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.

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Prayer for Today – November 2

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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

November 2, 2020

Great is thy faithfulness, O God…

Morning by morning new mercies we see.

O Holy One, with the sounds of the bells still faintly ringing in the distance, we find ourselves still longing to linger in yesterday’s celebration of All Saints Day. As we worshipped together, though physically separated, we found comfort and assurance, strength and hope. Your presence came to us in so many forms – the magnificent processional, the glorious sounds of the organ and singers, the read and spoken word. We could not help but feel that great cloud of witnesses standing with you and flooding our hearts and minds with love and peace.

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

O Faithful One, we are surrounded by so much uncertainty, and it is so easy for fear and anxiety to take hold, causing us to forget who we are and Whose we are. Help us to breathe deeply in your Spirit, opening our hearts to the many ways in which you reach out to us, and assuring us that, in those times when we stumble, you will carry us.

Comforting One, we lift to you this day the many concerns and needs within our church family, our community, our nation, and our world. Where we can be your hands and feet of comfort, assurance, and hope – whatever form that may take – gently nudge us and send us forth in the name of Christ.

  • Thankful that niece in Missouri is improving from virus
  • Gratitude: Pastor recovering from grave illness, home from hospital
  • Member grateful for prayers – she has landed the job she desired
  • Thanksgiving that a mother will be released from rehab today
  • Grateful for prayers: Members felt support as they buried a loved one
  • Two sons with major addictions, that they may pursue and find healing
  • Prayers for wife this week at Mayo Clinic for further diagnosis of brain malady; safety and comfort for her faithful family
  • Prayers for beloved grandson with autism, for healing of his most recent attempts to harm himself
  • Strength for friend with metastatic cancer, wisdom for her physicians
  • Granddaughter (18) with virus, protection for family, especially her father
  • Prayers that a court ruling on November 9 will be lenient
  • Healing of granddaughter (16) very ill with gastroparesis
  • Re-building of a business adversely affected by Covid-19 restrictions
  • Healing for best friend in North Carolina with virus; that her family is not infected
  • Continued prayers for young wife battling leukemia
  • Healing of dear friend – young man in critical care, battling Covid-19
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care
  • Nephew in Missouri on ventilator, in serious condition, with Covid-19

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow…

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

O Renewer of Life, send us forth into this new day with renewed hope and renewed spirits, reminding us that the great cloud of witnesses we celebrated yesterday are ringing bells for us on our life journey. May our thanksgiving for the lives they lived among us become thanksgiving, that we too may faithfully walk the path you set before.

In sure and certain hope of your constant presence and abiding love, we offer the prayer Christ 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 – October 29

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 29, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Forever Guide, on this long journey called life, we confess that we do not always live as your people. We want to shine as the saints above, but we are often consumed in our own pursuits and do far too little to keep our promises. Day and night we have been swaddled in your love, fed by your mercy and nursed in your grace; and still we overlook the unfolding of your kingdom in our very midst. We thank you for our examples, those who left us legacies of trust. Sing to us the old songs of the saints, the melodies of your friends who continued to walk in your way of light, who lived by faith even when tribulations descended. Give us grace, we pray to join in that unending chorus of the faithful.

Redeeming God, these days you find us wringing our hands and lamenting, as so much around us seems to be swirling in disorder. Chaos appears to be gaining the upper hand across our own country, even threatening to cover your beautiful planet. We long for that land where justice rolls down as a mighty river and righteousness moves as an ever-flowing stream; but our fear of change blocks our path. Help us, Good Lord, to be bold enough to take those deliberate steps toward loving and understanding our brothers and sisters everywhere. We know you are a God who redeems, and pray you would take that anxiety and confusion, even from within ourselves, and make of them a seedbed of your new creation.

Lord of the Disheartened, gather in your arms, we pray, those who are most discouraged – those whom we know and others who are strangers, huddled in some faraway, lonely corner. Embrace those who are ill or frightened as they face a diagnosis, illness, surgery, poverty, or any sort of loss. We know you hear the cries of our hearts and that you have not left us comfortless. May your Spirit attend each one, and also these who are connected to the Church Street family:

  • Grateful for prayers: Pastor with kidney ailment released from hospital
  • One is thankful for successful cataract surgery on Wednesday
  • Thanksgiving for church study opportunities
  • Member family celebrates the birth of healthy baby boy yesterday
  • Prayers for two members assist with sister-in-law’s funeral in Florida
  • Prayer that counselor may be of help to son with major addictions
  • Healing of our nation and order to be restored
  • Granddaughter (18) with virus, protection for family, especially her father
  • Lifting of depression for three members who suffer significantly
  • Healing for best friend in North Carolina with virus; that her family is not infected
  • Continued prayers for young wife battling leukemia
  • For calm and courage for members awaiting a court ruling
  • Healing of dear friend – young man in critical care, battling Covid-19
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care, comfort for her family
  • Continued prayers for healing of beloved elderly mother
  • Healing of young son with virus & protection of his family
  • Nephew in Missouri on ventilator with Covid-19 and his wife infected

Gracious Sustainer, we give you thanks for your open ear that receives all our prayers, for friends and family members who support us, and for those role models who have upheld us through the years.  And most of all, we are humbled by the gift of your Son Jesus, who taught us the depth of your love and the wideness of your mercy.  We lift up all these offerings this day in the name of Christ, who prayed 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.

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Prayer for Today – October 27

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 27, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Praiseworthy Friend, birdsong and rosy dawn announce another fresh beginning, offered to us without cost. This newness that springs from your grace is a hallowed gift and worthy of praise. Though yesterday’s attempts to follow you may have been flawed, you hold out another string of hours for us to bear witness to your love. And within these hours, may the prayer of the ancients be our song, for they held firm to the truth, knowing that it is in giving that we will receive; it is in becoming weak that we will be strong; it is in loving others that we will be loved; and it is by surrendering ourselves that your kingdom will unfold.

O Lord of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, when we sift through our memories of years gone by, your grace and mercy are best revealed. And in peering through our rear-view mirror, we discover you at those most precipitous junctures: When death colored our family’s path, we felt you there beside us. When piercing disappointments, upheavals, and betrayals came our way, you made yourself known. When there were decisions of great import to be made, your Spirit did not desert. Lord, in the world of the present, turning points of grief, loss, trials and tragedy place themselves in our path; but because of your forever faithfulness, we move through them with a growing confidence. If you are for us, who can be against us?

Pulse of Everlasting Love, send a sense of renewal, we pray, to the hurting ones across our globe, that they might know they are not alone. We lift up the refugees stranded in lands where they are unwanted, those on the move because of famine or war; those in the grips of addiction and their families; those who are hungry and unsheltered; those who grieve what is no longer; and those who believe their cause is lost. To these, we ask that you also touch each of these concerns that are carried in the hearts of your people at Church Street:

  • One offers thanksgiving for a generous unexpected gift
  • Thanksgiving for the birth of a great-grandson
  • Two offer thanks as they celebrate their recovery from Covid-19
  • Couple celebrate the closing on their first house
  • Safety and comfort for two traveling to sister-in-law’s funeral in Florida
  • Guidance and strength for member raising his teenage grandchildren
  • Healing prayers for a pastor with kidney disease and his anxious wife
  • Pray for dear wife returning to Mayo’s today for further diagnosis
  • One facing cataract surgery Wednesday – skill and wisdom for surgeon
  • Healing for best friend in North Carolina with virus; that her family is not infected
  • Young friend, newly married just diagnosed with leukemia, that calm and comfort might surround her & the family
  • Healing of dear friend – young man in critical care, battling Covid-19
  • Prayers for our nation, that bitterness and dissension might cease
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care, comfort for her family
  • Continued prayers for healing of beloved elderly mother
  • Healing of young son with virus and protection of his family
  • Granddaughter (18) with virus, protection for family, especially her father

We do praise you, Sacred One. You call us to surrender, to be at peace with our vulnerability, even though you know that surrender is the most difficult part of our faith walk. By your tender provision, however, we believe that Christ accompanies us, that the Spirit dwells within us, and that your love for us is unending. With these convictions, we boldly offer the prayer taught us by Jesus:

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 – October 26

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 26, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7

O Listening Heart, thank you for the mysterious gift of prayer. The apostle taught us that your candle is never diminished and that you wait through the long hours for our call. But still, we frequently feel we are making a nuisance of ourselves when we arrive at your door with another basket of wants and needs. Of course, you know that our own inner light flickers when we travel the shaded roads of life, and we so need a share of your eternal flame. And how faithful you are to share your glory. Why, even today, the flame of your sunrise stoops down to brighten our spirits!

Eternal One, so much has unfolded this past year that we are anxious about what tomorrow will bring. The rampant virus has intensified throughout your created world, putting all in danger, particularly the poor and the vulnerable. We pray for these victims, and for the lonely, the hungry, the despondent, and the dying. The prophet once told us you had plans for us, plans for a future filled with hope. We hold onto that hope, Lord, for all we are worth. Knowing you are looking out for us makes all things bearable.

The evidence of your working on our behalf is solid, as miracles are being played out in all places, even within our church family. Our hearts fill with gratitude for your wonders and benefits. And as we lift up these personal situations to your care, we seek most of all that peace that surpasses all understanding:

  • Gratitude: A member offers praises for God’s healing in her life
  • Young father recovering from oral surgery, prayers appreciated
  • Praises that tests revealed no recurrence of colon cancer
  • One offers thanksgiving for her full recovery from the virus
  • Prayers for strength for member raising his teenage grandchildren
  • Healing prayers for a pastor ill with kidney disease and his anxious wife
  • Pray for dear wife returning to Mayo’s today for further diagnosis
  • Healing for best friend in North Carolina with virus; that her family is not infected
  • For help to assist member embroiled in a family misunderstanding
  • Healing of dear friend – young man in critical care, battling Covid-19
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care, comfort for her family
  • Prayers for mother with debilitating illness, wisdom for physicians
  • Healing of young son with virus and protection of his family
  • Teenager (18) with virus, protection for family, especially her at-risk father
  • Guidance & healing: One depressed, searching for a new residence
  • Healing mercies for member with lingering pain

Father of All Mercies, it was through your mercy that you gave us Jesus Christ, who came to show us the way of faithfulness, even when we didn’t understand. And through your mercy, you created ministries for us to share, and even sparked a deep desire within us to please you. And best of all, though our understanding remains partial and often faulty, you believe in us. Your goodness never ends, Lord, so we know you accept the prayers we offer this day, and that you also hear our whispered prayer taught us by 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.

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Prayer for Today – October 22

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 22, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Master of the House, we lift up our church family to you and ask that you would bind us together more strongly than ever, even though our doors remain closed due to the lurking virus. The windows and doors of our hearts, on the other hand, can be flung wide, showing the world that the love of Christ is not bound by bolts or locks. Help us remember our vows to support our church by praising your goodness, by lifting up our brothers and sisters in prayer, by seeking your mercy and forgiveness, and by financially undergirding the work of your kingdom. In our moments of self-pity, we might consider our efforts and our gifts insignificant; yet Jesus praised the widow’s mite she softly dropped into the alms basin so long ago. May we give from our hearts, as well, knowing that whatever blessing we extend and whatever gift we offer will be multiplied through your grace.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Voice of Encouragement, as we consider the ongoing troubles across the globe, we often think little progress has been made in our life-long work for peace and harmony. We confess our fears and we sometimes doubt if we have the energy to move ahead in our quest. Perhaps we should step back and let the younger generations take over for us, we think to ourselves. Ah, but then we hear you calling in the night:

“Wherever there is pain and suffering, you are needed.
Wherever there is loneliness and grief, there is a word only you can speak.
Wherever there is sickness and death, you must carry my love.
Wherever there is hunger and homelessness, you can address those needs.
Wherever there is inequality and oppression, your work must continue.”

Yes, of course, Good Lord, you have been our strength in all times past, and we have every reason to believe you will sustain us.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Silent Friend, quiet the whirring of our minds and settle the anxieties that cling to our inward parts. And in the silence that ensues, may we offer our gratitude for your continued favors . . . . . . and whisper those who are closest to our hearts . . . .  And may your healing breath touch each of these individuals whose welfare is important to your Church Street family:

  • Gratitude: Faithful member recovering at home from heart surgery
  • Celebration: Infant in NICU for 3 months is now at home with family
  • Thanksgiving for our chorister and youth choirs who bless our worship
  • Grateful that mother in rehab is remaining positive and is improving
  • Prayers for three suffering from depression
  • Strength for daughter, sole caregiver for her mother
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care, comfort for her family
  • Healing of our nation’s divisiveness, distrust, violence and bitterness
  • Prayers for mother with debilitating illness, wisdom for physicians
  • Healing for a young father recovering from oral surgery
  • Healing of young son with virus and protection of his family
  • Cherished husband beginning dialysis today, for recovery
  • Prayers for three who are recovering from injurious falls
  • A broken family, prayers for sustaining one most wounded
  • Prayers for guidance for one searching for a new residence
  • Strength for loved ones isolated from families due to virus threat
  • God’s peace for elderly friend trying to recover from the virus

Thank you, Sacred One, for hearing our petitions this day, for reminding us that your hope is at work in the world, and for renewing our courage to step out in faith. And receive again, we pray, these words implanted in our hearts by Jesus himself:

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 – October 21

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 21, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Approachable One, we remember how Jesus told stories of everyday living.  He spoke of money, taxes, greed, forgiveness, loving, sharing, sadness and lostness.  As those hungry souls who listened intently so long ago, so may we open our hearts to those timeless simple stories that never grow stale and never fail to prick our souls.  In the everydayness of our own lives, may we see your showers of grace and your gifts of renewal.
And as we look and listen, we are discovering little by little just what Jesus asks of us.  He calls us to live the life that he lived, and it is not easy.  Give us courage, we pray, to say “yes” to that One Who Calls today, tomorrow and each day that we are given.  We know it is a struggle to keep our pledge of faithfulness; but when we err, shake us up, turn us around, and point us toward that narrow path, the path of love that leads to Christ.
We feel you ever so near, O Healing One, and we believe you alone are sustaining us in this disturbing era.  Deliver us, we pray, especially in the evening hours when the lights grow dim, that we might remain hopeful witnesses to your enduring love.  You have been our Rock in all times past, so we cling to you, knowing we will not be swept away by any disease, national upheaval, or personal tragedy.  Thank you, Lord, for being our Healer; and as you invited us to do so, we lay our concerns and thanksgivings before you, knowing that you are already moving to bring about a new thing:
  • Gratitude: Promising news received regarding a medical exam
  • Thankful for prayers: 2 families with Covid-19 are much improved
  • Thanksgiving for unexpected contact with an old friend
  • Prayers for faithful member recovering from heart surgery on Tuesday
  • Courage & wisdom for grandfather raising his 2 teenage grandchildren
  • Husband dealing with depression & his overburdened wife
  • Sustaining prayers for mother in hospice care, comfort for her family
  • Healing prayers: Shrinking of tumor for one in therapy
  • Easing of tensions & resurgence of faith throughout our nation
  • Prayers for mother with debilitating illness, wisdom for physicians who are planning surgery and treatment
  • Healing for a young father recovering from oral surgery
  • Lift up cherished husband hospitalized with serious illness
  • Healing for an aunt who suffered fractures in a recent fall
  • A broken family, for wisdom and grace to sustain one most wounded
  • Continued prayers for two members recovering from painful falls
  • Upholding beloved husband in hospice care & strength for his wife
  • Friend with cancer, caregiver for sibling with cancer & an elderly mother
  • God’s peace for elderly friend trying to recover from the virus
Loving One, we thank you for receiving these prayers of our hearts.  In whatever way you think best, attend to our pleas.  Out of the depth of your mercy, you sent your Son to seek and to save; So pour out your courage upon us, that we might serve you more faithfully by sharing your saving goodness with others.  And at the last, may you find us still breathing those all-sufficient words taught us by Jesus himself:

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 – October 20

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 20, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Reassuring One, it is no secret to you that we are a restless people, moving first in one direction, then another, wandering far from the path you have laid out for us to travel, chasing one empty promise after another, and falling for the same old lines handed down by society’s self-appointed gurus. We pray you don’t become too tired of our unsettling behavior and the ways in which we keep forgetting you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. More than ever before, Good Lord, we need your reassurance. Take us to task if you must; yet remind us that you won’t give up on us, no matter what.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

World Lover, yes, there is more to confess: We admit that we’re always putting ourselves and our country first. We generally offer only a casual nod to other nations of the world, particularly those in which greed, fear, and injustice triumph every day. Remove the scales from the eyes of our hearts, that we might see the world and all its children as your beloved. Hopelessness weighs heavy on the backs of multitudes who need safety and security, meaningful work, improved education, clean air, fresh water, and sufficient food. Watch over these vulnerable ones whose faces do not resemble ours, but their bodies and souls are precious in your sight.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

O Friend of the Afflicted, we pray for those everywhere who are struggling with anxiety, depression, loneliness, poverty, and any other emotional or physical illness. May each see a glimmer of your light, sufficient to help them make it through another day. May that beam also find its way into the lives of your people of Church Street, particularly these who ask to be remembered:

  • Couple offer thanks for their eighth wedding anniversary
  • Prayers appreciated: Surgery on Friday was completed as planned
  • Grateful for prayers – Member’s kidney surgery was successful
  • Thanksgiving for our church musicians & all staff
  • Gratitude: Atlanta friend’s Monday surgeries went smoothly
  • Prayers for mother hospitalized, for proper diagnosis & treatment
  • Husband dealing with depression & his overburdened wife
  • Healing prayers: shrinking of tumor for one in therapy
  • Healing for an aunt who suffered fractures in a recent fall
  • Friend whose husband was killed last week in a tragic auto accident & their daughter who is to be married on Saturday
  • Two members recovering from painful falls
  • Upholding beloved husband in hospice care & strength for his wife
  • Brother-in-law in Chicago w/ cancer; strength for his weary spouse
  • Friend w/ cancer, caregiver for sibling w/ cancer & an elderly mother
  • Prayers for guidance for a member making a weighty decision
  • God’s peace for elderly friend trying to recover from the virus
  • Continued healing for 2 member families recovering from Covid-19

God of Mercy, how fortunate we are that we might lay all our worries, our errors, and our thanksgivings on your doorstep. You are both the light in the window to welcome us and the home to which we always return. The Good Keeper, Jesus the Christ, sees that the door is open wide, and it is in his name we offer our prayers:

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 – October 19

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 19, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Inspiring God, amid all the disorder and free-floating anger so close to home, we offer thanks for those souls around us who, even in the face of hard struggles, use their voices to speak of your goodness. And in spite of the unrest permeating our society, we thank you for those calm ones who offer kind words and reassurance.

And when confusion seems to rule the day, we are grateful for those who are able to articulate with clarity the higher road that leads to the welfare of the whole. When life seems harsh, we thank you for those who use their voices to sing of your love. Your inspiration shines through all these agents of grace. Grant that we, as they, might use our own voices to share your song of hope.

Gentle Spirit, hear our prayer.

God of Many Faces, in your love and wisdom, you have created such rich diversity among your people. Forgive us, we pray, when we fear our differences, for in doing so, we are really rejecting your creation and your holy will. Show us how to celebrate our varying individual gifts and graces, for we are each part of the Body of Christ. And as one complete community, remind us that when one of us is suffering, the rest of us share in his/her burden, or when one is celebrating, we share in his/her joy. Erase the strife and competition among us, that we may witness to Christ by the ways we lift up one another. 

Gentle Spirit, hear our prayer.

O One Worthy of All Devotion, we know that your regard for us is deep and beyond our comprehending. And so we pray for ourselves . . . for our forgiveness . . . for holy wisdom to do your will . . . for our prayers which have no words, even the whispers of our hearts . . . And as you are eager to hear all our longings, we lift up the thanksgivings and burdens from the hearts of your people at Church Street: 

  • Gratitude for prayers: diagnosis at Mayo Clinic was reassuring
  • Prayers appreciated: 4-day intensive course completed well
  • Thankful a father is recovering steadily from virus
  • 3 families express gratitude for rest & renewal during fall break
  • Thanksgiving: 97-yr-old friend with Covid is very much improved
  • Member undergoing surgery today, that all might go well
  • Healing prayers: shrinking of tumor for one in radiation therapy
  • Friend in Atlanta facing significant surgery today; for worried family, for wisdom & skill of her surgeons
  • Friend whose husband was killed last week in a tragic auto accident
  • Easing of a husband’s depression & his wife caring for ill mother
  • Two members recovering from painful falls
  • Upholding beloved husband in hospice care & strength for his wife
  • Prayers for brother-in-law in Chicago w/ esophageal cancer; upholding of his wife who also cares for her father w/ dementia
  • Friend w/ cancer, caregiver for sibling w/ cancer & an elderly mother
  • Prayers for guidance for a member making a weighty decision
  • Healing mercies for members of 2 families suffering from Covid-19

Loving God, may this day ahead be dedicated to you; and whatever transpires, may you be pleased with our efforts. May all that we undertake be reminiscent of those timeless deeds of goodness carried out by our Teacher, Jesus the Christ, who told 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.

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