Prayer for Today – October 13

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 13, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Great Physician, once a leper came to Jesus and said: I wish to be made clean.” Today we come before you with that same prayer in our hearts, for we carry many burdens and require renewal: There are the cruel words we spoke, the upheavals we may have brought about in our lives, the relationships we have failed to mend, the damage we have inflicted upon your creation, the part we have played in the world’s unrest, our fear of the future and our fear of those who are different. Lord, we lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross, believing that, as you cleansed the leper, you would also purify us.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

Good Lord, as you have emptied us of those timeworn burdens, we stand ready to receive all those things which your cross represents. We ask to be filled with the compassion, kindness, wisdom, courage, strength, forgiveness, and joy that were so deeply rooted in our wounded Savior. And because of your merciful healing, may we make this day a continuous prayer of praise to you. Should we find challenges in the hours to come, may we see them as opportunities to live out our recommitment to you and as testimony to your reclamation.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

Constant One, we ask for your loving care for all who are in need, and these special ones who are close to our hearts . . . . . . . . And watch over these friends and loved ones who have asked to be remembered in prayer. These we share with the One who bore the greatest of life’s burdens for our sake:

  • Grateful for prayers: daughter in TX & husband recovering from virus
  • One sends gratitude for prayers for her during her Bar exam
  • One celebrating medical news that chemo is not necessary
  • Thankful that a hospitalized mother is greatly improved
  • Member facing a second kidney surgery, for pain relief & healing
  • Prayers for guidance for a member making a weighty decision
  • Healing prayers for broken family, for reconciliation, for children
  • Continued prayers for older parents who recover from virus
  • Courage for wife seeking leniency of the court; healing for husband
  • Healing mercies for family – virus victims isolating at home
  • Mother w/ leukemia, for stamina & ability to continue chemo
  • Continued prayers for beloved mother w/ virus & worried family
  • Upholding member in great stress, broken family relationships
  • Wisdom & focus for member taking 4-day intensive course
  • God’s peace & comfort for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
  • Healing of young couple recovering from virus at home
  • Healing of beloved wife diagnosed tumor, courage for caring family

Spirit of Newness, kindle within us that new light of hope that never dims, that our spirits might somehow brighten the days of our overburdened brothers and sisters. whom you have asked us to comfort. Remembering your grace and glory, we offer the ageless prayer taught us by our Redeemer:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 12

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 12, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O One of Many Names, you have called us to be members of your blessed community. With our different origins and backgrounds, with our varying skin tones and physical appearance, with our mixed languages and dialects, we sing your praise. You stand at the threshold of this new day, with your waking words upon your lips: “Arise and shine for your light has come!” Indeed, may we answer in solidarity with your church universal: Blessed be you, O Creating and Re-creating God! How marvelous that the Light of the World seeks us out to worship and to serve in solidarity with all who call him Lord!

Loving God, hear our prayer.

We confess we are procrastinators. We spend so much of our time waiting for the perfect moment, that we often miss the chance to help another when their need is greatest. We worry about offering the right words, forgetting our mere presence is what is most longed for. We are frequently so wrapped up in the stresses of our own lives that we have little time to inquire about your hopes and dreams for us. O God of Second Chances, forgive us. Cure our persistent perfectionism, and widen our vision that we might understand that often the moment to act is “now.”

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Savior of All Nations, shower your mercy upon all who are in adversity across our globe, especially those caught up in flooded parts of France and Italy; people on the shores of Kamchatka, Russia whose waters are polluted; African villagers who have little access to virus testing; the starving victims of famine in Yemen. Next to these sufferings, we place the burdens (and joys) of your people at Church Street:

  • Prayers appreciated: daughter arrived safely in Oregon
  • One is grateful for recovery from virus – her confinement is over
  • Gratitude: our music program & ministers that continue to bless all
  • Thankful that a hospitalized mother is greatly improved
  • Grateful for prayers, one w/ radiation allergy now at home
  • Wonderful news: a family member is pregnant with twins
  • Mother w/ leukemia, for stamina & ability to continue chemo
  • Continued prayers for beloved saint (97) w/ virus & worried family
  • Healing of a daughter, special ed teacher in TX with virus
  • Wisdom & focus for member taking 4-day intensive course
  • God’s peace & comfort for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
  • Healing of young couple recovering from virus at home
  • Healing of beloved wife diagnosed with tumor, courage for caring family
  • Healing for an older father with Covid-19 & wife who are isolating
  • Protection from virus for daughter working at the White House
  • Prayers for husband facing surgery & multiple stresses in family

Loving God, we know you have engraved your name upon all hearts, and all souls are under your care. Thank you for accepting our prayers.  And as members of your own community of faith, we recognize your blessings seeping through our lives. Regardless of the highway we may individually be walking, may we offer your grace to all whom we meet, always remembering the Son 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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 8

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 8, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
(Isaiah 55:8)

God of Grand Imagination, how intricately you have created our universe! All things are aligned so perfectly, such that when we trifle with one component, all other spheres are affected. Human thought could not have imagined nor created such blessed grandeur. And the greater marvel is that we live suspended in this delicate framework within which you have implanted your love.  Forgive us, we pray, when we pretend that our thoughts are as yours.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

We confess, Faithful Father, that we don’t always understand your ways. We want to be independent and do things on our own, rather than trusting in your guidance. When we are invited to a meal, we naturally seek out the more prestigious places where the noteworthy folks are gathered; but when we glance around, we see you in the corner with the ill-clad, the foreigners, the unwashed. We overhear you telling them that they are the most valued of all the guests in the room. No wonder we squirm in our seats; for it was only yesterday that we promised we would follow you whatever the cost.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Forgive us, Merciful One, for being so closely tied to the ways of the world. You must know how deeply embedded we are in this sinful soil of earth, and that is why you continue to speak tenderly to us about growing in our faithfulness. You do not hold grudges nor remain angry for long, as mercy is at the heart of who you are. With your steady hand, pull us up from the mire, send us down that road toward trust, and we will pick up where we left off.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Keeper of our Days, we offer the joys and concerns which are experienced by your people at Church Street. All time is in your hands, so we believe you will bring your wholeness at just the right moment:

  • Thanksgiving: birth of a healthy baby boy & safety for family traveling to Chicago to visit & celebrate
  • One offers gratitude for the blessing of wonderful fall weather
  • Gratitude: member recovering well from hip surgery
  • Thankful that an older mother is adjusting to assisted living
  • Thankful for chance to gather with friends in outdoor worship
  • Prayers for a saint of 97 with Covid-19; comfort for distraught family
  • Healing of a daughter, special ed teacher in TX with virus
  • God’s peace & comfort for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
  • Pray for a grandson in college coping with psychological problem
  • Dear friend with radiation burns, for continued healing
  • Member with cancer diagnosis, strength for faithful husband standing by
  • Healing for an older father with Covid-19 & wife who are isolating
  • Strength & wisdom for adult son assisting his ill mother
  • Please pray for husband who faces another heart surgery soon
  • Protection from virus for daughter working at the White House
  • Cherished son with PTSD related to combat, for grace & healing
  • Protection: daughter still traveling to Oregon to begin work
  • Healing mercies: neighbor at Vanderbilt, serious reaction to radiation 

As you moved the psalmist to declare: “You have turned my mourning into dancing,” bring us all to the time when we might also join in the happy rhythm. Until that time, may we wait with trust and patience for your all-sufficient grace.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Send us out now with open hearts, that we might see the new things you are doing. And bearing the love of Jesus Christ, may we walk with confidence to take that love into all the barren places on our street, in our city, in our nation, and in our world, always remembering the prayer we carry with 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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 7

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 7, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Master of Life, the ground beneath us seems to be shifting these days and we strive to regain our footing. Just when we think everything is under control, we feel ourselves slipping again, inch by inch. How unsettling it is when answers come so slowly. Still, we remember our Lord Jesus lived courageously in a time of great danger and uncertainty. He remained the calm amid the storms. Grant, O Holy One, that we might also reflect such inner calm that comes from our trust in you.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Indeed you do bless us with your Quiet Spirit in so many ways. This fall season brings indescribable beauty and you have blessed us with a string of perfect days, with sufficient food, with friends, families, and co-workers who support us.

And when our chattering and complaining minds slow down, we remember the apostle who told us that nothing can separate us from your love. So throughout this day, may we practice courage and faith by chanting with conviction the ancient words of the psalmist:

 The Lord our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. . . The Lord of Hosts is with us.  The God of Jacob is our refuge! (Ps 46:1,2, 11)

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Knowing that you are always working on our behalf, we lift up to your care these particular situations expressed by our church family:

  • Gratitude: hip replacement surgery today went smoothly
  • A new grandmother offers blessings for a new grandson
  • Thanksgiving for the life & witness of a faithful disciple
  • Prayers for wisdom & focus: 3 members taking the Bar Exam today
  • Member w/ cancer diagnosis, for faithful husband who stands by
  • Healing for an older father with Covid-19 & wife who are isolating
  • Prayers for a member’s proper diagnosis of medical condition
  • Member having a heart cath today, for diagnosis
  • Protection from virus for daughter working at the White House
  • Continued healing of one following gum surgery
  • Cherished son with PTSD related to combat, for grace & healing
  • God’s comfort for member grieving the death of her sister
  • Pray for protection: daughter still traveling to ORE to begin work
  • For God’s healing mercies to surround a troubled soul
  • Mother with psychological issues, for her children trying to help
  • Healing of our nation, broken by rancor, distrust, & violence 

Hear also now our private confessions and concerns . . . . . . and our praises for the joys you have brought about in our lives in recent times  . . . . . .  Thank you, Living Lord, for accepting us, for loving us as we are, and for remaining our Eternal Hope.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We leave these, our earnest prayers, with you, Holy One, for we follow your Beloved Son who taught us to pray without ceasing:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

Join us for Holy Communion at Noon today!

Happening in the Magnolia Lot. If you are downtown or weren’t able to join us on Sunday, we hope you will join us (with your mask!) for a brief service today.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 6

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 6, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Beauty of Holiness, we are a tense people, eagerly answering the world’s cry for productivity. But you stop us in our tracks with the startling beauty you have sown around us. Lead us to look upward today, to treasure the drifting clouds carrying their secret messages, to take in the tonic of bracing air, to cherish the colored leaves waving their hellos, to receive the blessings of birdsong floating in the breeze. Your creation breathes a silent re-creation within us whenever we give it a chance. Make us new this day, make us holy.

Hear us Lord, for we trust in you.

God of All Kindness, because you gave us your only Son to share your love and to become our example, we know that you value us more deeply than we can comprehend. Therefore, we bow the knee of our hearts to ask anew for your deliverance of our nation. We are battling a fierce virus, bracing ourselves for local and national elections, endeavoring to carry on with our jobs, attempting to educate our children, and seeking ways to protect the older and most vulnerable among us. There are surely harsher challenges washing upon other shores, but we are grasping the frayed ends before us, wondering if our stamina will hold. Keep our hands and hearts steady, we pray, for we believe in your own time you will bind all things together for our good.

Hear us Lord, for we trust in you.

O One Who Travels With Us, we walk your road of mercy, knowing that you will lead us past fear to find hope, past loneliness to find companionship, past anger to find resolution, past suspicion to find trust. In that knowledge, we turn our thanksgivings over to your joy, our concerns over to your mercy, knowing you will keep our feet firm along the way:

  • Gratitude: happy couple looking forward to upcoming wedding
  • One is thankful for a long-overdue visit with an old friend
  • Prayers appreciated: wife’s blood pressure has returned to normal
  • Gratitude for medical science developing virus medications
  • Thanksgiving for police, 1st responders & healthcare workers who continue to diligently serve the public, despite the risks
  • Prayers for one having knee surgery today, that all goes well
  • Protection from virus for daughter working at the White House
  • Prayers for wisdom & focus: 3 members taking the Bar Exam this week
  • Easing of anxiety & for one having gum surgery today
  • Cherished son with PTSD related to combat, for grace & healing
  • Comfort & healing for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
  • Pray for protection: daughter still traveling to ORE to begin work
  • For God’s healing mercies to surround a troubled soul
  • Continued healing of member’s dangerous infection
  • Strength & courage for husband, prime caregiver for his ill wife
  • Healing mercies for a member recovering from knee surgery
  • Pray for healing: parents grieving the death of their infant son

Loving God, thank you for the way you give us hope and courage beyond ourselves.

Hear us Lord, for we trust in you.

Gather up our prayers for our own church today, and for the church universal. And though we are separated, we remain one single body, united in spirit and in purpose, offering the words Jesus taught his first disciples:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 5

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 5, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Morning Star, you speak to us through the fading leaves that float across the window pane, scuttling down to the cool earth, joining a thousand others. They collect much as our days, crumpled and lifeless, never to come again. These dry remnants seem to say that what is past is past, and that our failures and mistakes have no need of resurrection. As an already-barren branch dances in the breeze, you already seem to be fashioning something new. Let us watch and wait to see what new fruits you are planning for the season to come.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

As chill winds blow, we remember that Jesus taught we are to be our brother’s keeper. Bless those, Dear Lord, who have such thin jackets to ward off the brisk air. From our own storehouse, we have enough to clothe everyone in our city. Teach us to share our bounty more readily, we pray. And we lift up today those who have endured pronounced suffering throughout these long months of the pandemic. Draw near those who have lost their faith in humanity and even their faith in you; couples who have drifted apart; those who have broken down under the strain; those who have no one to speak out on their behalf; for all who are disheartened, and those near death.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Sure and Certain Hope, shore us up when we feel overwhelmed by the needs around us, for from time to time we ourselves fall into the grip of emptiness and despair. As you have sent others to lift us up in our time of pain, let us draw near and help shoulder the burdens of our brothers and sisters. And accept, we pray, these pleas for help which come from your people at Church Street, while also receiving our praises for your faithfulness:

  • Thanksgiving: a young teacher in Mexico is healthy & out of isolation
  • Prayers appreciated: a cataract procedure turned out well on Friday
  • Celebrating at-risk infant’s perfect check-up on Friday at Vanderbilt
  • Gratitude for the blessing of church’s in-person communion services
  • Gratitude for prayers: sister died peacefully surrounded by loved ones
  • Thankful that a mother’s infection is much improved
  • Pray for protection: daughter still traveling to Oregon to begin work
  • Remember in prayer: safety for daughter working at the White House
  • Prayers for wisdom & courage: 3 members taking the Bar Exam this week
  • A grandson, pray that he might mature & make wise decisions
  • Daughter-in-law w/ aggressive cancer, strength for her treatment
  • Comfort & healing for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
  • Healing for troubled family, dealing w/ multiple health issues
  • Strength & courage for husband, prime caregiver for his ill wife
  • Healing mercies for a member recovering from knee surgery
  • Pray for healing: parents grieving the death of their infant son
  • 2 mothers in TX w/ dementia, strength for caregiving families

O Waiting One, sometimes we hesitate to bother you with our earthly concerns, but then we remember you are never too remote to hear our praise or to accept our protests and laments. Take these, along with our noisy chatter and the turmoil of our world up into your Great Silence. And rain down your peace upon us all; for it is Christ’s holy peace for which we deeply long:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – October 1

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 1, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Truest Friend, you are always true to us, but we are ever having to say we are sorry. You have been faithful to us, but we confess we have been unfaithful to ourselves and to one another. You have brought us from the depths of poverty, but we keep forgetting the poor. You have given us the precious gift of your overwhelmingly rich creation, but we have failed to cherish it and have even marred its goodness. In the midst of all your glory, our sin casts an eerie shadow. Save us from this swirling downward pattern, we pray, and forgive us, that we may learn to forgive each other. Heal us that we may heal others. Embed peace within the sinews of our hearts, that we might always share your holy peace with our brothers and sisters.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We know you as the Hope of the World, for in your benevolence, you freely offered your own Son Jesus who told us of your hope for and your belief in us. His words are the holy soil within which our faith has taken root: “Abide in me and I in you; My peace I give to you; You will shine like the sun; Ask and it shall be given you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened; Do not be afraid; I will give you rest; You are the light of the world; You are the salt of the earth; The truth will make you free; Watch and pray; I am with you always. . .” When we find ourselves in trouble or tribulation, these reflections of your confidence in us, offer the strength we need to carry on, in your Name.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Our requests of you must be wearying, but as you have affirmed your affection for us, we again share these particular situations to you this day. And may we not forget through the hours ahead to offer you our thanks and praise:

  • Thankful for prayers: a son’s knee surgery was successful
  • Praises: A friend’s home sold for cash & she’s happily resettled
  • Appreciation for prayers: 3 family members now healed from virus & their homes received only light damage from hurricane
  • Grateful for prayers: a mother’s infection is improving
  • Gratitude: faithful witness of Christian friend throughout his prolonged struggle with kidney cancer
  • Healing for a young daughter with virus, recovering at home
  • Healing of young son & girlfriend, recovering from Covid-19
  • Prayers for couple dealing with major damage to their property
  • A grandson, pray that he might mature & make wise decisions
  • Protection for young teacher: in isolation in Mexico City
  • Daughter-in-law w/ aggressive cancer, strength for her treatment
  • Protection for young daughter, traveling to OR for new job
  • Member having cardiac MRI Thursday, that all may go smoothly
  • Healing for troubled family, dealing with multiple health issues
  • Strength & courage for husband, prime caregiver for his ill wife
  • Healing mercies for a member recovering from knee surgery
  • Pray for parents grieving the death of their infant son
  • Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family
  • 2 mothers in TX w/ dementia, strength for caregiving families

Once forgiven, healed, fed, and clothed, we are offered the gift of sharing your ministry, as spelled out so plainly in the directives of the Master: “I am hungry, give me food; I am in prison, come to me; I am thirsty, give me drink; I am a stranger, welcome me; I am naked, clothe me; I am sick, visit me…”

Write your message of love upon our hearts, O Caring One, using letters big and bold, and send us out to tend those whom you have entrusted to us. Then when others read the stories of our lives, they might see a visible testament, your letter of love, addressed to all whom we meet:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – September 30

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 30, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Under leaden skies the rain patters lightly on the cedars, as softly as a cat moves into a room, licking away its residue of summer dust. The summer has brought its wonders but also fiery protests and the hot smell of death. If your mercy does fall as the gentle rain from heaven, we so need it now. As your sweet drops brush clean the window panes, we might press close, peering out through the clear glass once again. Could that be you, Holy One, huddled within the evergreens, weeping for your children gone astray?

In the chill of autumn, heavy branches bend low in worship, as needles drop to the wet ground. These are as residue of regrets, broken promises, words spoken in haste, missed opportunities for reconciliation. Bathe us with those steady showers of longed-for healing, we pray; and not only ourselves, but for all who suffer everywhere: for lives ended before their time, for loved ones crumpled over by grief, for the imprisoned, the disheartened, the poverty-stricken, the dying. We are a nation of parched souls, thirsting for holy wisdom. Lord, we have been splashed with such grace through the centuries that we have taken it for granted. Rinse away our collective sense of entitlement, we pray.

And grant that our tears may mingle with yours until that sweet-smelling vapor rises from the well-watered earth – the aroma of newness that tells us what is past is past, and what has never been is still possible.

In your mercy, we lay before you these individual joys and concerns that are much on the hearts of your people at Church Street. You know what we need before we ask, but we offer all these, as Jesus welcomed the concerns of all whom he met:

  • A father’s outlook is brighter following a painful divorce
  • Happy couple grateful for their upcoming December wedding
  • Gratitude: our 3rd graders who received their Bibles on Sunday
  • Thankful for the life of a faithful witness who died on Saturday
  • Prayers for couple dealing with damage to their property
  • Prayers & protection for young teacher: in isolation in Mexico City
  • College students under stress: academics & threat of illness
  • Healing for troubled family, dealing w/ many health issues
  • Prayers for 3 studying for the bar exam as the date nears
  • Healing of dear friend enduring painful radiation burns
  • Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family
  • Healing of a mother’s infection
  • 2 relatives with Covid-19, also recovering from Hurricane Sally
  • Two who suffer from heart failure, for improvement
  • Healing of grief: Parents of 39-year-old who died of addictions
  • Adult children in TX, endeavoring to help mother w/ dementia
  • Dear friend in TX w/ dementia; strength for adult son & caregiver
  • Friend with kidney cancer, continuing to trust in God thru all his days

Give us your reassurance, Loving Father, as we move through these troubled times. Whether your encouragement comes as the steady tapping of raindrops on our shoulders, the sound of the earth drinking in your refreshing shower, or as a sigh that comes when something mysterious has happened. We will look for whatever you send, and will continue to pray the prayer your 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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – September 29

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 29, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O God, we often search for you behind the clouds, beyond the bounds of the conventional, but what if you are right here, alive and well in the most obvious? Have we been so busy peering through the mist that we have overlooked your presence before our very eyes? When we pass a vibrant tree or shining shrub, something stirs within us; could it be telling us something about your hope for the world? Might the face of a stranger be offering a clue to the depth of your love?

We confess that we speed through our hours, giving only a passing nod to our surroundings; but you may be speaking to us in every encounter. Unless we learn to observe that which is oh, so near, we may never understand what you long to share.

O Present One, you are not particularly concerned with our peak insights or our other-worldly experiences, but are more interested in the changing texture of our hearts. We confess we have thwarted our spiritual growth by discounting the everyday. Your Son teaches that it is never too late to initiate this heart-work, so slow our steps and sharpen our vision, we pray, that we might detect your Holiness that lives within our day, and to take time to reflect upon each meaning.

Merciful Lord, although we cannot know heaven’s ways, we do believe that you are working within each of us, and desire the best for us; therefore, we lift up our deepest gratitude for what you are bringing about in our lives, and also lift up our pressing concerns before your throne of grace:

  • Thank you for praying: sister’s colon surgery Monday was a success
  • Gratitude for those contributing to our Benevolence Fund
  • Prayers appreciated: depression is lifting for young wife
  • Couple in CO appreciate prayers: home was saved during wildfires
  • Thankful for prayers: symptoms are decreasing for one w/ virus
  • Member expresses gratitude for daily contact from church, assisting her in dealing with loneliness
  • Prayers & protection for young teacher: in isolation in Mexico City, preparing for a course of professional study
  • Friend with head & neck cancer, relief for painful radiation burns
  • Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family
  • Wisdom for doctors: healing of a mother’s infection
  • 2 relatives with Covid-19 & also recovering from Hurricane Sally
  • Healing a friend’s heart failure; diagnosis of young daughter’s illness
  • Healing of grief: Parents of 39-year-old who died of addictions
  • A relative needing to follow the Spirit
  • Adult children in TX, endeavoring to help mother w/ dementia
  • Dear friend in TX w/ dementia; strength for adult son & caregiver
  • Friend with kidney cancer, continuing to trust in God thru all his days

You are that Sacred Magnet that pulls us toward your Center. We in the human community all live in that divine energy that is your holiness, which has much to teach us. What we learn from the other we learn about ourselves; when we help another, we somehow discover our own needs. Our small minds cannot fully grasp this mystery, but we are all bound together in Jesus, the Kingdom that has drawn near, who even now invites 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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by

Prayer for Today – September 28

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 28, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain;
Restore my hope, remove me fear, and bring me peace again.

Holy Source of Life, we give you thanks for all the signs you offer, telling us that your Spirit’s power is working within all things. We thank you for Jesus, who stretched out his hands to heal the sick, to speak good news to the poor and lonely, who proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor, and who invited us to take part in his healing ministry. We shrink before the challenge laid out before us, but remember the One who multiplied loaves and fishes, who satisfied the five thousand, who amplified the efforts of ordinary disciples to render extraordinary results, wondering if you might also have a way to use even us.

Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin,
Dispel the memories of guilt and bring me peace within.

O Healing Balm, as we are bearers of our own wounds and brokenness, our own soiled pasts, and recollections of our failures, we are tempted to disregard your call; but your words hang heavy in the air: “Follow me.” Perhaps it is true that you choose only broken vessels to carry your balm of healing. If that is the case, you have many fragmented souls from which to choose. Cover us again with your limitless oil of mercy, found only in your immense storehouse. Heal us, we pray, that we might then worthily carry your restorative balm to those others who have also been maimed by the world.

May this day treat kindly those who wait in hope for rescue from illness, poverty, wildfires, storm, depression and despair; and those who wait for the next paycheck, the phone call, the medical report, the end of addiction, death itself. As we are your instruments, show us those places where we might make a difference and we will make haste to carry your oil of mercy wherever you send us. And remember as well, these situations uppermost in the hearts of our Church Street family:

  • Husband thankful for church prayers & contacts during wife’s illness
  • Gratitude for many prayers: NICU baby now at home w/ family
  • Grateful that mother has been released from hospital
  • For a relative to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit
  • Prayers for a sister undergoing colon surgery today
  • 2 relatives with Covid-19 & also recovering from Hurricane Sally
  • Friend (62) with head & neck cancer, relief for radiation burns
  • Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family members now surrounding her with love
  • Mother with infection, for proper treatment & healing
  • Dear friend with heart failure, for successful treatment
  • One who faces cardiac MRI on Thursday, for correct diagnosis
  • Member ill in assisted living, comfort for him, his wife & family
  • Member suffering greatly with back pain, prayers for relief
  • Prayers for a mother-to-be, that coming weeks will bring safe delivery
  • Friend with kidney cancer, continuing to trust in God thru all his days
  • Young daughter awaiting diagnosis for fainting episodes

Fill me, joy of Jesus, anxiety shall cease,
And heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace.

Our fears are the color of darkness, Lord, but in your saving grace, you reach in, stirring up joyful blues, greens, and yellows to enliven the dusky hue. We long for the time when fear, unease, and loneliness will be no more. But till that era when heaven’s serenity lives in every heart, keep us filled to the brim with hope. And we shall remain faithful to the ministry to which you have called us, through Christ our Lord:

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 prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

/by