Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of January 5, 2022
Rev. Jan Buxton Wade
Holy God, with the bells of New Year’s Eve still ringing in our ears, we come to you in all humility; for how can we celebrate the turning of the calendar without praising you for the divine grace that has come to us so tenderly throughout the year just passed? Your steady hand carried us through difficulties we thought would break us. You restored our hope when we were stranded in confusion. You brought renewal when we were swallowed up in despondency. Remembering how you shepherded us even in perilous times, we remain in awe.
God of Grace, receive our praise!
Speak, Lord, said the young prophet, for your servant is listening. Here, as the new year dawns for us, may we also listen attentively for your voice. Some of us are full of expectation, ready to give shape to any new challenge you set forth. Some of us are overwhelmed and anxious and must lean heavily upon your shoulders no matter your expectations. Others of us are weary and worn, fearing we may not possess the energy to even answer when you call. And yet, you are the God who opens doors, who fashions possibilities, who supplies what is needed, who carves roads where none exist. In whatever condition we find ourselves, we pray we would somehow discern your voice and allow you to work your will within us.
God Who Calls, hear our prayer.
Your Son gave us a vision of the world as it could be, enlivened by people who model your intentions and desires. Jesus dreamed of a world where abundance was shared, where peace reigned, where cooperation birthed prosperity for all, where love and justice were the rule of the day, where health and well-being were honored. We hunger for such a world, but we confess that we often lose heart when setbacks come. We fall back into our old habit of grousing and complaining when obstacles so frequently appear. Forgive us, we pray, and help us to be hope-filled kingdom people as we work in your service each day of this new year.
God Who Inspires, rekindle your dream in our hearts.
On the cusp of this new month and new year, we are deeply aware of the realities that face us at present. And as always, we boldly ask for restoration for the ill, comfort for those who mourn, companionship for the lonely, reconciliation for the estranged, release for those held by the chains of poverty and addiction. To these we add those closest to our hearts . . . . . . . . . ; as well as all these praises and petitions offered by our church community:
- Three offer gratitude for safe journeys and family visits
- Gratitude for successful cornea transplant on Tuesday
- One is thankful for reconnection with two former friends
- Member thankful for healing following three family deaths
- Gratitude: Granddaughter uninjured in a dangerous fire
- Member thankful for the help of his Stephen Minister
- One celebrates the restoration of a relationship
- Prayers appreciated: Three member families recovering from Covid
- Family blessed by an extended holiday gathering in North Carolina
- Gratitude for dedicated church musicians and choirs
- Thanksgiving: Mother is off ventilator & is much improved
- Solace for family who lost a mother and a father to death in 2 weeks’ time
- Premature nephew born at 25 weeks, in ICU, for his survival
- Recovery for a cherished mother-in-law, hospitalized
- All who are mourning recent deaths of loved ones
- Healing of a grandson’s depression
- Pray for peaceful death for a niece’s husband
- A peaceful death for a kind Christian husband, courage for family
- Member with grave vision impairment & neuropathy
- Courage, guidance for wife, caregiver of husband with Parkinson’s
- Recovery for daughter (42), brain surgery today at MD Anderson
- Healing of friend recovering from serious accident
- Faithful husband dealing with memory loss, his caregiver wife
- For intervention: Physician nephew who is an alcoholic
- Mother in South Carolina seriously ill, courage for three anxious adult children
- God’s presence with adult daughter, grave Covid complications
- Courage, guidance for young mother deserted by her husband
- Grace for member valiantly enduring cancer treatments
- Reconciliation of differences within three families
- Pray for young couple recovering at home from serious illnesses
- God’s grace to surround a mother with cancer, for renewed hope
- Two suffering from depression and Parkinson’s-related illness
- A father who entered hospice January 3; for his sons who struggle
God Who Heals, receive our prayers.
Even now, Dear God, uncertain of how the coming months will unfold, we are confident you will continue to speak to us and will walk with us every step of the way. And on our journey into the new year, by your grace, we will endeavor to love you with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength. All these prayers we offer in the name of our Most Faithful Companion, who taught us to pray in this way:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
