Prayer for October 1-7, 2017 

Sermon Text: Exodus 17:1-7

That we may journey in your presence with greater patience and trust

Unlike Israel, God, it does not require a life-threatening situation for us to quarrel and complain.    Like Israel, we are quick to doubt your presence, even when You have provided abundantly for us. 

How quickly we forget the wondrous ways that You have acted on our behalf.  How quickly we abandon hope. How quickly we become angry and violent. How frequently we seek signs that You are with us and active on our behalf.

We are so impatient and we have such a strong sense of entitlement that we cannot wait to see what You intend to do to meet our daily and deeper needs.

In spite of our impatience, our lack of trust, our whining and quarreling, You act with generosity. You demonstrate your presence. You release resources of which we are unaware.  

Enable us to go on from here with greater patience and trust. No one else can provide like You. We know it, even in the midst of our complaints. Amen.

Prayer for September 24-30, 2017

Sermon Text: Exodus 16:2-15

That we will respond to your provision with thanksgiving and trust

Attentive God, in spite of the many works of salvation that You have accomplished on our behalf and the many ways that You have provided for our basic needs, we are still inclined to grumble, still inclined to think that You have not done enough for us – at least not lately.

We distrust the leaders who have spoken your word to us and who have led us into your presence. So, by inference, we distrust You.

We remember and yearn for past days that we imagine were much better than the days in which we are living now. We imagine that times of bondage and harsh limits were days of bounty and freedom.

In spite of our grumbling, our lack of trust, our wistful look over our shoulders, You act for our good. You provide the resources that we need as your generous gifts. You provide the spiritual leadership without which we can go nowhere. You show us your unmatched glory. 

The daily bread You have provided from heaven is enough! We thank You today, and each day. Amen.

Prayer for September 17-23, 2017

Sermon Text: Exodus 14:19-31

That we may be agents of the liberating mercy we have received from You

Liberating God, we rejoice that You are always at work among us. We rejoice that You hear the cry of the oppressed and that You act to counter the powerful forces that control and diminish them and fill their lives with hardship and misery.

You give hope. You topple unjust powers. You act for liberation. You create new structures that generate equity. You replace cries of agony with hymns of praise.

We rejoice that You also hear the cries of those who are bound by addiction and sin, those who do not know how to extricate themselves from habits that they find burdensome and limiting.

In your mercy, You offer forgiveness. By your Spirit, you bring transformation that liberates for faithfulness, compassion, and delight. 

Enable us to live into the life of freedom and fruitfulness that You have created for us. At the same time, enable us to be agents of your liberation for those who suffer injustice and those who are clutched in the talons of sin and addiction. May we walk beside them, suffer with them, and lead them into your Presence. Amen.

Prayer for September 10-16, 2017

Sermon Text: Exodus 12:1-14

That we may live courageously, energetically, and fully into your story

God of glory, we worship and rejoice in You! We rejoice in the wonderful works of salvation and restoration that You have done on behalf of Israel and for followers of Jesus.

We remember the Exodus and the crucifixion of Jesus, especially, as powerful acts of compassion, that generated new life and new hope as You liberated your chosen people from bondage to exploitative powers and ensnaring sins.

Whenever our lives begin to disintegrate and collapse due to our addictions, sins, and acts of injustice, do your work of renewal among us. Let the communion we share together remind us of the judgment and freedom of Passover, as well as Jesus’s generous act of laying down his life for his friends so that they might enjoy abundant life in your presence. 

Enable us to live courageously, energetically, and fully into the lively story that You have enacted for your people. May our faith in You grow deeper each day as we assume the roles and complete the tasks to which You have called us. Amen.

Prayer for September 3-9, 2017

Sermon Text: Romans 12:9-21

That your Spirit will guide us into a pure love expressed through many acts of kindness

God of Glory, as you transform our minds and give us many gifts for service, may your Spirit guide us into a pure love, that is expressed through many acts of kindness as it builds joyful harmony among us.

Demolish our pride and conceit. Teach us how to honor each other above ourselves. Enable us to enter deeply into the mourning and rejoicing of our sisters and brothers.

Open our hearts for generous hospitality. Fill us with spiritual passion. Enable us to cling to truth as we abhor and turn from evil.

Divert us from returning evil for evil, from fantasies of revenge and hatred toward our enemies. Enable us to bless and feed them and to leave revenge or restoration to You. 

We hope in You. We trust in You in times of prosperity and in the midst of affliction and suffering. May everything we do give evidence that You are doing something new among us. Amen.

Prayer for August 27-September 2, 2017 

Sermon Text: Romans 12:1-8

That we may give all that we are to You

God of all life, we adore You. We want to give ourselves completely to You in true worship. We want minds that are transformed and conformed to the mind of Christ. We want to do your will.

But our lives are so enmeshed in the ways of the world that we cannot perceive ourselves clearly, cannot extricate ourselves from practices that put us in competition with our brothers, sisters and neighbors, and cannot undo our idolatry of wealth.

Because we are so fully enmeshed in the “pattern of the world,” we do not know how to love, serve and honor each other as fully and consistently as You call us to. 

Work within our minds and in our relationships. Complete the transformation that we have been unable to complete on our own. Enable us to give all that we are to You and to our many neighbors in joyful love and service. Move us into the unity that You desire for your people and for which You have already given us many gifts. Amen.

August 20-26, 2017 

Sermon Text: Genesis 45:1-15

That we may keep trusting You when we suffer in ways that seem meaningless

God of Grace, it is seldom clear to us that the rejection, alienation, abuse, abandonment, pain, and other troubles that we face have been providential gifts that place us in position to do good for others.

Most of us have neither the foresight nor the hindsight of Joseph. Although we trust in You, many of the things we endure never come to have a clear meaning for us.

We suffer. We trust in You. We endure. We go on with our “whys?” unanswered. 

We know that we are able to endure only because You give us a measure of endurance and courage that we could not simply muster on our own. We believe that You are working for our good in every situation. Enable us to keep trusting You even when the meaning of the things we must endure escapes us. Amen.

NOTE: We had a guest speaker who went a different direction. This prayer was not used in our Sunday worship (but most likely will be in our Tuesday prayer meeting).