Note: For personal reasons, I needed to post this prayer early. The prayer for April 7-13 is below.  dka

Prayer for April 14-20, 2013 

Sermon Text: Acts 9:1-20

That we may face our fears in order to extend your welcome and healing

Wonder-working God, what rejection and persecution Christ Jesus has faced in the world—even from some who call upon your name.  What trouble and suffering your faithful ones have endured as they have sought to bear witness with holy speech and compassionate action. 

But . . . what sorrow and evil the church has brought when it has turned the message of Jesus into one of hatred and hurt instead of one of compassion, healing and freedom.

In the wonder of your love, Christ calls people who have rejected and hurt him to follow him as agents of compassion and healing.  Christ calls those who have refused forgiveness and refused to forgive as agents of pardon.  Christ calls those who are bound by pride, and who would bind others to control them, as agents of liberation.

We want to follow Christ, as those who are led by his Spirit, to touch some who resisted him with his healing love.  Enable us to face our fears in order to utter the words of welcome and healing your Spirit gives.  Give us the courage we need for the places we must go and the people we must face in obedience to your instruction.  Amen.

Prayer for April 7-13, 2013 

Sermon Text: Acts 5:27-32

That your Spirit may accomplish your will through our lives

God our Maker, we want to obey You in all things, particularly as You call us to witness and serve others by the guidance of your Holy Spirit.  Help us, Holy One!

We want to act with courageous faith when we encounter resistance to your word or to acts of compassion that truly show forth your love.  Empower us!

Forgive us when we are more concerned about what others think or say about us than we are about your call upon our lives and the extension of your reign in every dimension of life.

Let your Spirit speak and act through us in order that your will may be accomplished.  We place all the gifts You have given to us at your disposal.  We place our reputations and our lives at your disposal.  We stake all that we are and do on your Spirit’s presence and aid.  Amen.

Prayer for March 31-April 6, 2013 

Sermon Text: John 20:1-18

That we may be empowered for energetic faithfulness

O God of wisdom and power, we worship You.  We praise your name.  We rejoice in the amazing gift and mystery of resurrection.

We thank You for the empty tomb, holy messengers, the name spoken in tenderness by the beloved Teacher, the glad commission to tell others: “Jesus is alive!”

Who gives hope where hope seems impossible?  Only You!

Who defeats death?  Only You!

Who gives new life?  Only You!

We exalt your name though your ways and thoughts are a deep mystery to us.

God of new life, by the power with which You raised Jesus from the dead, raise us to new life in him, and empower us for energetic faithfulness today and each day.  Amen.

Prayer for March 24-30, 2013 

Sermon Text: Luke 19:28-40

That we may cling to your word for assurance and motivation

Jesus, we acclaim You as our Sovereign!  We praise You with joy.  We worship You in hope.  We give You glory in word and song and faithful action.  We receive your peace and seek your peace for all the places of anxiety and violence in the world around us.

Enable us to practice courageous faith as we follow You each day.  Enable us to remain vulnerable in the face of resistance and rejection, while clinging to your words as our source of assurance and our motivation for witness and service.

Blessed are you, Christ Jesus, faithful Sovereign!  We bow to You and follow You with songs of praise on our lips.  Amen.

March 17-23, 2013 (Isaiah 43:16-21)

That we may welcome the new thing You would do among us

You who shape and guide our history, we adore You.  We rejoice in the wonders You have done among us.  We look to You in hope.  We worship You with joy.

Your deeds of compassion and mercy have made us your people and have shaped our lives for your purpose and your glory.

You have done great things for us.  But You are not done with us.  You still go before us to lead us into new places of freedom and faithfulness.  You still make a way forward where there was previously no way.

Enable us not to dwell on the past in ways that blind us to the new things that You are doing among us.  Enable us to find refreshment and renewal at the places You have prepared for us along our journey with You.

Energize us for praise by your creative provision for us.  We pray in the name of Jesus who has become the Way of Life for us.  Amen.

Prayer for March 10-16, 2013 

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

That we may live with enduring joy in your presence

God of all people, we rejoice that You do not easily settle for the absence of those whom You love.  You await the return of the beloved one who has abandoned You.  You seek out the lost.  You celebrate those whom You find, those who return to You.  You challenge and correct those who do not want the “undeserving” to benefit from your forgiveness, your generosity, and your joy.

God, we rejoice that You came looking for us when we were lost, when we abandoned You to try to create a life of fullness, freedom and peace that is only available as your gift.  We rejoice in your forgiveness.  We praise You for the tenacity of your love.  We are astonished by your joy at our return.

God, our God, let us live with enduring joy in your presence.  Let us rejoice with You for all your loved ones who return to your welcoming embrace and glad celebration.  Amen.

Prayer for March 3-9, 2013 

Sermon Text: Isaiah 55:1-9

That we may find satisfaction only in You

God of all creation, we praise You.  You whose ways are not our ways, whose thoughts are not our own, we rejoice in your invitation, through your prophet, to receive true nourishment and enduring satisfaction from your generous gifts.

We have answered your invitation and turn, continually, to You.  We have received your mercy and forgiveness with great joy.  We have forsaken evil practices and thoughts.  Where any linger in our lives, give us the courage, energy and patience to change.

You have given us great delight in your presence.  You have enfolded us in your covenant love.

You have given us what we could not discover, achieve or create for ourselves.  We rejoice in You, Generous Sovereign.  We adore You, God of grace and mystery.  Amen.