or sustain us. Enable us to trust You fully and receive your life-giving gifts with joyful thanksgiving that turns to neighbors and enemies with glad generosity.

We know You are our only source. Help us trust You daily. Amen.

Prayer for March 13-19, 2022
Sermon Text: Luke 13:31-35

That we may remember our share in Jesus' healing ministry and live in solidarity with our most vulnerable neighbors.

God our Maker and Redeemer, as we walk with Jesus, give us clarity of purpose. Help us to remember that we have been called to live in solidarity with our most vulnerable neighbors. Help us to remember that we have been given a share in the healing and liberating ministry of Jesus.

We cannot remember and act by our own intellect, ingenuity, and initiative, but need the guidance and energy that your Spirit gives as we devote ourselves to your reign among us.

May the example of Jesus and the presence of your Spirit enable us to stand firm against any resistance to our efforts to practice radical love toward both our neighbors and our enemies.

At the same time, may we be continuously guided and enabled to act in compassionate ways and not allow our encounters with resistance to make our hearts callused toward those who need a tender touch.

We rejoice in your energizing presence. Amen.

Prayer for March 6-12, 2022
Sermon Text: Luke 4:1-13

That we may stand firm in your Spirit as we are tempted in many ways

God, our Provider, we trust that You have endowed us with your Spirit. Now, enable us to follow the leading of that Spirit, as we walk with Jesus through times of trial and rejoicing.

May we stand firm in your Spirit when we are tempted, especially during times when we may be weakened by deprivation. May we find clarity of purpose in your Spirit as deprivation enables us to perceive the things that we trust more than we trust You. May your Spirit give us understanding and recall of your word so that we resist and rebuff the words or images of temptation that challenge us.

May your Spirit guide us to trust You fully and devote ourselves to you completely, while leading us away from all presumptuous, self-serving and grandstanding choices.

Enable us to value and seek your reign before everything. Amen.