Prayer for September 29 - October 5, 2019
Sermon Text: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

That we may trust You for a future we cannot foresee or shape on our own

God of all creation, we typically exalt the conditions we seem powerless to change to the status of ultimate reality.

     We assume too much!

     We trust too little!

     We guess that You are caught up in and bound by conditions that we find intractable.

     Vision blurs.

     Hope falters.

     We act passively.

But You are able to act in ways that exceed our expectations. You are not bound by our lack of vision, our inability, our hopelessness, our sin, or our little faith. You are able to shape reality so that it displays your glory. You are able to bring salvation in whatever form You design.

Enable us to trust You for a future that we cannot foresee or shape on our own. Amen.

   

Prayer for September 22-28, 2019
Sermon Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

That love may flow through our prayers for all people

God of all, stir our hearts to prayer. Guide us in prayer for neighbors and enemies, for leaders and common citizens. Let love flow through our prayers for all of your children, even for those who may never acknowledge you.

May our prayers enable us to live Christlike, wise and holy lives. May our prayers be a catalyst for the reconciling work that You have done through Christ. May our prayers enable us to live boldly into the peace and justice that You desire for us and for our diverse neighbors.

Do not let our prayers be an expression of passivity or a way to escape from daily, often strenuous and tenacious acts of faithfulness.

May our daily prayers, individual and communal, align our daily lives with You. Amen.

Prayer for September 15-21, 2019
Sermon Text: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

That our lives may convince others of your immense patience

Merciful One, we rejoice that You have given us strength for daily faithfulness and that You have called us to serve You through various ministries, in spite of our history of rejecting and resisting You and making life difficult for those who would follow You with zeal and delight.

We rejoice that You have forgiven us for the abuse and scorn that we heaped upon You in our ignorance and sinfulness. We rejoice that You have saved us from sin and death, and that You have liberated us from the tangled mess we had made of our lives.

May others see the immense patience that You have shown toward us and be drawn to your merciful presence.

We extol your name, for You alone are worthy of all the glory that we can give. Amen.

Prayer for September 8-14, 2019
Sermon Text: Philemon 1-21

That we may trust You enough to build lives of gratitude, welcome, generosity and love

God of grace, your generosity to us has cleared the way for us to act with generosity and hospitality to all whom we encounter.

You have prepared us for forgiveness. You have prepared us to step over, around or through every barrier to communion. You have prepared us not to cling to rights that put or keep others in our service. You have prepared us to say “Yes” to the freedom that others desperately seek. You have prepared us to act as advocates on behalf of those who are trying to create a new life.

You have given us the names “sister” and “brother” to describe those whom we have looked upon as less than fully human, as enemies, or as otherwise undesirable neighbors. 

Enable us to trust You enough to build lives of gratitude, welcome, generosity and love. May your Spirit energize us today and each day. Amen.

Prayer for September 1-7, 2019
Sermon Text: Luke 14:1, 7-14

That we may turn from competition and status seeking to genuine hospitality for others

Jesus, You see us in both our subtle and crass moments of competition with one another. You observe when we try to obtain the most favorable positions for ourselves and try to get others to think that we are one of the important ones to whom they should defer. You also see how fragile our egos are and how easily we are humiliated when our efforts to put ourselves before our neighbors are thwarted.

Forgive us for acting in unneighborly ways in situations that call for thoughtful, neighborly love. Forgive us for being overly conscious of our status and reputation.

Forgive us, also, for turning hospitality into an occasion for putting others in our debt and seeking payback.

Transform our hearts. Turn us away from competition to support, value and honor others. Turn us away from making transactions that cause others to feel indebted to us, toward generous sharing and communion, including with those who might never pay us back.  

May the generous, welcoming compassion of Jesus characterize our relationships with others. Amen.

Prayer for August 11-17, 2019
Sermon Text: Luke 12:32-40

That we may constantly be ready for Your presence

Comforting Teacher, help us to trust God daily for generous provision of our needs. Help us trust God for welcoming inclusion in the divine reign of forgiveness, justice, peace and compassion.

Move us beyond our fears. Move us beyond the deception that our possessions will provide meaningful life. Move us to generosity that arises out of gratitude and trust. Enable us to see our neighbors, and their well-being, as more valuable than the treasures we might amass.

Let our focus on God’s realm energize us for courageous and compassionate action in our daily lives. May we be constantly ready for service and for your presence. When You return among us, may we be found doing the ministry that You have trained us for and entrusted to us.  

We rejoice at the prospect of living in your presence and receiving your celebratory gifts. You are the fulfillment of our deepest hopes. Amen.

Prayer for August 4-10, 2019
Sermon Text: Luke 12:13-21

That we may identify and resist those forms of greed that control us

Jesus, we are so steeped in a culture of greed that we probably cannot perceive or label all of the ways that greed has infected and controlled our lives. We want what we want when we want it, and we are easily angered by anyone or anything that interrupts our accumulation of more.

Help us to see ourselves truthfully. Help us to identify our greed, whether for power, control, praise, money, land, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, travel, books, emotional highs, or anything else.

Help us not to assign value only to those things that seem to enhance our lives or give us good feelings. Help us to assess the value of things based on our ability to use them in ways that honor You and in ways that enhance the lives of our many neighbors.

Lead us into deeper relationship with You and with our diverse neighbors, so we may see, more clearly, the creative possibilities for use of the resources that You give us as your stewards. Amen.