Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son to be the Lord and Saviour of
this parish.
Help us to witness for Jesus here.
Give us the words to speak for Jesus, the hearts to reach out to the
needy for Jesus, the eyes to see this parish as Jesus sees it. Inspire us by the Holy Spirit to show Your
love to our families, our friends, our neighbours. Empower us by the Holy Spirit to work for You
that this parish may become more and more a part of Your Kingdom.
We pray for those who work in the parish during the week, in the
shops, offices and businesses that are based here. We ask that honesty and justice may prevail
in all the premises.
We pray for those who come here for rest or relaxation that they
may find a special gift of Your refreshing hand on their lives.
We pray for the schools and for the students who live and study in
the parish. Guide in the Christian
outreach to the schools and students of Exeter
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
This is the start of the week of prayer for Christian unity. We use one of the prayers written for this
week:
God of eternal compassion, as individuals and as community, we ask
for light so that we may become more welcoming and understanding towards others
and reduce the suffering in Your world.
God of eternal compassion, teach us Your children that charity,
hospitality and unity are expressions of Your revelation and will for humanity.
God of eternal compassion, grant us peace; teach us and guide us
to be builders of a tolerant and non-violent world.
God of eternal compassion, Who spoke to us
through
creation,
through
the prophets,
through
Your Son Jesus Christ,
grant us wisdom to listen to Your voice calling us still to unity
in our diversity.
And so we pray for the Christians who live and worship in this
parish, that we may be united in our desire to see Your Kingdom enlarged on
earth
God of eternal compassion, in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ our
Lord, who as a stranger asked for a drink from a Samaritan woman, give us
living water, springing up to eternal life.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Father God, we pray for the ongoing life of this church. Thank you for all those who give their time
and talents to serve You here. We pray
for the clergy that You will guide them day by day in the wide range of tasks
that they must undertake as leaders, teachers, pastors and shepherds of the
church. We pray for the Readers, that
they may bring experience from the world of work to their ministry. We pray for the musicians, that their gifts
may support us all in our morning worship.
We pray for the church council and its officers, the wardens, secretary
and treasurer, that they may have the time and energy to work for You in ways
that are often unseen. We pray for those
who work with children, that You will inspire them to bring the message of
Jesus to life in a way that children can understand. And we remember others, whose work is unseen
and easily forgotten, those who clean, those who serve refreshments, those who
arrange flowers and oversee our property.
And so we pray for the whole church family, that You will use us
all, with the time, and talents and money that have all come from You. Teach us
to be generous stewards so that the work of Your church is never hindered
through lack of people and money.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Finally, we pray for those in special need at this time.
We remember those who are ill, and bring those we know and those
on our prayer list to You for healing.
We remember the news stories that have filled our papers and
bulletins this week, and pray for wisdom for the politicians of the world as they
try to prevent the mindlessness of terrorism.
We pray for those who grieve after murders and atrocities, that
they may be comforted.
We pray for our missionary links, Sharon and Miriam, that they may
know your care.
We pray for Bishop Robert, Bishop Nick, Archdeacon Christopher
that you will uphold their ministry
Merciful Father
Accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus
Christ
Amen
