Lord of the world,
we bring before you now the needs of your world, and the concerns of our
hearts; we have watched horrible scenes on our TVs and in the press this week,
and our hearts bleed – and your heart bleeds far more than ours.
We pray for those
countries where peace and justice are threatened and diminished, and where
violence and fear control the hearts and minds of citizens and subjects. So we pray for peace between Israel and
Palestine, between the factions in Iraq and Syria, and in other countries where
men and women prefer to fight than to talk.
We pray for
Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and particularly remember
Nigeria and Pakistan.
We pray for those
seeking peace between unreconciled peoples, for those who stand up for values
of justice and equality, and those who care for the refugees
Lord in your mercy – hear our
prayer
We pray for those
countries where economic circumstances are leading to inequality and
instability, where the rich and powerful are acting in self-interest while the
poor and vulnerable are once again required to make the ‘necessary’ sacrifices.
As Christians, we
commit ourselves to the ideal that, in the name of Christ, it does not have to
be this way. And so we pray for those
who promote the
kingdom values of equality, and care for the disadvantaged; for microfinance
initiatives; for credit unions, cooperatives and friendly societies. We pray
especially for the Food Bank in Exeter and Christians against Poverty in our
city
Lord in your mercy – hear our
prayer
We pray for those
who lead our own country, for Queen Elizabeth and her family, for David Cameron,
Nick Clegg, Ed Milliband in parliament, for Ben Bradshaw our MP. May values of truth and honesty triumph, and
not be lost to the values of spin and self-interest. We pray for those seeking
to see our cities transformed, for street pastors walking the risky path of our
night streets.
Lord in your mercy – hear our
prayer
We pray for our
church. Today we pray for Bishop Robert as he makes plans for the diocese; we
pray for your wisdom to prevail at the General Synod this week. We pray for our fellow Christians in our
neighbourhood, Pinhoe Road Baptist Church, the Filipino church, that they and
we may be shining lights in this part of Exeter as we follow our Lord and
Saviour.
Lord in your mercy – hear our
prayer
We
thank you for the luxury of holidays, for refreshment and rest from work. We
pray for those whose lives are made harder and busier by long summer breaks,
and we pray for those without the luxury of a holiday. We think of the damage our travel creates in
our world, and we pray for motivation and help in tackling the climate chaos
now beginning to engulf the planet. We pray for health, for all whose holiday
is an escape from over-busy or unfulfilled lives. We pray for justice and
fairness for those in our world who scratch a living from the tourist industry.
Lord God, whether or not we travel from our homes this summer, please change us
so that all our days may become holy days, to the glory of your name.
Lord in your mercy – hear our
prayer
We pray, finally,
for ourselves. May we become those with the imagination to see the world
differently. May we become those whose sense of our own value has been
transformed. May we become those who are no longer paralysed by the scale of
the problems before us, may we be no longer diminished by our sense of our own
smallness. May our lives be transformed by the kingdom taking root in and
through us. May we become those who take our place and play our part in the
transformation and salvation of the world.
We share in the joy
of the boys being baptised today, and in the joy of those renewing their vows and we ask a Father’s blessing on them and their
families
And we pray for those in need remembering
Merciful Father
