Prayers of the Church, 13th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17 – August 30, 2020
Let us pray for the church, the world, and all people according to their need.
A brief silence is kept.
Heavenly Father, thank you for Peter! Last week we thanked you for his witness. Today we thank you – not that he stumbled, but that even as Jesus rebuked Peter, he still loved and forgave him. Lord, we know you will rebuke us, sometimes sharply, when we are a stumbling block and unwitting agent of Satan. Give us grace to repent and humbly take up our cross again, following Jesus alone.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Grant that your Church never be a hindrance to your Son nor a stumbling-block to those whom he came to save. Center its life and proclamation in the Cross of Jesus. Cause it to follow wherever Jesus leads, even unto death. By its witness and example, draw many hearts to repentant faith in Christ, and to the desire to overcome the world’s evil with his good.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
We pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ whose cross-bearing is no figure of speech but the reality of their lives. Let them not be overcome by evil; and keep them steadfast in their faith. Give us the desire and the opportunity to speak in their defense, pray on their behalf, and provide for their needs.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Help this congregation to live out the words of Saint Paul: Let our love be genuine. Make us abhor evil but hold fast to the good. Teach us to love and honor each other. Let us serve you fervently. Make us joyous in hope, patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer. Give us grace to be generous and hospitable, and to bless even our persecutors. Help us to rejoice with the joyful and to weep with the mourners. Teach us to live in harmony, and to not be wise in our own sight. Give us grace to repay no one evil for evil; to do what is honorable; and, so far as it depends on us, to live peaceably with all. And grant that we are not overcome by evil, but that in Christ, we overcome evil with good.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Keep in your dearest care all victims of violence and injustice, especially when evil has been done to them in the name of religion. Stir up all your true servants to give them aid, comfort and shelter; for you are glorified by deeds of goodness, mercy, hospitality, and peace, not by acts of cruelty, violence or hatred. And fulfill your promise to deliver them from the hands of the wicked.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Give integrity, wisdom, and humility to those entrusted with power and the authority over communities, corporations, and nations. Help them to do what is honorable, just, and generous. Help everyone to find honorable employment, and the means to support themselves and their loved ones. And help our society to provide just and timely assistance when people cannot work.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Strengthen and help the many entrepreneurs, employees, and businesses facing massive challenges to stay open, let alone flourish. So much rides on the goods and services, the wages and products, the stake in the wellbeing of communities, that they provide! Help us to value their contribution to our common welfare, and seek ways to help them to prosper justly and creatively, for the good of all.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Deal mercifully with all whose lives are shadowed by suffering, sorrow, or any kind of adversity. Especially we pray for: {List}. Have pity on them and redeem them; turn their sorrow into gladness, and their pain into shouts of thanksgiving. Give them gentle, wise, and compassionate caregivers, and reunite them with all who love them.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Father, receive our beloved dead into your never-failing embrace. Help us to love each other with true affection; to live peaceably and honorably; and above all, to cling to Jesus and his Cross. Lead us into your promised Kingdom which you have prepared for all whom you have delivered from the power of sin and death. And there let us bless you and live together in your peace forever.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Hear our prayer, O Father, and grant all that glorifies you and builds up your people. This we ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Thank you! I just discovered your prayers while looking for Prayers of the Day that our assisting ministers could read for worship while I am away. We like them so much we plan to use them most all the time. Tahnks again for making these available.