Lord, we get so caught up in our own lives…
The pressure points that oppress us
The worries that assail us…
The mistakes that embarrass us…

So it’s good to come here
Have this time
This place
This chance
To think about who we are…where we are at in our life…
What we really want…
What we actually need…

Time to think hard about important things
To focus on the things that really matter
Relationships that have gone sour
Old resentments that burn away in our soul…
Things we wish we hadn’t said or done…

And here…we can lay our whole life out before you
And get the priorities sorted out
Here we can remember the things we could just forget

That we are loved by you
That we have obligations towards you
That you have purpose for our life
That we need to listen for your truth and follow it.

So we are glad to be hear…
Open our hearts wide to receive your grace
Open our minds wide to listen for your truth

Show us that whatever we might think
Your purpose for us is good and plump with blessing…

OUR FATHER….

PRAYERS FOR OTHERS…

Lord, in our little town
Within our little community
We feel each other’s pain
We reach out to one another’s need…

So today…we bring to you those who are heavy on our heart

·        The grief-stricken and the mourning
·        The anxious and the troubled in heart or mind
·        Those who feel the financial pressures of our difficult times
·        Those who have lost faith
·        Those who are looking for faith

And as the realities of our complex world press in on our peace of mind
·        We pray for places troubled by conflict and all those threatened and fearful in those places
·        We pray for leaders who seek answers to problems of immense complexity
·        We pray for those teaching new generations and influencing young minds…

And we pray that whatever it is we must do to make our prayers more than words…
Whatever we must do to make peace…generate justice…comfort the hurting…
That you will draw us out of our complacency or our sense of powerlessness
And show us that we have the words, we have the actions…we have the power

To change things.

In Jesus’ Name