Prayer for Today – April 17

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 17, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

We offer gratitude, Loving Lord, that you have called each of us to be part of your circle of life. And as such, you have counted one and all as your very own, and have excluded no one. How deep and mysterious is your affection for us. On this day, give us reminders that you are that great spiral of love in which we live and move and have our being.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Channel of Grace, even as you direct your love toward us, we confess that we sometimes feel frightened and abandoned; we admit we have placed our faith in ourselves and in the advice of others. We beg your forgiveness for our lack of trust in your promise that you would guide us always. Receive also the private regrets that we now whisper in these moments . . .

Wash away our doubt, we pray, and replace it with a river of quiet confidence.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Within our recent challenges, Renewing God, grant that we might cast our eyes upon the blessings we have received, rather than upon what we may have lost. Our purses may be slim, but the extra time we’ve spent with our families is beyond price. Travel schedules are slashed, but we’ve discovered the feast of spring colors at our own doorstep. Dining out is not possible, but we realize we have more than ample fare at home. We cannot worship collectively, but we can come together in creative ways, reminding us that we are one body, one family.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

And as family, we lift up the joys and concerns of our brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing you hear all who turn to you:

  • Gratitude that a friend has completed his chemo treatments; continued prayers for his healing & upcoming scans next week
  • Gratitude for Easter worship; it was glorious
  • Praises: friends who have returned to work following COVID-19 illness
  • Pray for a family bearing great stress during this economic downturn
  • Ongoing prayers for healthcare workers, all who provide public services and keep stores stocked and open – for their gallant contribution to our community
  • A beloved mother nearing death; strength for her daughter at her side
  • Easing of pain for a cancer victim who suffers daily
  • All in our church who have lost their jobs or whose hours are reduced
  • Three families grieving the deaths of cherished pets in the past 2 weeks
  • College seniors and grad students as they finish their coursework online

Hear us, heal us, and hold us close.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

These prayers and petitions we lay at your feet this day, for Christ’s sake, as it was he who long ago 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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – April 16

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 16, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O One Who Rises Each Dawn, rise within us today. Free us from the shroud of failures, from the power of doubt and fear. Outside our windows you have planted astonishing signs of hope – reminders that we are wounded, but whole, broken but made alive and vibrant through your love. This is the day that you have made. May we discover ways to be glad in it.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Steady Guide, you sent us your Son as our Master Teacher. But he did not require his earliest followers to reach great heights of learning before they entered his service. His expectation was that they take the talents they already possessed and put them to work for the kingdom. Just so, you call each of us to minister to our hurting world. In this time of isolation, only steps away someone is lonely, broken, ill, hurting. What gesture of hope might we extend? Help us remember that whatever offering we hold out to another, you will increase and make it perfect.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Sometimes we feel as if the winds have carried us to an uncharted territory, indistinct on any map, and we long for you to call us home where we recognize the familiar. You know the burdens carried by each of your children, O Caring One, but receive these most recent prayers—earnest thanksgivings and pleas which come from your servants at Church Street:

  • Gratitude that I am still able to work online & support my family
  • Gratitude: all who bravely work in public spaces to serve our community
  • Thanksgiving: family friends in Louisiana now recovered from COVID-19
  • Our neighbors in Chattanooga who suffer greatly from the effects of the recent tornados; solace for the bereaved, strength for rebuilding
  • For monetary gifts to Beacon of Hope and Second Harvest, as their food supplies for the indigent are dangerously low
  • A 92-yr-old member in another state whose health is failing
  • Traveling mercies for a dear faithful member who is moving to Nashville in a few days to be closer to her family
  • For grace to permeate every grieving soul under stress this day
  • Wisdom for a businessman as he seeks to restore his company
  • Our high school seniors whose plans have been necessarily shifted and delayed, for easing of their worries
  • Safety for those who work in jails and courts, and for detainees

May each of us remember that the distance between ourselves and your undying love has vanished, for you have made your home in our hearts.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

As we bring these petitions to you and offer them in the name of our Savior, give us strength to focus, not on what we have lost, but on the goodness you have brought us since the moment of our births:

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – April 15

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 15, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Beloved Portrait of Grace, we marvel still that you chose to send your cherished Son as a suffering servant to redeem the world. In Eastertide, we remember that you love us more deeply than we can ever imagine. We know that the nail prints remain; but we also know that beside those marks our names have been written upon the palms of his hands. For this act of grace, too wondrous to fathom, we offer our most humble thanks.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Dear and Glorious Physician, you are the Savior of our souls; yet we often forget that you are also the Savior of our minds and bodies. We have loved ones whom we lift up to you for physical and emotional healing. Hear us as we whisper their names in these moments . . .

We ask for your comfort and for your healing work within them. Also, may your hand of mercy work within these situations on the hearts of members of our church family:

  • Gratitude: My retirement home has no cases of COVID-19
  • Gratitude: Friends are working to help the family whose roof was destroyed in recent storms
  • Thanksgiving: Medical analysts who are uncovering more answers to combating COVID-19
  • Prayers for a business to survive during this harsh economic period; and for stress to subside for owner and family involved
  • An unemployed family member is grateful that a government check has arrived to help pay his rent
  • Peace and easing of symptoms for a cherished sister very ill with advanced cancer and her daughter who cares for her
  • A therapist asks for prayers for her clients who bear increased mental stress and relapse due to COVID-19 isolation and monetary difficulties
  • A couple whose beloved family cat succumbed to pancreatitis on Easter
  • Three member families mourning the deaths of loved ones
  • Healing of a family’s grief – faithful canine pet of 14 years died of cancer last week

Through your grace you created us, in your mercy you saved us, and in your love you are holding us close until our present pain and isolation are past.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Steadfast Hope, surely your face brightens when we call your name. And today we indeed call upon you. So bind us, we pray, with all those around the globe who also turn to you to offer the words your Blessed Son taught us:

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – April 14

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 14, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Life has a way of wounding us, sometimes within an inch of our lives. We need only sift through our life’s memories to count the mistakes we have made, the hurts we have suffered, the pain we have inflicted upon others. But in this Easter season, we celebrate the extraordinary power of God that redeems what has been shattered, mends what has been torn apart, and brings new life to what has become lifeless. We rejoice, O Living One, that Jesus’ glorious resurrection previews what awaits each one rooted to him.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

God, our Most Holy and Remarkable Friend, we are here again before you, admitting that we have often missed the mark; but in other ways, you know we are doing the best we can during these complicated times.  And because the living Christ has gone on ahead and waits for us, we know he welcomes all our prayers that come from our hearts:  

  • Thank you for praying – a brother’s cardiac procedure turned out well; continued prayers for health & healing requested 
  • Family members celebrate the news of a pregnancy
  • Caregiver in assisted living – grateful she and all residents remain healthy
  • A family grieving their father who died on Saturday
  • Healthcare workers, public servants & all who take risks on our behalf
  • Wisdom for researchers seeking a cure for COVID-19
  • Prayers for a business to survive during this harsh economic period; and for stress to subside for owner and family involved
  • Neighbor and friend with a malignant brain tumor, for peace & healing
  • Healing of a family’s grief – faithful canine pet died of cancer last week
  • A sister with advanced cancer and her family who care for her at home
  • Educators and students dealing with challenges of online coursework
  • A family asks for healing mercy; they had to put their dog down on Sat.

O One Who Waits, we know you hear us, but in your own way, give us a sign that we shall make it through. 

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Lord of All That Is, continue to bind us together into one resilient body, that we might join as one mighty voice to sing your song of hope and to pray together the words taught us by our Savior:

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – April 13

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 13, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Love Ever Blooming, these April showers cannot dim the marvelous story of Holy Week. The love you planted in the garden took root at Calvary, ripened as the stone was rolled away, and blossomed with sweetest perfume in the hearts of your followers everywhere. May we who live today continue to tell that story by the way our spirits grow in reflection of your love and grace.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O God of the Empty Tomb, as your days were troubled, you know that our past days have been difficult. We have been unable to visit our loved ones, hug our parents or grandparents, play with our grandchildren, gather for worship, work, celebrations. Some of us have lost our jobs, and our nerves have become frayed. But there are lessons to be learned from this time apart; may we search for them with hungry hearts. And let us not grow weary, for we know that better times are ahead, as spoken by the Lord through the prophet: Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Patient Listener, we confess there are many instances in which we have not lived up to your dreams for us, so hear us as we make our private confessions . . .

We feel your stream of mercy washing us clean and we know you accept us as we are, just as you accepted the thief upon the cross.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Hear also, we pray, these sincere offerings from your people in our own congregation:

  • Gratitude for the deep faith of a Christian friend, a prisoner in GA
  • Gratitude for meaningful and beautiful Easter worship
  • Thankful for Easter family gatherings made possible via ZOOM
  • A brother has a heart procedure today – for all to go well
  • A sister in Florida who is ill, for the hospital to clear her for treatment
  • A sister suffering from delusions, relief for her agony and depression
  • A cousin in a Kentucky nursing home; he and 41 others tested positive for COVID-19
  • Safety for all who unselfishly work on the front lines to provide food, medical care, daily services to protect and sustain our communities
  • Loved ones locked in nursing facilities, gratitude for their caregivers
  • Neighbors whose roof was destroyed by a falling tree, no electricity and no funds for repair; for help to arrive
  • Closing of ASP home repair services, the poor who must wait for help

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Even when our doubts begin to surface, they are always subdued by the underlying knowledge that we are rooted securely to the Living Vine, who supports, strengthens, and sustains us. It is in his name we 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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a live devotion at noon today on Facebook!

Join Church Street on Facebook.

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Prayer for Easter Sunday – April 12

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Hail thee, festival day! Blest day that art hallowed forever;

Day wherein Christ arose, breaking the kingdom of death!

O One who set the sun in the heavens to light up the earth by day and the moon by night, you sent Jesus Christ to shed light into our broken world.

When you shattered the darkness of Calvary, we learned that love and light can never remain buried; we learned that nothing can ever separate us from the flame of your eternal love. Shine your light over us, in us, and through us, we pray, that we might shine all our days as Easter people.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Hail thee, festival day! Blest day that art hallowed forever;

Day wherein Christ arose, breaking the kingdom of death!

O One of Peace, your resurrection is a daily celebration over fear, our greatest enemy. For when we are afraid, we do foolish things: we turn our thoughts inward; we take more than our share; we obsess about the future. Beginning this day, O Risen One, we pray you would give us the peace to live with uncertainty, with questions and doubts. Then the world shall know we are believers in the Son who displayed no alarm, even when his ghastly sentence was pronounced. Let us place our hope in the resurrection of our Lord!

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Hail thee, festival day! Blest day that art hallowed forever;

Day wherein Christ arose, breaking the kingdom of death!

Because of the miracle of the cross, O Author of New Life, we know that nothing is impossible with you, so bend your ear close and receive with kindness these petitions offered by our faith community:

  • A Wesley House grandmother offers thanks for kindness and thoughtfulness of church members during these trying times
  • Gratitude for church staff who make communications possible
  • Thank you for prayers: sister in Cleveland who had delicate heart surgery has been released a few days early
  • Safety for NY physicians and healthcare workers who serve at great risk
  • A cousin in a KY nursing home; he and 41 others tested positive for COVID-19
  • Continued protection for a friend in poor health who lives alone
  • That we never lose sight of the hope and love of Jesus Christ
  • Safety for all who unselfishly work on the front lines to provide food, medical care, and daily services to protect and sustain our communities
  • Loved ones locked in nursing facilities, gratitude for their caregivers
  • Appalachian Service Project home repairs have been closed until August, a major blow to the poor who depend upon volunteers

Visit all our homes this day, bringing a ray of peace and bright blessing.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Hail thee, O Reason for the Festival, we know our Savior hears the pleas of even the smallest lamb, so we lift up all our prayers in your name, that we might live in the gladness and grace of Easter all our days:

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for Easter Worship! Sunday, April 12 at 10 am

Join Church Street on YouTube at 10 am! An order of worship email will be sent prior to the service so you can follow along.

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Prayer for Holy Saturday – April 11

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

Holy Saturday, April 11, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Lord, today is a day of holy silence, as Jesus rests lifeless in the tomb, and as the sentries keep vigil. Help us also to keep vigil as the world mourns the heinous crucifixion of your Beloved Son. And when the silence completely envelops us, may we become aware of our own brokenness and weakness. All the while, may we grow in our belief that death never has the last word.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Eternal Hope, today we remember Mary, who mourned but did not despair. She may have sensed something stirring deep within the silent earth. And given our present circumstances this Holy Saturday, she reminds us that it is never too late for a new beginning. So when our work is deemed “nonessential,” when our purses are almost empty, when a virus stalks our neighborhoods, when our loved ones are shuttered away, when we long for a human embrace, when the expected becomes the unknown, we turn our eyes toward the One who loves us and is already preparing a new road for us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Great Restorer, we reflect upon our recent misdeeds . . .

and again seek restoration.

We also remember the graces you have showered upon us . . .

Thank you, Good Lord. Now receive also, we pray, these earnest petitions from our church family:

  • Gratitude for prayers: a member’s MRI & CT scan showed no abnormalities; but please pray for an answer to his symptoms
  • Gratitude for an out-of-state son who has come home to help his mother recovering from surgery
  • Thank you for praying – three Nashville family members have all recovered from COVID-19
  • Grateful parents were not exposed to COVID-19, as earlier presumed
  • Thanksgiving for musicians and choir who bring us hope via recordings
  • Solace for all in our church who mourn loved ones during Holy Week
  • Healing for a sister facing upcoming treatment for lung cancer
  • Prayers for a member suffering from strep throat
  • Pray for an adult son who is in desperate need of work
  • Healing mercies for our church members in cancer treatment

Embrace all who watch and wait for your promised deliverance.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Almighty One, whose only Son rose from the silent grave to glory, grant that all of us, who were buried with him in baptism, might also be raised to eternal life.

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for Easter Worship! Sunday, April 12 at 10 am

Join Church Street on YouTube at 10 am! An order of worship email will be sent tomorrow morning so you can follow along.

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Prayer for Today – Good Friday, April 10

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

Good Friday, April 10, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Today we pause to remember your sacrificial love, O Savior of the World, even though the message of the cross is difficult to take. We struggle with your teaching that strength is found in weakness, for we are weak ourselves; and we have long envisioned a mighty Savior who would create a world without strife, without injustice, without pain, without fearful illness. But we remember you said faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient, so we turn to you this day, O Suffering One, with our fragmented faith, for you alone have the words of life eternal.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Wounded One, on that darkest day, the sky turned black and purple. We wonder how an innocent and righteous one had so few defenders – for only three or four brave ones huddled close at the foot of the dreaded cross. Some say the torrents that drenched the earth that day were really the tears of angels. May our own tears mingle with theirs, O Lord, for deep down we wonder if we ourselves would have had the courage to remain faithful, or would we also have run away? Could we have witnessed such agony?

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

In spite of our tentative ways and our sporadic commitment, your apostle reminds us to pray without ceasing. And so we humbly place the praises and longings of our own hearts, and also these sincere petitions from our church family, at your feet:

  • Gratitude: brother in VA, ill with cancer, tested negative for COVID-19
  • Gratitude for a sister who sits daily with her grieving brother
  • Thankful that close relatives in NYC remain safe and healthy
  • Appreciation for all who are donating blood to benefit virus victims
  • Strength for brave, yet weary healthcare workers who serve so nobly
  • Prayers for a friend in Birmingham whose father died suddenly, and the bereaved family cannot gather to hold a service
  • The unemployed and the under-employed, for financial relief
  • Four worried members who cannot visit loved ones in assisted living
  • A family grieving the imminent death of their longtime canine friend
  • Peace and healing of a family member with cancer, facing surgery soon
  • A sister awaiting radiation treatment for stage 1 lung cancer
  • All who are depressed and lonely during this time of confinement

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Sacred Head Now Wounded, we bow to you this day, as it was you alone who brought hope out of devastation, triumph out of sorrow, life out of death, and who also 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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Good Friday Passion & Chorales, Today at Noon

Join Church Street on YouTube at noon for the story of Christ’s Passion. Presented by Terri Ward and Edie Johnson.

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Prayer for Today – April 9

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 9, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found. The words of the hymnist were never more evident than on this Maundy Thursday, O Lord Most High. On that long-ago Thursday, we remember that the tenderness of Jesus poured out meaning and mercy to the very disciples who were to deny him. And in his stunning grace, your Son also overlooks our own failures, choosing to cover them with his love. At table, he shared the Passover meal with his band of brothers.

Thus, we remember our own sins . . .

and we know they will soon be swept away from your memory. We also bow our heads and open our hands to gladly receive the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found. And after supper, we recall how Jesus stooped to wash the feet of his friends. Wash not only our feet, Merciful Savior, but wash our hearts, our souls, our hands, and our wills; then we will be strengthened to follow your new mandate: Love one another as I have loved you.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found. Open wide our eyes this day, O Lord, that we might find new ways to address the needs of the world. Is there a card or a donation we might send? Is there a phone call we could make? Is there an errand we might run for a homebound friend? Are there more prayers to be offered? And as we continue our prayers for others, may the world come to know we are Christians by our love. Hear these most recent prayers offered by our church family:

  • Gratitude is offered for physician friends who remain virus-free
  • Thanksgiving for all public servants who continue to work despite risks
  • Thank you for praying – an Ohio friend’s tests showed no cancer
  • A small business is able to remain open and provide income for workers
  • A lonely husband in hospice care, for his wife who worries
  • A lonely grandmother who cannot be visited in nursing facility
  • Strength, endurance and safety for all healthcare workers
  • Courage and healing for a family member facing cancer surgery
  • Friends in New Orleans trying to isolate infected family members
  • Brother in VA, ill with cancer and may have been exposed to COVID-19
  • Physician son and family in NC, limited supplies, staff incomes cut in half
  • Son-in-law and family in Nashville – company facing bankruptcy
  • A member struggling with pain due to cancer, for her healing
  • Parents who have been exposed to COVID-19, for negative test results

Wherever charity and love prevail, there God is ever found.

Brought here together by Christ’s love, by love are we thus bound.

As we are indeed fed by your love and bound to you by commitment, we boldly lay all our prayers at the feet of our Savior, 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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Maundy Thursday Holy Communion, Tonight at 7 p.m.

Join Pastor Palmer live on our Facebook page or on YouTube at 7 pm for virtual Holy Communion.

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Prayer for Today – April 8

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 8, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Astonishing One, you come to us in surprising ways. We ask for success, but you teach us acceptance. We ask to be loved, but you ask us to love others. We long for the easy road, but you offer detours and challenges. Somehow you know what is best for our growth in faith. So we reach out our hands today and place them in yours, knowing that your faithfulness never falters and that, in spite of unexpected byways, you are traveling with us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We recall the loud Hosannas we offered just a few days ago — so the world might hear of Jesus’ glad arrival. Yet we remember his ride to Jerusalem ended in unimaginable suffering. In the days ahead, we pray for courage, lest we desert, as did those first disciples. For resolve to stay the course, we trust in God as our strength and the Holy Spirit as our comfort.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. 

O Suffering Servant, at this half-way point on your own path of anguish, we turn to you with our own concerns. You know our situation is bleak, and too many are in pain throughout the world. We pray for our brothers and sisters everywhere, particularly those who unselfishly serve the ill, grow our food, deliver needed supplies, stock our shelves, and those working for a cure for this deadly disease. Hear also these petitions from members of our own church family:

  • Gratitude to a family making cloth face masks for others
  • Gratitude: a friend’s COVID-19 test was negative
  • Thank you for praying – a friend with a GI infection is much improved
  • Gratitude for friends who helped us greatly during our bereavement
  • Prayers for a dear sister who had to move her husband in hospice care in a local facility; she is not allowed to visit him
  • A healthcare worker is overworked & stressed; the long hours & lack of rest are depleting her energy; prayers for time apart and renewal
  • A worried husband whose work projects have been cut
  • Courage, strength, and healing for a family member, cancer diagnosis, facing surgery in these uncertain circumstances
  • Brother in VA, ill with cancer and may have been exposed to COVID-19

Even as we offer these situations on our hearts, help us to know, Caring God, that you are already cutting a trail through our thickest fears.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Holy One, may your own grace and tenderness be made known through each of us, as we rededicate ourselves to reaching out to help the hurting ones in our community, for this is the way of your Son:

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.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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