Sunday, 16 November 2014

Prayers for 20th July 2014



Thank you Lord, for the ministry of Gerry, whose anniversary we are celebrating today.  We thank you for the many individuals and parishes that he has served and ministered to.  So we look back at his parishes and pray for each one, that Christians may continue to serve and witness in them, naming:
We ask for God’s blessing on him and his wife in their life together
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 our fellow Christians in our neighbourhood, Belmont, Christ Church, the Redeemed church, that they and we may be shining lights in this part of Exeter as we follow our Lord and Saviour.  And for our curates as they start new ventures with us.  We pray for the director of training that you will guide him as he oversees the training of curates
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer
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 who mourn after the attack on the Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, that they may find comfort; we pray for just and open dealings between nations as the crash is investigated.
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 peace in Egypt after heightened tension there
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 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 who plan for development of housing and commerce in our city, that they may work for happiness, truth and beauty for all in the community.
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, 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.
And we pray for those in need remembering
Merciful Father

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