O Radiant One, the prophets of old spoke of you as the God of Light; and Jesus taught that your shining essence is embedded within each of us. And yet it seems that we have grown comfortable living within the hungry darkness. Will we wait until that somber bear of evil swallows us up before we make changes in our nation? Have we grown so accustomed to violence that we take it in stride, sighing in relief when tragedy strikes outside our personal domain? If this is so, forgive us, Good Lord. As witnesses to such unthinkable suffering, we must not remain silent. Rekindle that beam of the kingdom you planted within us, we pray, that we might dispel all apathy by lifting high your bright banner of healing, wholeness, and peace.   

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Lord, we carry with us those many lives torn apart by calamity, those many faces contorted by grief. Touch each being visited by tragedy in recent weeks, particularly the anguished ones in Uvalde, Texas; the deaths of children rips apart our sense of rightness. We mourn, as well, the innocent victims in Buffalo, NY and their families who have had to release their own loved ones back to your care.  We watch as havoc and murder play on, destroying the lives of the Ukrainian people. Such losses defy logic, and there are no words when loss numbs the soul; still, we believe you hear even the silent laments that scar the hearts of your people. Stay close, we pray, for the tears of your people are flowing.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We turn to you, O Burning Lamp of Hope, knowing that your love is the answer to the pain and sorrow that thrive throughout our world.  We long to be part of your answer, trusting you will give us a portion of your courage, wisdom, and presence to meet that end.  And even as we tremble, enfold us in your strong arms, along with our brothers and sisters in every region who are discounted, oppressed, misunderstood, lonely, hungry, and forgotten.  

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And as each soul is dear to you, also receive these particular thanksgivings and petitions offered by your followers at Church Street:  

• Mother much improved after severe traffic accident
• Family grateful for daughter’s recent celebration of life 
• Grateful for prayers: Brother’s cancer surgery at Vanderbilt was successful and full recovery is expected
• Two families express gratitude for safe and restful vacations
• Praises for our high school graduates
• Undergraduate grateful for courage to complete his first year of study in another state
• Wife thankful for husband’s peaceful death and support of church family
• Thanksgiving: Brother safely moved to rehab center
• Wife continues to improve following an accident at home
• Family offers thanks for prayers and concern during a bereavement
• Decreased pain and continued healing as member recovers from surgery
• A dear friend with cancer; husband with bouts of depression
• Guidance for suffering Ukrainians displaced by the war
• Wisdom for leaders of the free world to help end the war in Ukraine 
• Grace and guidance for adult son in a toxic work environment
• Pray for all wounded by sexual misconduct within the Southern Baptist Convention and growing courage for SBC leaders working for justice
• Prayers for safety for our Youth Choir & their leaders – on tour in Chicago area May 27-June 3
• For safe delivery of a grandchild
• Increased funding at all levels for treatment of mental illness 
• Courage and healing for a mother with advanced cancer & her family
• Prayers for open doors for one seeking a new job
• Pray for all young people making transitions this season and their families 
• Prayers for member needing work with insurance benefits
• Son-in-law in depression – for physical and emotional healing
• For our community leaders to address poverty & racial inequities  
• All teens adjusting to community life after Covid  

We harbor no illusions, Lord, that we can make it on our own, for you are the Luminous Center which brought us into being; and around you we have framed our faith. Shore up our faith day by day as we come to you in all humility, offering all our spoken and silent prayers in the name of Jesus, the One who suffered for our sakes, and who taught us to pray:

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.

O Light of Each New Day and Luster of Evening Star, we tremble when we consider how your goodness permeates every hour of every day!  You have brought us safely to this point, as the curtain of dusk falls softly all around. And here in the shadows we ponder how your holiness has touched our encounters in this week just passed: the stranger that offered a helping hand, the promising report from a physician, the cheery note that arrived when most needed, the safe arrival at a destination, worship moments that filled our hearts to the brim, friends who demonstrated their concern, and also . . . . . . . . . . We thank you, Lord, for coming to us in such quiet graciousness; you slip in unheralded, so softly that we often overlook your presence.  Ah, but here in these moments, we recall how your providence ever flows through circumstances, creating blessings where none are expected or deserved. 

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

Keeper of All Our Stories, you know the stories of our lives – of the times we failed miserably, when we chose the wrong roads, when we were betrayed, when we placed our trust in the wrong places and persons, when our dreams collapsed, the times when grief overtook us, when bitter tears were our food day and night.  Even in these times, remembering your own story of suffering, you colored our hurts with your love, cradled us in your arms, told us that there is always a new beginning, and that your mercy would help us find it.  As you gather us under your wings, remind us that all our stories begin and end in you, for you are also the Keeper of our Souls.

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

You know us through and through, Lord, and we pray we might come to know ourselves in entirety as well.  Surprise us with insights into our own assumptions and motives; give us wisdom to ask the most difficult questions of ourselves. Move us out of our complacency into a life of fullness.  

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

Accept, O Lord, these private prayers we carry in our hearts . . . . . . . . . . and also these praises and concerns offered by your people at Church Street:

• Gratitude: our gifted high school seniors who led Sunday worship 
• Thankful that a husband with Parkinson’s is regaining strength
• Family celebrate a successful pacemaker procedure this week
• Blessed news of a daughter’s pregnancy
• One appreciates successful surgery & all who prayed
• Member gives thanks for a wonderful vacation
• Grateful for the Spirit’s presence in a mother’s peaceful death
• Thanksgiving for a son’s happy wedding last weekend
• One offers thanks for friends who offered help & wisdom in regard to an important decision
• Family thankful for daughter’s beautiful beach wedding on Saturday
• Gratitude: a member has overcome a second bout of Covid
• Grateful for prayers – cancer patient has not contracted Covid after exposure
• Two grateful for having overcome recent illnesses
• Prayers that innocents in Ukraine might be protected
• Wisdom for leaders of the free world to help end the war in Ukraine 
• All who are grieving the deaths of loved ones
• Guidance for family making decisions following bereavement
• Courage & healing for member with advanced cancer & her family
• Wisdom & guidance for daughter facing a bitter divorce
• Husband with Parkinson’s, easing of depression & help with his caregiving
• Prayers for all young people making transitions this season & their families 
• Prayers that a pathology report is clear
• Infirm member anxious about an upcoming physical evaluation
• Couple experiencing downturn in income, seek financial security 
• Healing of an extreme voice ailment & the sufferer’s depression   
• Continued prayers: friend injured in accident, remains in ICU
• Healing for two women with untreatable eye disease 
• Addressing of poverty in our community 
• Correct diagnosis for mother with heart condition
• Young man seeking work in college athletics
• For the Spirit to abide with family during memorial service on Saturday 
• An uncle & grandmother in hospice care & their families
• An ill mother-in-law & concerned family, for recovery

Faithful Spirit, we would be channels of your light, mercy, and peace as we live out our days; so fill us with grace that we may open ourselves to be used in whatever ways you desire. And, as always, we offer all these things in the name of the Risen Christ, who taught us to pray: 

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.