Prayer for Today – November 19

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 19 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Voice of Calm, we enter your presence, as you long ago whispered for us to draw near. You tenderly hollowed out that cavern within us that yearns for communion with the Holy. Much is taking place beyond that veil of knowing, for your Spirit works in ways and in places of which we have never heard. Fill that empty space you created inside us, we pray, for it is just large enough for that presence for which we thirst. We shall rest now in silence and let you touch whatever it is within us that needs attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For your radical love that accepts us, for your amazing grace that replenishes us, and for your covenant blessing which binds us to you, we are grateful and humbled.

Accompany each one who travels with heavy sorrows this day, O Friend of the Falling, as many stumble through the dark expanse of pain. As Jesus knew the sharp edges of loss, he knows how our world struggles with the penetrating wounds inflicted by disease, and particularly by the present pandemic. We sense you working through science and technology to bring us the promised vaccine; so gift us also, O Lord, with a bit more patience as we endure. And when we feel ourselves wavering under the weight of the virus or the grief that accompanies it, set us aright, that we might boldly walk with the courage of Jesus.

So many cry out to you from far and wide, but we know that through your gracious mystery, you attend to each of us individually. With that confidence, believing that our pain is your pain, our joys are your joys, we offer the praises and concerns of your people of Church Street:

  • Prayers appreciated: Young grandson in D.C. much improved
  • Gratitude for our choir and musicians whose music lifts our spirits
  • One is thankful for new employment
  • Appreciation for all healthcare workers who serve faithfully; please pray for their protection
  • Pray for a wife having further consultations at the Mayo Clinic today
  • Peace for faithful member awaiting PET scan results today
  • Beloved wife awaiting pathology report on Friday
  • Full recovery for husband at Vanderbilt following heart surgery
  • That a mother’s surgery in South Carolina will go well today
  • Complete healing for one recovering from eye surgery
  • Prayers for one undergoing an eye surgery today
  • Prayer that a friend’s treatments will sufficiently shrink his pancreatic tumor so it can be surgically removed
  • Strength for stressed brother caring for his wife who has dementia
  • Healing of family members ill with COVID: Mother-in-law, father, daughter and her two children, teenage daughter, sister-in-law, mother, grandson, and granddaughter; peace and reassurance for family members giving care
  • Solace for grieving family in the death of beloved wife and mother
  • Prayers that our community will heed public health guidelines
  • Friends and family members unable to visit loved ones in isolation
  • Calm and reassurance for couple planning a wedding
  • Prayers for all families receiving Thanksgiving baskets on Saturday
  • Guidance for weary caregiver; continued healing for her husband
  • Faithful Christian friend in ICU with progressive cancer

Thank you, Blessed One, for receiving us just as we are, for keeping your candle burning through the wee hours, and for leaving your door ajar, just in case we cry out in the night. How blessed we are to be counted among those multitudes who call you Father and who now join us in offering the prayer of you 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.

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Prayer for Today – November 18

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 18 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you are my refuge, a strong tower of strength.  Let me abide in your tent forever under the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:1-4

Highest Hope of the Weak, we call to you when our hearts are faint. We don’t want to believe that hatred and fear have power in our nation, but we have heard the testimonies and we have seen for ourselves how these bitter forces have already rooted themselves in too many places. Don’t let the spirit of discontent take root in our souls, we pray; for the heart that seeks to separate is the heart that does not love. Help us to overcome that downward tug by becoming a force for love. Strengthen us to live out a kind of love that makes us stand up on a high rock, crying out for the cause of peace, justice, and reconciliation, as did Jesus.

O Promised Rest, your love has brought us this far, and by your grace, we have been blessed throughout the years, celebrating joys and enduring the sorrows of this life. And as we consider ourselves survivors, we resist admitting that we are also bone-tired.  Our sense of responsibility and our need to control have gotten out of hand, resulting in our adding work hours to our already crowded days, while subtracting time to rest, reflect, and cherish your good gifts. The pandemic has whittled away our confidence and we are frayed around the edges. So receive us into your loving arms that we might receive that promised rest for the weary. Let us kneel at your feet and take our ease. Let us leave our burdens there, knowing you will manage them until we are once again refreshed and ready to carry on.

Of course, Prescient Lord, you know our needs before we even speak them, but still you want us to turn to you as our trusted confidant. And somehow, as we give voice to our longings, we receive a sense that our pleas have entered the sacred realm of heaven, where even the saints are praying for us. No prayer is ever wasted, and in that belief, we bare our souls before you, sharing our brightest joys, our earnest hopes and our gripping losses. . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .  In your mercy, gather these and all the prayers of the Church Street family which we now whisper in the name of Christ:

  • Gratitude: A brother is home from hospital, but pray for full healing
  • Prayers appreciated: A teenager is moving toward healing
  • Thanksgiving: Retinal surgery was successful
  • Family celebrates the news of a much-desired pregnancy
  • Gratitude that a mother is recovering well from virus at home
  • Pray for a wife having further consultations at the Mayo Clinic on Thursday
  • Peace for faithful member awaiting PET scan results this week
  • Prayers for young family of four in isolation due to virus exposure
  • Full recovery for husband from risky heart surgery
  • A door to open for a struggling woman in need of a job, and for insurance to approve an important medical procedure
  • Refugee children, that they may be released and reunited with families
  • Prayers for resolution of conflicts within two families
  • Strength for stressed brother caring for his wife who has dementia
  • Lift up a very ill sister-in-law who remains in ICU with COVID
  • Continued healing for teenage daughter and an ill brother
  • Comfort for husband and entire family: young wife died last week
  • Prayers that a lonely daughter will find friends and companionship
  • Healing for an elderly father hospitalized with COVID
  • Guidance for weary caregiver; continued healing for her husband
  • Healing from virus: Young grandson and a young granddaughter
  • Prayers that a daughter finds the work God wants her to undertake
  • Faithful Christian friend in ICU with progressive cancer

We leave these prayers in your tender care. And if it isn’t too much to ask, grant that we may live lives so close to your Son’s that Jesus’ story will be our story too; and that we may also abide in your tent forever, under the safe shelter of your wings:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 17

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 17, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Creating God, as your Spirit moved over the chaos to give light and life to our world, send that same spirit around and through us today to awaken what has withered within. We confess that we move as automatons amid the hours, giving only a rare nod to the glory that you have placed so near. Leaves smile and sparkle, birds offer you praise, supple moss softens the footpath, pansies bow their heads as the wind calls your name. Awaken us from our stupor! Help us relinquish our dreams of another life, for in so many ways, we are already living the dream.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Noble Giver, we confess that we place our trust in passing trends, in the false idols of wealth and fame.  Worldly glory and acclaim are tenuous.  We know this, but we confess that envy seeps into our spirits far too often.  We note what others possess and witness the freedom their affluence offers them.  Remind us that prestige and prosperity do not move us closer to your side; teach us to be content with what we have, for we have more than enough.  Forgive our foolish wanderings, we pray, and help us cling to Christ, who works through your grace to meet all our needs.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Enduring One, we who abide in your fold admit that we are shaken by the suffering so near at hand.  Before we can absorb one grief, another takes its place. Be with each one afflicted with the coronavirus, we pray:  those who are ill, especially those in critical care; those who cringe in fear; each one who grieves the loss of loved ones who succumbed to the disease; those isolated from family and friends, especially those who are confused; those whose livelihoods have been disrupted; educators and students trying to move forward in spite of great obstacles; caregivers and healthcare workers whose energy is all but depleted.  Shine your unfading light upon each one, rekindling their broken spirits, that they may feel our prayers on their behalf, that they may know they are not alone, and that they be secure in their hearts that your strength will see them through.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And as you offer us every opportunity to share our deepest selves with you, we place before you these additional needs and gratitudes of your people and Church Street.  Thank you for never too busy to listen when we call:

  • Celebration of husband’s return home after delicate heart surgery
  • Gratitude for test results showing no indication of cancer
  • Thanksgiving: Member home following bypass surgery
  • Grateful that beloved mother is recovering well from virus
  • Refugee children held on US border, that they may be released and reunited with their families before Christmas
  • Prayers for resolution of conflicts within two families
  • Peace for faithful member awaiting PET scan results this week
  • Protection of all healthcare workers who serve at great risk
  • Lift up a very ill sister-in-law who remains in ICU with COVID
  • Healing of teenage daughter, courage for worried parents
  • Comfort for husband whose young wife died last week and for entire family who are trying to find a way forward
  • Solace for two sons who grieve the death of their mother on Saturday
  • Prayers that a lonely daughter will find friends and companionship
  • Healing for a beloved mother & a father hospitalized with COVID
  • Strength and guidance for caregiver; continued healing for her husband
  • Mercy and peace for wife whose husband (51) died of a massive stroke
  • Healing from virus: young grandson and a young granddaughter
  • Prayers that a daughter finds the work God wants her to undertake
  • Faithful Christian friend with progressive cancer, now in ICU
  • A hospitalized brother, healing of foot infection, strength for family

Watch over us in these bleak times, O Lord, for we trust you will bear us up on eagle wings, as you have done from age to age, and one day we shall soar high above to reside with you and with your Beloved Son, who taught us this prayer:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 16

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 16, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

If thou wilt suffer God to guide thee, and hope in God through all thy ways,

God will give strength, whate’er betide thee, and bear thee through the hardest days.

We offer praise to you, Lord God, for our church family. We thank you for all those who came before us, those who built our structure and dedicated it to your purposes, for those saints who guided us in walking in Jesus’ steps. We know that we are reaping what these other witnesses have sown – those who also lived through hard times. And like them, may we faithfully love, work, and serve your people, that even those yet unborn may benefit from our own labor. For we take comfort in knowing that when you call us home, we will rejoin that larger Church Street family, and indeed all your devoted servants, in that realm that has joy beyond our perception.

 

Sing, pray, and keep God’s ways unswerving; so do thine own part faithfully;

And trust God’s word, though undeserving, thou yet shall fine it true for thee. 

And even though we must be away from our beloved physical structure during this time of widespread virus, we believe you are holding us together in the invisible web of your love. You, O Unknowable One, are above and beyond both steeple and spire, both archway and font, both pulpit and altar. These merely point to your heavenly goodness. So while we are physically apart, let us imagine our house of worship permanently planted within our hearts. And with each heartbeat, we will be continually singing as one, lifting up those ageless hymns, celebrating the One who claims us and who will lead us safely back to Henley at his appointed time.

Watchful Savior, we pray for our created world and for all its inhabitants, each of whom you know intimately.  We focus far too intently on what has gone wrong in our lives, and in the lives of others. But ever so often, turn our attention to what we have received already through your untold generosity. One great gift is your invitation to offer our celebrations and our burdens, so hear now these sentiments that rise from the souls of your people at Church Street:

  • Member is grateful that her eye procedure on Thursday was successful
  • Family thankful husband/father was released from hospital on Friday
  • Thankful that friend recovering from open heart surgery is improving
  • Gratitude for the life of a loving Christian wife who died on Saturday
  • Thanksgiving that a father in ICU is much improved
  • Lift up a very ill sister-in-law who remains in ICU with COVID
  • Prayers for good news for member having imp medical test today
  • Comfort for husband whose young wife died this week and for entire family who are mourning her sudden death
  • Solace for two sons who grieve the death of their mother on Saturday
  • Prayers that a lonely daughter will find friends and companionship
  • Healing for a beloved mother and a father hospitalized with COVID
  • Strength and guidance for caregiver; continued healing for her husband
  • Comfort for beloved wife suffering from metastatic cancer and her family
  • Mercy and peace for wife whose husband (51) died of a massive stroke
  • Healing prayers for one recovering from delicate heart surgery
  • College-age grandson with COVID, that he may heal sufficiently to  finish his semester
  • Dear faithful Christian friend with progressive cancer, now in ICU
  • Healing for teenage daughter, wisdom and peace for her loving parents
  • A hospitalized brother, healing of foot infection, strength for family
  • Recovery from COVID for loved ones in hospitals and healthcare facilities

 

Only be still, and wait God’s leisure, in cheerful hope, with heart content,

To take whate’er thy Maker’s pleasure and all-discerning love hath sent.

Gentle Jesus, you once promised: “Ask and it shall be given.” And so we ask for these gifts:  for the courage to be brave in this time of stress; for the strength to carry out with hopeful hearts the ministries to which you have called us; for the tenacity to hold on, even when others are giving up; and for the love that moves us to be still and patient, and yet prepared, for whatever befalls. All these things we pray in your blessed name, just as you 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.

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Prayer for Today – November 12

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 12, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

O Silent Companion, we are again apprised of the numbers — numbers representing the ill ones, breathing souls who are beloved of God. When did it happen that our days were clouded by statistics? Numbers are meaningless when we must peer through a window to blow a kiss to that one cherished relative, when we must refrain from hugging that one hurting friend, when we attend to the needs of our own family member who has contracted the virus. “How long?” asked the psalmist whose own heart was breaking, and we fatigued ones put forth that same query: How long before this uneasiness is banished?

Forgiving One, in this vexing time of separation, we tend to heap our complaints and questions high, leaving them in little piles across your path. But you listen calmly as we offer them, and even lend your ear when we hand out advice on how you should fix what has been broken. We confess that we are full of hubris and lack the patience of the faithful. Give us that perseverance of the saints, we pray, that we, as they, might endure our inconveniences and misfortunes with grace.

Though the time of freedom remains uncertain, somehow, kindness and thoughtfulness thread themselves through our days, offering us their wisdom. It may be that the road stretches further than we can imagine, but the Suffering One walks with us, bearing hope. And even when the winds of dullness and routine blow rattle the windows of our lives, even when doubts hunker down deep within, his love becomes a blanket that tenderly wraps itself around every stone-cold heart.

Wrap all our hearts in your blanket of love, we pray, and especially these ones whose personal burdens are too heavy for them to bear alone:

  • Gratitude for member’s successful bypass surgery yesterday
  • Thanksgiving that lung pathology report was promising
  • One is grateful for assistance in caring for a handicapped brother
  • Prayers appreciated: Nephew with COVID moved from ICU
  • Prayers for healing of a member recovering from COVID at home
  • Lift up a sister-in-law who remains in ICU, but is improving
  • Healing for a young grandson in D. C.
  • God’s presence with grieving family – sudden death of daughter (28)
  • Comfort for beloved wife suffering from metastatic cancer& her family
  • That tensions surrounding the presidential election will ease
  • Healing prayers for one recovering from delicate heart surgery
  • Peace & assurance for daughter and granddaughter caring for ill mother
  • For successful procedure: member having glaucoma surgery today
  • Dear faithful Christian friend with progressive cancer, now in ICU
  • Grieving family: loved one with COVID and pneumonia died yesterday
  • Healing for teenage daughter, wisdom and peace for her loving parents
  • A hospitalized brother, healing of foot infection, strength for family
  • Pray for complete recovery from COVID for loved ones in hospitals and in healthcare facilities
  • Prayers for one recovering from surgery on both knees
  • Prayers for faithful member, in hospice care at home, strength for family

Turn our eyes upon Jesus, Good Lord, for his life mirrors what we ourselves hope to become. In all his ways he acknowledged you, so bear with us until we also arise each morning singing praises for all the goodness woven into our lives; and lying down each evening in peace, knowing it is Christ who is our Eternal Rest:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 11

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 11, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Great and Gentle God, you seem to know that this is a time when we need your brightness more than ever, and that is why you have bequeathed us this strand of dazzling days. In the brightness we can more easily detect your presence and are even more aware of those gentle gifts that come our way: a meal delivered, a timely phone call, the quiet loyalty of a spouse or loved one, the sudden insight that makes all the difference in our faith, the word of wisdom that comes from the aging friend, the memory of a past blessing, a note of encouragement. You come to us in little nudges, new every day, O Lord, urging us to move on, showing us that life is worth the living.

You see our hearts, dear Lord, and the painful memories and regrets that abide therein. There are the harsh words we spoke yesterday that cut as sharp as a sword; there is the face of one who longed for a word of gratitude, yet our lips were silent as stone; there was the frivolous purchase that we made in a casual manner, forgetting the transaction itself could have fed a family of four. Forgive our insensitivity, we pray, for we want to be free of all our flaws. May tomorrow bring another set of hours, another cleansing beam, and other chances for us to set things right.

And there are many who need a fresh touch of grace: our public servants who keep order; those who work diligently for a cure for the dreaded COVID-19 virus; depleted healthcare workers whose hours are long and whose lives remain at risk; educators who trudge forward, balancing virtual and in-person teaching responsibilities; those for whom infirmity has become a way of life; those who have no family to help them bear their burdens. All these, and the special ones in our hearts we lift up to you in these moments:  . . . . . . . . . . . We can picture you wearing our burdens as a yoke upon your shoulders, O Christ, and we are humbled that your desire is to ease our souls.

In your mercy receive all that we offer, asking that you also accept these special concerns and joyful thanksgivings which come from the hearts of your Church Street family:

  • Member’s kidney surgery yesterday was successful, prayers appreciated
  • Thankful for prayers: A friend’s hysterectomy went well
  • Gratitude that a new home build is progressing nicely
  • Thanksgiving for the United Methodist Women’s Service of Remembrance yesterday
  • Prayers for healing of a member recovering from COVID-19 at home
  • Comfort for beloved wife suffering from metastatic cancer; peace for her grieving husband and friends
  • That tensions surrounding the presidential election will ease
  • Continue prayers for one recovering from delicate heart surgery at Vanderbilt, strength and comfort for his family
  • For peace to surround mother in hospice care, and her family
  • Please pray for healing of a family member in ICU, weak with virus
  • Pray for promising pathology reports for an ill member
  • Dear friend hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia
  • Healing for teenage daughter, wisdom and peace for her loving parents
  • A hospitalized brother, healing of his foot infection, strength for family
  • Staff and residents at local facility where virus numbers have spiked
  • Pray for loving husband whose Parkinson’s is debilitating
  • Continued prayer for autistic grandson, for healing of recent symptoms

We pray all of this, holding fast to the hope that you are our Sovereign and the Sustainer of our lives.  And even though we cannot put into words just what it is that we believe, we pray through your Spirit, laying everything before you in the name of your Son, as we pray together:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 10

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 10, 2020

God of Today and Every Day, we are fragile folk and we confess that we have allowed fear to control our lives. Our hearts are tattered and our minds race as we wait for the next blow: “What if…… happens?” we ask ourselves. Calm our trembling notions, we pray, as we face the unknown. Even in the throes of governmental change, even in midst of a pandemic, even when lawlessness has become commonplace, even when we live in the shadows of a broken world, you are with us. Today and every day, Good Lord, speak your peace to our restless souls. We long to remain firm in the faith that we have openly confessed. And what we have confessed may we practice boldly.

Thank you for planting desire in our hearts—a desire to know you, a desire to be better people. You show us the faces of so many living on the edge, the homeless and mentally ill, those who are going through the motions of living, existing amid oppression and denied a chance to realize their dreams and talents. Our efforts to rectify seem insignificant in the frame of such great need; but as they have crossed our path, we know they are precious in your sight, and you intend our hands to hold out your grace and hope to each.

As we pray for all those souls who search for an open door, we also offer the prayers of our inmost hearts, our thanksgivings, our burdens and our desires known only to you . . . . . . . . . .  And as your mercy envelopes all, continue to guard these who also offer their joys and their deepest desires to your care:

  • Gratitude: Beautiful fall foliage and more time at home to admire beauty
  • Thanksgiving for all who are praying for the victims of Covid-19
  • Thankful that wife is released from the hospital to recover at home
  • Member celebrates the completion of her radiation treatments
  • That tensions throughout our nation will turn toward peace
  • Prayers for member having kidney surgery today
  • Three members suffering from depression, that healing may come
  • Prayers for friend having hysterectomy today, that all might go well
  • Please pray for longtime friend in ICU, that she may overcome the virus
  • Prayers for faithful Christian physician recovering from heart surgery
  • Dear friend in Martin, Tennessee, hospitalized with Covid-19 complications
  • Healing for teenage daughter, peace for her loving parents
  • Staff and residents at local facility where virus numbers have spiked
  • A broken family, that parents may be led to healing relationship
  • Continued prayer for autistic grandson, for healing of recent symptoms
  • Prayers for friend with metastatic cancer, comfort for family

Lead us, Gracious God, to live in the way of Jesus, who was engaged with the world, but who was not of the world; who took on the form of a slave, but has since taken his rightful place beside you in glory. By his blessed example may we live out our days, for it is in his name we pray all these things:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 9

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 9, 2020

 

This is my commandment,

that you love one another as I have loved you.

Great Teacher, you ask of us a hard thing. Our experiences are limited, for many of us have never lived in foreign cultures nor have we been deeply exposed to the personal or collective histories that have shaped the mindsets of those who live on other shores. Our perspectives are as diverse as our understandings of your sacred goodness; and yet you command us to love each and all. And as you know, we even find it hard to live in love with our own kin, with those who bear our own resemblance and share our common history.

Ah, but then how far-reaching is your wisdom; for you are aware that when we concentrate on understanding the lives of others, when we focus on building our regard for the other, we will have far less time to dwell on our own petty concerns.  You are the Bridge-Builder, and if we too are to become wise, we will join in your labor, putting into place one small plank after another. Then you shall fasten them all together into your holy design and we shall all move freely across that platform of trust that stretches across the world.

All Renewing One, in this disquieting era of racial, cultural, and economic brokenness, we pray that your selfless love might bear fruit in our nation. We pray that you would implant your holy wisdom in the minds and hearts of both new and returning national officials just elected. Burn away our disrespect and disregard for the most vulnerable among us; melt the mistrust and misunderstanding that erodes the spirit. Renew the soul of our nation, and anchor our faith in you, that we might find a way for all to live out the life of freedom you plan for all.

Holy Comforter, we lift up all who face illness and adversity this day. Comfort those who are afraid; and give strength to those who love and care for them. May your holy peace wash over them, reminding them they are neither alone nor forgotten. Hear also these prayers that come from the hearts of your people at Church Street:

  • Thanksgiving for prayers: Family in North Carolina all recovered from virus
  • Gratitude: Family returned safely from Florida with promising news
  • Gratitude for two successful orthopedic surgeries on Friday
  • Family celebrates a granddaughter’s improved health
  • Continued thanks for healthcare workers and educators at all levels
  • Please pray for a lenient court ruling today for faithful member
  • Prayers for faithful Christian physician having heart surgery today, that he may recover to remain a shining witness to others
  • Dear friend in Martin, Tennessee, hospitalized with Covid-19 complications
  • Relief for those suffering from economic setbacks due to virus
  • Healing for teenage daughter, peace for her loving parents
  • Relief from postpartum depression and young mother’s anxiety
  • Faithful member having lung biopsy today, wisdom for medical team
  • Safety and peace for elderly mother in hospice care, peace for her family
  • Healing: young grandson with autism; a father’s depression
  • Continued prayers, nephew in Missouri, seriously ill with Covid-19
  • Prayers for friend with metastatic cancer, comfort for family

Spirit of Heavenly Hope, as you promised you would never leave us, may your brightest hope and love take root in our hearts, so that even during the dimmest days we will feel your empowering spirit stirring within. In the name of Christ we make our prayer:

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.

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Prayer for Today – November 4

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 4, 2020

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear…

Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth.

-Psalm 46:1-2a, 10

All-Knowing God, in whom we live and move and have our being, we come before you this day with hopeful and trusting hearts. On this morning after an election that may continue to divide us as a nation, we bow before you in complete surrender, searching for your compassionate and healing presence to guide us in our life together. Although the final outcome may still be uncertain, we know that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” How do we move into your future with new eyes, new ears, new ways of being?

Merciful God, grant us patience in this time of waiting, for it is not only we who wait, but the entire world. What happens here not only affects us as a nation, but all your children everywhere. You call us to be a witness to your reconciling power, an instrument of healing in a broken, hurting world. Open our hearts and minds to the realization that we are part of a global village, a richly diverse gathering of all your children, yearning for your shalom – a world of peace with justice, where equality is more than a dream and peace is more than the absence of war.

Compassionate God, remind us that, in this time of anxious waiting, there are others who do not have the “luxury” of spending hours glued to the media coverage of unfolding results and events. Open our hearts that we may hear the cries of those in need – those without work, struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on their table; those whose lives have been shattered by a pandemic that will not end; those who live on our streets, longing for a friendly face and a word of hope; those who live in isolation, hungry for the touch of another human being; those who fear for their lives, uncertain of a future filled with so much racial tension and unrest. All these and more, though invisible to us, are in plain sight to you. Watch over these, your children, and also hear the concerns from your Church Street family:

  • Gratitude for a member’s successful hip surgery
  • Thanksgiving for CSUMC children and youth programs
  • Grateful cancer was detected early, only minor surgery required
  • Prayers for God’s healing and a way forward for our splintered nation
  • Prayers for young mother, relief from postpartum depression, anxiety
  • Two sons with major addictions, that they may pursue rehabilitation
  • Prayers for wife and family currently at Mayo Clinic, wisdom for doctors
  • Prayers for young grandson with autism, healing of his self-abuse
  • Continued prayers, nephew in Missouri, seriously ill with Covid-19
  • Member grieving on anniversary of wife’s death and many struggles
  • Sustaining dear friend and her family as they move her to a new facility
  • Healing and guidance for family – husband ailing with very serious illness
  • Strength for friend with metastatic cancer, wisdom for her physicians
  • Prayers that a federal court ruling on November 9 will be lenient and just
  • Healing of granddaughter (16) very ill with gastroparesis
  • Continued prayers for young wife battling leukemia
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care & her worried family

Break our hearts, O God, as your heart is breaking, and bring us to new understandings of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. Emblazon on our spirits our baptismal vows – “to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” Free us from all that keeps us from joyful service and strengthen our resolve to walk the paths you place before us, secure in the knowledge that we do not walk alone.

Reconciling God, whatever the final results of the election, give us the grace to accept the leaders we as a people have chosen, and the willingness to work alongside them to bring hope and healing to your world. May they be open vessels, putting aside their own agendas to hear your still, small voice calling them to a life of servanthood. Keep ever before us that a life lived in service to others is the only life worth living. Following the example of Christ who modeled for us a life of servanthood that knew no bounds, we offer the prayer he 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.

Special thanks to Rev. Pat Clendenen for contributing to this week’s prayers.

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Prayer for Today – November 3

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 3, 2020

Make me a channel of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love;
Where there is injury, Your pardon, Lord,
And where there’s doubt, true faith in You.

Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light,
And where there’s sadness, ever joy.

O Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

-Sebastian Temple

We greet you this morning, Welcoming God, trusting in your divine presence and infinite wisdom to guide us throughout this day. This is an important time for our nation – we, the people of the United States of America – for on this day we will elect leaders who will take us into the future. May those we elect be ones whose guiding principles reflect a vision of shalom – peace with justice for all your children, both here and around the world.

As your beloved children, created in your image, we long to be channels of your peace, to stand above the fray as witnesses to the transforming power of your love. But how do we sing your song in the midst of all the chaos? It seems that we have lost our way, no longer able to celebrate the amazing diversity that defines us as a nation.

Throughout today and in the days to follow, may our thoughts, words, and actions be reflections of Christ’s love for each of us. Turn our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks that we may be agents of your healing peace and uniting love.

In the midst of all that seeks to consume us this day, may we not forget the hurting, the lost, the lonely, the outcast, the grieving, the ill, the dying, the dispossessed, and the disenfranchised. For many of these, the election may not be in the forefront of their lives, and voting may not even be a possibility. Yet, it is these, first and foremost, for whom Christ came, those whom we are called to serve in his name. Remind us that, as people of faith, it is for them also that we cast our vote.

And as on all days, we share our deepest joys and perplexities with you, knowing that it is your grace that upholds us all:

  • Grateful for prayers: Friend in North Carolina improving from virus infection
  • Thanksgiving for healthcare workers and their dedication
  • Family thankful that a pregnancy is proceeding well
  • Prayers for God’s healing and a way forward for our splintered nation
  • Prayers for young mother, relief from postpartum depression, anxiety
  • Two sons with major addictions, that they may pursue rehabilitation
  • Prayers for wife this week at the Mayo Clinic for further diagnosis of brain malady; safety and comfort for her faithful family
  • Prayers for young grandson with autism, healing of his self-abuse
  • Continued prayers, nephew in Missouri, seriously ill with Covid-19
  • Member grieving on anniversary of wife’s death and many struggles
  • Sustaining dear friend and her family as they move her to a new facility
  • Healing and guidance for family – husband ailing with very serious illness
  • Strength for friend with metastatic cancer, wisdom for her physicians
  • Prayers that a federal court ruling on November 9 will be lenient and just
  • Healing of granddaughter (16) very ill with gastroparesis
  • Continued prayers for young wife battling leukemia
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care and her worried family

God of grace and glory, you have told us through your prophet Micah what you require of us – to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you. As “required” people, empowered by your Spirit, flood our hearts and minds with your vision for your world – the Beloved Community – and give us the courage and strength to walk into the future as channels of your peace, trusting that the Risen Christ goes before us to prepare the way. And so, as people of the Resurrection, we confidently offer the prayer he 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.

Special thanks to Rev. Pat Clendenen for contributing to this week’s prayers.

Have a Prayer Request?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

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