PRAYING FOR GOD’S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS 

DAY 17: MONDAY  Our Father

O God, we call You “Our Father,” “Our Mother,” but we know that we do not possess You. We do not control You. We cannot manipulate You.

We call You “Our Father and Mother,” because You created and redeemed us and called us your children. You have nurtured and protected us. You have given us everything that we need for life that is full and free. You have embraced, held, and carried us through our most difficult times of trial and grief.

Because of your great love and generosity, we have learned to trust You. And so we call upon You with hope in our times of trial. We praise You with thanksgiving and joy when we receive your generous gifts and remember other gifts and signs of care in your history with your people throughout the ages.  

We call you “Ours” because You are our Creator, the fulfillment of our deepest dreams, our fullest joy, and our purest love.  Amen.

Prayer for February 28-March 5, 2016

Sermon Text: Isaiah 55:1-9

That our anxiety and acquisitiveness may be transformed into trust

God! Forgive us for investing our energy and our resources in acquiring things that will never provide us with satisfaction or security. Forgive us for our anxious hearts. Forgive us for failing to listen to your generous offer of a rich life that is not based on amassing and grasping more and more commodities, but upon receiving with gratitude the abundant peace and joy that is based in covenant relationship with You.

We are committed to seeking You while You are near. We are committed to listening to You and doing your will. We trust in your mercy and forgiveness as the only source of hope for us.  

We acknowledge, in humility, that we are not gods. We acknowledge that we cannot fully plumb the depths of your thoughts and your ways, but we trust in You because of your promises and faithfulness to us. Our hope is in You, day after day after day. Amen.

PRAYING FOR CHRIST'S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS

THIRD SUNDAY

Pray or read the Lord’s Prayer from at least 2 versions. 

For many English version of the prayer, check out Matthew 6:9-13 on biblegateway.com.

PRAYING FOR GOD'S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS

DAY 16: SATURDAY  Deliver Us From Evil

God of Goodness, do not let us become ensnared in evil. Do not let us be oppressed and overwhelmed. Do not let pain, misery and threat surround and pressure us in such a way that we lose hope and feel forced to do evil. Do not let us despair of your goodness and believe that nothing can be changed.

Deliver us from our own evil thoughts. Deliver us from personal habits and systemic practices that promise goodness for us while dealing death and destruction to others.  

We trust in You for protection, discernment, guidance and courage. We trust You to liberate us to do good to our neighbors and our enemies. We trust You to help us resist evil in its grossest and most subtle forms. We trust You to make a way when it seems that there is no way for your goodness to prevail. We trust You, and rejoice in You, for the victory You have already achieved through Christ Jesus. Amen.

PRAYING FOR GOD'S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS

DAY 15: FRIDAY  Lead Us Not into Temptation

Wise and Tender God, we trust in your daily leadership. We thank You for leading us to nourishment and rest. We thank You for accompanying us through the difficulties and dangers of life and enabling us to walk without fear even when death casts its shadow upon us. We thank You for guiding us in the way of your compassion and justice.

Keep leading us wisely! Keep leading us into the truth. Keep leading us to act in love toward our neighbors. Keep leading us to those who need companionship and care so that we may know them and minister to them in your love. Keep leading us so that we may lead others to the healing and freedom that we have found in You. 

Lead us away from the taunting temptations that the world dangles before us. Lead us away from the temptations that we generate in our own imagination.  Lead us away from every form of sin and from our tendency to self-destruct.  

Forgive us when we wander from the path. Forgive us for thinking we can blaze our own trails without your companionship and assistance. Enable us to trust and follow your way fully, each day, as we journey with You.  Amen.    

PRAYING FOR GOD'S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS

DAY 14: THURSDAY  Forgive Us our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors

O Forgiving One, we rejoice in your many mercies.  We rejoice that You have been patient with us. We rejoice and thank You for forgiving us in spite of our many sins of apathy and rebellion. 

Forgive us, today, for the ways we have failed to seek You and submit to your sovereign reign among us. Transform us! Shape and release us for effective witness and service in your realm of justice and peace.

Soften our hearts toward our sisters and brothers.  Soften our hearts so that we may practice mercy and forgiveness in response to the mercy You have shown to us.  Soften our hearts so that we may help release others from the sin that has bound and enslaved them.  Soften our hearts so that we will relinquish the control that we have exercised over others through our stubborn refusal to practice mercy.  

Let our forgiveness, in response to your forgiveness, create a spiral of forgiveness that catches many up in new lives of joyful freedom.  Amen.

PRAYING FOR GOD'S REIGN: LENTEN PRAYERS

DAY 13: WEDNESDAY  Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Generous and Nurturing God, we are caught up in massive overestimates of our needs. We want more and more and we define our needs in the light of our unlimited desires. We do not see our actual need with clarity because we are confused by this anxious insatiability.

Open our eyes so that we may see ourselves more clearly. Shape our understanding by your word and by your generous provision.  Let gratitude calm our anxious craving.

Then let us utter our true needs in humility. Let us remember our dependence upon You and call upon You with hope and gratitude.

Give us the food, drink, clothing and shelter that we need.  Heal our illnesses. Plant us in the midst of faithful people who can guide us in the way of trusting contentment with your provision.  

We thank You for the many ways that You have nourished us, even as we trust in your continued care.  Amen.