Prayer for Today – September 8

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 8, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Hope of the World, summer is behind us, yet you still send blossom-scented winds across the lawn. Riots rage in the darkness, but morning still gives way to the long yellow fingers of the sun. Destruction and death walk our streets, but still you raise up people who breathe out hope. We know, O God, although you are hidden from our eyes, that you are never far away, and that you are moving to liberate us, even saving us from ourselves. In your quiet way, you are setting in motion your plan of redemption. Open us and our nation to that plan, O Lord, despite our fears and anxieties. Open us to that plan, even if it comes in a way not of our own choosing!

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God Who Speaks to Every Age, Jesus blessed the poor in spirit, saying theirs was the kingdom of heaven. In making this proclamation, was he reflecting only upon the sad and shabby who surrounded him that afternoon? Or was he perhaps speaking to those of us who, even today, are not poor, but who have too much? Could he have meant that if we empty ourselves of our many possessions, our pretense, our clamoring to get ahead, our cynicism, we might find the true blessing that comes with emptiness? Sweeping out the spirit – where shall we begin?

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Especially, O Faithful One, we pray for those who are sick and dying, for those whose debts keep them awake at night, for those who are hungry, for those separated from loved ones, for all enduring the pain of divorce, for those who are in danger. Touch each with your love, and lead us to tend to those who long for someone who cares. Send your grace as well to these members of our church family who cry out for help; and receive our offers of thanks for the myriad of ways you are already tending your flock:

  • Grateful for prayers: husband home from hospital after heart surgery
  • One thankful for staff & clergy creatively binding the church together
  • Gratitude: 2 young college students steadily recovering from Covid-19
  • CSUMC celebrates 22 new members who joined the church on Sunday
  • Prayers for one in court proceeding this week, for dismissal of case
  • Dear friend enduring lengthy cancer ailment, for his family
  • Couple offer thanks for the birth of a beautiful son on Friday; please continue prayers for complete healing of a heart complication
  • Cherished mother in hospice care at home & her family standing by
  • Healing of elderly father with Covid – hospitalized in Birmingham
  • Healing mercies for college-age son & 2 families suffering with virus
  • That hunger may be alleviated by generosity – September is Hunger Action Month
  • Comfort for family: ill father recently moved to longterm care facility
  • Comfort for member mourning the untimely death of longtime friend
  • Lift up a wife suffering from addictions & her husband trying to help
  • Prayers for young father in need of new cancer treatment
  • Loved ones in nursing facilities; families trying to make wise decisions

Thank you, Holy One, for sharing our pain, for bearing our grief, for reminding us that sorrow will never have the final word. May our hearts overflow with gratitude for the gifts you offer from your own heart.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We almost always feel the need to apologize for our immature and wandering prayers, Listening God, but remind us that you do not judge our poor phraseology or faulty sentence structure. You only desire that we seek your companionship and that we arrive with sincere hearts. May we always come in that true and humble spirit that was so evident in your Son Jesus, who gave us these words 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.

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Prayer for Today – September 7

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 7, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as laboring for the Lord, not for human masters.
Colossians 3:23

O God Who Gives Us Purpose, multitudes need quiet rest from their work and are thankful for this Labor Day. May we pause to raise gratitude for those who labor on our behalf, especially those we rarely see: ones who harvest and gather our food; who deliver groceries and goods, who stock the shelves; firefighters, police, utility and mine workers, and all who  undertake dangerous assignments; those who risk their own health by caring for the ill; those who comfort the sick and the dying; public servants who manage our towns, keep our streets clean, ensure our safety, administer our schools and educate our children. We pray for all willing workers upon whom our own lives depend.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

Eternal Advocate, while we acknowledge these in service for the common good, we remember the many who have a heart for work, yet whose hands remain idle. Due to down-sizing or skills that have been ruled obsolete, their long search for employment has ended in emptiness. Make a way in the desert of despair for those waiting in hope for a chance to labor. For others who invest long hours in repetitive drudgery, create for them some avenue of purposefulness in their lives, where they can find the fullness and joy that you intend for all your children.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

All-Seeing One, we confess that ours is a nation with undisguised flaws, a tarnished history, often operating with questionable motives. We are an imperfect people quarreling among ourselves and with our neighbors. You, however, have used our imperfections to bring about your good purposes in the world. In your mercy, continue to show us how our insatiable desire for goods greatly impacts those in impoverished regions, where many work in deplorable conditions for unjust wages. Forgive us, Lord, and remind us that when we take advantage of the less fortunate, we are wounding Christ, whose heart is moved when even the gentle sparrow falls.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

And to you, Holy One, who never take a respite, we humbly name our praises for the wonders you have brought about in our lives; and also we lift our deepest concerns to your wisdom and mercy, knowing your love has no end:

  • Grateful for prayers: a sister’s leg injury did not require amputation
  • Prayers appreciated: elderly mother died peacefully on Friday
  • Happy couple offer gratitude for their 60th wedding anniversary
  • Gratitude: mother with leukemia is able to continue chemotherapy
  • Thanksgiving: member with painful shingles is almost well
  • Family celebrates the birth of a beautiful baby boy on Friday; please continue prayers for healing of a heart complication
  • Prayers for one in court proceeding this week, for dismissal of case
  • Cherished mother in hospice care at home & her family standing by
  • That hunger may be alleviated by generosity – September is Hunger Action Month
  • Recovery from Covid-19 for 2 sons in college
  • Mercy to surround a very ill wife in assisted living & her grieving husband
  • Comfort for member mourning the untimely death of longtime friend
  • Healing mercies for 2 families with multiple members ill with virus
  • Lift up a wife suffering from addictions & her husband trying to help
  • Prayers for young father in need of new cancer treatment
  • Ill & lonely loved ones in nursing facilities & their families struggling to make wise decisions on their behalf
  • Family mourning the accidental death of beloved father last week

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

Give us a heart to labor in your service, for we are never too young or too old, too rich or too needy, to bring your good news, to extend a hand to the broken-hearted, to offer hope to the forlorn. As we are linked together by your love, may all our works glorify your name. For Christ’s sake, 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 – September 3

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 3, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord …
plans to give you hope and a future
Jeremiah 29:11

Hope of the World, you have called to us through the eons to take on your ministry of hope. To the world’s question: “Is this all there is?” we are to offer a resounding “No!” You have blessed us to become a blessing to those who are crying out for the food that satisfies and nourishes, the Bread of Life. We are not worthy of your trust and we often suffer from anxiety and cower in fear. Still, you have issued the invitation and, though trembling, we have accepted. You hope in us and we pray to be faithful. Yours is such a high calling that it keeps us on our knees.

Lord of All, hear our prayer.

O Voice of Solace, yes, there is much to cause our misgivings and apprehension in this era of rampant illness and chaos. But might you offer a respite from our weariness? What would it be like if we deserted our anxieties just for awhile? What if we avoided all those who fanned the flames of our fears? What if we shunned the broadcasts that heighten our alarm? What if we sought out only those voices of calm, confidence, and affirmation? What strange solace might permeate our spirits if at least one day each week we took complete refuge in the knowledge and love of God? Holy One, might you help us arrange such a time of regular renewal?

Lord of All, hear our prayer.

God of Tender Mercies, we glorify you for your mercy in receiving the pleas of our hearts. We celebrate all these personal gifts you have made possible in our lives . . . . . ; for those special ones you have sent to lighten our load . . . . . ; and for the reconciliations you have made possible . . . . . Hear also the deep cares that live in our hearts . . . . . And also attend to these joys and specific needs of those in your Church Street family:

  • Family celebrates newborn released from NICU & now home
  • Grateful for the life of cherished friend, buried on Saturday
  • Member thankful for a new home & that move is completed
  • One celebrating passing his professional licensure exams
  • Gratitude: Friend with Covid-19 greatly improved
  • Prayers appreciated: a misunderstanding has been cleared up
  • Safety for all educators & students working at home or in person
  • Please pray for a husband searching for a new job
  • Cherished mother entering hospice care & her loving family
  • Healing prayers: husband suffering from painful shingles
  • Comfort & wisdom for a daughter as her mother nears death
  • Prayers: family with Covid-19, healing of multiple complications
  • Pray that the hungry in our community might be sufficiently fed
  • Uncle isolated in MS nursing home, in rapid decline & his lonely wife
  • Relief of anxiety for one facing court proceeding & her family
  • Prayers for healing: 2 fathers with Covid-19, safety for their families
  • Friend in skilled nursing care & wife trying to make wise decisions

Your ways, O God, are indefinable, but we count you as our Greatest Hope, lenient in your mercy and bounteous in your compassion.

Lord of All, hear our prayer.

May our voices join with all your people throughout the earth, as we offer that prayer of Love’s Community, created and sustained through our Savior, Jesus Christ:

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 – September 2

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 2, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

And let us know be weary in well doing, for in
due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal. 6:9

Abiding God, we praise you for your enduring guidance. You sent Jesus, our Teacher and Messiah, to model for us the way of love. He asked us to seek out the least and the lost, to feed the hungry, to comfort the sick, to befriend the stranger and the outcast, to sow peace where there is strife, and to speak out for justice. Our efforts have been life-long, as you know, but in many ways we feel we have made such little difference. Thank you, Lord, for overlooking our meager crop. Remind us that the growing season is not quite over, and if we continue to tend the plantings, the good harvest will come.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God Beyond Our Understanding, although we strive for the good, we wonder why those old scraps of failure linger. Life is truly a muddle and we see our gaffes and blunders standing out quite vividly in our memory. It’s as if all those dark pieces are lying face-up on a table. Your hand of grace is at work, however, snapping those pieces together with our brighter moments:  the light and the dark, the good and the bad, the extraordinary and the mundane, the losses and the gains. Surprisingly, the pieces fit together nicely and a surprising picture begins to take shape. And we glimpse a certain beauty and peace reflected, as in a soothing landscape. Imprint that scene within us, we pray; then we will know in the end that the apostle’s teaching was correct: “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.”

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We come into your presence to name those things that are uppermost in our hearts. You already know our deepest joys and our keenest hurts, yet you are eager to listen as we share our thoughts with you. For your benevolence in recent times, we humbly thank you, and for our concerns, we implore your mercy, particularly for . . . . . . . . . . . To these we add the joys and the trials of our people at Church Street:

  • Gratitude for prayers: a member’s depression is lifting
  • One rejoices that an old friendship has been renewed
  • Thankful that a friend with virus is vastly improved
  • Cancer survivor relieved- gastrointestinal exams were all clear
  • Grateful for prayers: friend with heart issues is now home
  • Member celebrates: a second surgery will not be required
  • One recovering from Monday surgery is feeling very well
  • Healing prayers: husband suffering from painful shingles
  • 2 NICU babies are gaining weight, but continue prayers
  • Prayers: family with Covid-19, healing of multiple complications
  • Member at Vanderbilt awaiting at-risk childbirth today
  • Continued prayers for safety: family members living in Kenosha, WI
  • Uncle isolated in MS nursing home, in rapid decline & his lonely wife
  • Relief of anxiety for one facing court proceeding
  • Prayers for healing: 3 fathers with Covid-19, safety for their families
  • A young relative & family, searching for effective cancer meds
  • Healing of dear friend diagnosed with auto-immune disease
  • Prayers for mother in assisted living, in very weak condition
  • Sudden death on Monday of a longtime friend, comfort for all
  • 2 mothers suffering with cancer-related pain & discomfort

O God of Possibilities, look with favor upon each one who calls out to you this day. We know you hear even the briefest plea uttered in your name. Illumine our hearts and renew our waning spirits as we again pray the words taught us by our Blessed Savior:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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Prayer for Today – September 1

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 1, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

If only, if only . . .  Lord, we too often fall into the habit of reducing our problems to one single element. If only my parents had been more loving; if only I could have afforded college; if only my spouse hadn’t left me; if only that disease had not overtaken me; if only I could have received that promotion. We spend our lives feeding that one thing that has clouded all our days. Though it is difficult, help us to understand that life, in all its complexities, cannot be reduced to one single influence. We live in the Now. And you are here with us, offering your assurance: “It is never too late for a new beginning.”

God of Newness, hear our prayer.

As we begin this day, you know, O Lord, that there will be instances that will test us, and that our weaknesses may again overtake us. In hastiness, we may speak that unkind or untrue word. In our confusion, we may err in our judgment. In our fatigue we may make victims of friends and loved ones. And though our day may be marked by false steps, we pray you would redeem whatever we do amiss and repurpose it for the greater good. And if that old “if only” mantra runs through our minds again, set us free to turn down the volume, through your miraculous grace.

God of Newness, hear our prayer.

Thank you, Good Lord, for your continued concern for our church family during these anxious times. We bring again our trials and pain to your doorstep of mercy, as you have so invited us to do. But as you breathe your newness into our pain, also receive the breath of gratitude we ourselves offer, for your mighty works have not gone unnoticed:

  • Gratitude for prayers: a member’s depression is lifting
  • Prayers appreciated: Two surgeries today were successful
  • Gratitude: young burn victim is home from the hospital
  • Thankful that member with long-term illness is regaining strength
  • Gratitude: an elderly mother slated to return home from rehab
  • Member gives thanks that a medical setback has been overcome
  • 2 NICU babies are gaining weight, but continued prayers please
  • Prayers: family with Covid-19, healing of multiple complications
  • Member at Vanderbilt awaiting at-risk childbirth on Wednesday
  • Comfort for family burying a beloved father & grandfather today
  • Continued prayers for safety: family members living in Kenosha, WI
  • Hope & healing for 2 members – cancer-related pain & nausea
  • Prayers for one seeking peace from extreme anxiety & depression
  • Relief of anxiety for one facing court proceeding, for dismissal of case
  • Prayers for healing: 2 fathers with Covid-19, safety for their families
  • A young relative & family, searching for effective cancer meds
  • Healing of dear friend diagnosed with auto-immune disease
  • Prayers for mother in assisted living, in very weak condition
  • Daughter whose father enters hospice care today; that all goes well

God of Newness, hear our prayer.

Strengthened by the Spirit, grant that we might rise to serve Christ this day, setting aside our old ways, and singing the song of the God of New Beginnings:

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 – August 31

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 31, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

God has said:  “Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5b

At times, O Holy One, we come to you in prayer in the wrong spirit. Forgive us. Now and then we seek a guarantee that all our tomorrows will be safe, that little will be required of us, that misfortune will never block our future plans. We frequently ask that our strength alone will be sufficient to carry us through all the days ahead. But in your holy wisdom, you recognize that our own power is not enough; and through your support, you are teaching us in our human need. Grant that we might ask for sustenance for this one day only. May we envision Christ standing beside us at this one moment, inviting us to lean on his shoulder. And when we do accept his invitation, we find that there is strength enough – not ours alone, but power from on high.

O Constant One, hear our prayer.

This is another day, Faithful Companion, and with broken hearts, we admit that it is much the same as yesterday and the days before. You have created us for community, but our streets and neighborhoods are filled with hate and brutality, with mayhem and murder. The evils of racism and bigotry continue to eat away the soul of America. Heal us, Lord, before we destroy ourselves.

O Constant One, hear our prayer.

Companion, we pray, all those affected by Hurricane Laura, for each one working for their restoration. And, as we suffer the pandemic with our brothers and sisters across the globe, we give thanks for those working tirelessly on our behalf, for those seeking a cure. In your mercy, continue your watch, care over those in poverty-stricken regions everywhere who struggle with the illness, particularly in Spain, Brazil, and Iran. Give us your perseverance to continually work for the good of all who are in pain, depression, or suffering. And may we begin today.

O Constant One, hear our prayer.

O Voice of Silence, we sense your quiet ways and give witness to your hand of benevolence moving so quietly across our lives. Our hearts spill over as we recall those times when you have blessed us immeasurably . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; and we are enveloped with solace as we recall the favors you have visited upon members of our church family. Receive once again our thanksgivings and our concerns, for you wait silently with open hands:

  • Gratitude: Gallbladder surgery turned out well, prayers appreciated
  • Thankful that one is recovering steadily from breast surgery
  • Prayers appreciated: a father’s medical tests revealed no problems
  • Praises: God’s diverse creation has paved the way for us to embrace diversity in humankind, that we might view & accept all others as we accept ourselves
  • Thankful that promising new caretaker for Sterchi Lodge has been hired
  • Grateful for prayers: cherished father died peacefully with family beside him
  • Dear friend in ICU is improving
  • Prayers for calm & courage to surround 2 members having surgery today
  • Protection of daughter & husband living near violence in Kenosha, WI
  • Hope & healing for 2 members with pain & nausea associated with cancer
  • Prayers for one seeking peace from extreme anxiety & depression
  • Prayers for healing: 2 fathers with Covid-19, safety for their families
  • Young father searching for effective cancer meds, comfort for his family
  • Healing of dear friend diagnosed with auto-immune disease
  • Prayers for reconciliation between a daughter & ill father
  • Continued healing of father recently divorced, for new doors to open
  • Prayers for two babies in NICU; healing of one in ICU, multiple complications
  • Close friend, healing of heart issues; healing for young burn victim
  • Lifting of depression for a young mother-to-be

We are never sure why, but many of us carry great burdens. We do not wish to shift our load to any other backs, however, for they are ours alone to deal with. But we simply bring them to you, for we know you care. Help us to bear our burdens with grace, without self-pity, but always with trust in the One who will never leave or forsake us. In the spirit of friendship, demonstrated so perfectly in Jesus, we now offer his 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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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Prayer for Today – August 27

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 27, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweigh them all.
II Cor. 3:22-24 

O Divine Parent, most assuredly the apostle’s words hit home to us who feel hemmed in on many levels. The months go by and we sense that we are losing ground – one step forward and two steps back. We thought we had mapped out our lives so well, only to look in the mirror and find that the passing years and all those unanticipated complications have taken their toll. Where is that sublime span of ease we had marked on our calendars? Will there ever come a time when we can kick back and enjoy the fruits of our labor? We tumble so frequently these days and find that we are not as strong as we thought. Sadly, our faces tell the tale. But could that be your voice we hear in the distance, Jesus? “Blessed are those who fall, yet rise and begin again.” Yes, it must be, for who else would applaud such plodding as ours?

Hear us Lord, for your mercy is great.

O God Beyond Knowing and Naming, you take little notice of the outward appearance, but concern yourself with the contours of the heart. What changes do you note within us at this point? Have those inner fields of mercy shown signs of new growth? Is the shallow river of compassion now widening its banks? Are the valleys of forgiveness a lush green, as weedy personal slights are being expunged? And those peaks of praise – are they becoming taller as we more frequently glorify your name? We pray these evidences of renewal are indeed taking place, though unseen by human eye. And if so, we will cease our fretting about the superficial and the fleeting.  Instead we will rejoice at the rejuvenation within.

Hear us Lord, for your mercy is great.

As always, Caring One, we remember the specific blessings you have delivered during this week at hand . . . . . . . . . . And as your mercy knows no end, we offer our thanksgivings into your keeping, and also these concerns of your people at Church Street:

  • NICU baby is getting stronger, prayers greatly appreciated
  • Thanksgiving for recent connection with an old friend
  • Gratitude: recent heart tests reflect great improvement
  • Grateful that surgery on Wednesday went well, no surprises
  • Praises: friend evacuated by fire in CO now allowed to return home
  • Prayers for member undergoing gallbladder surgery today
  • Prayers for family journeying to ALA for a mother’s funeral
  • Cherished father near death, peace & comfort for family standing by
  • Protection of daughter & husband living near violence in Kenosha, WI
  • Comfort & healing for two dealing with pain associated with cancer
  • Prayers please: one seeking help for anxiety; health, family, & work issues
  • A sister facing leg amputation; a sister seeking diagnosis of health issues
  • Prayers for two tiny babies in NICU, grace & comfort for loving parents
  • Lift up two men who need to enter treatment for addiction
  • Dear friend in ICU in Charleston, losing blood, for diagnosis & healing
  • Close friend, healing of heart issues; healing for young burn victim
  • Healing of depression for both a daughter & a daughter-in-law
  • Two husbands dealing with anxiety & depression, for healing
  • Young relative searching for new medications to halt spreading cancer
  • Healing prayers for a father dealing with health-related anxiety
  • Close friend in ICU following surgery, that healing might come

God of All, thank you for receiving our concerns and for your willingness to be at work on our behalf. Fill us with that peace that passes all understanding this day. And open wide the windows of our souls that your mist of holy peace and transformation will flow over  us, spreading out across this land, binding up bitterness, moving across the oceans, raining down love, and enfolding your cherished people everywhere, even in lands we do not know.

Hear us Lord, for your mercy is great.

Collect all our prayers, Dearest Friend, just as you gather the pleas and praises of all your followers around the globe. We entrust them to your care, knowing you will guard them as sacred longings from your children, and that they are brought to you in the name of our Redeemer, 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?

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Click here to join us on Facebook at noon today for a devotion led by Youth Intern Ramsey Owens.

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Prayer for Today – August 26

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 26, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

I am the door. If anyone enters by me he will be saved
and will come in and go our freely and find pasture. John 10:9

O Keeper of the Keys, in the dampness of morning, there comes a certain clarity of thought that eludes us during the cluttered day. Here as the fog lifts we can see how far we’ve come by your grace, and just how many times you have opened doors for us to pass through. Along the passageways of rejection, despondency, anxiety, and grief you have unlocked doors of hope for us, revealing newness on the other side. We travel another corridor of confusion in the present time, as that is the way life is in this realm; but even now, if we are very still, we can hear your latchkey turning in the lock on the door of fear. We wait with patience, knowing we will find freedom on the other side.

Gracious God, hear our prayer.

Divine Gateway, we have seen time and again how you point the way to the portal of forgiveness. You do not keep score of our sins, nor record our pock-marked past; but our confessions sweep the threshold clean, that we may step through your doorway unencumbered to newness beyond. Grant us truth and boldness as we recall and name the ways in which we have not helped, and have even harmed, our brothers and sister in Christ . . . . . . .  Relegate these scrapped thoughts and deeds, we pray, to the dustbin of worthlessness, never again to be brought to light. And leaving all these remnants behind, clothe us in grace as we take up your banner of hope and walk on.

Gracious God, hear our prayer.

Enduring Entryway, as we remember your everlasting mercy in our own lives, we lift up all your people who are caught up in disaster, disturbance, and disease. Continue to strengthen the people of Iowa as they recover from tornado-like storms that have affected millions; watch over those in the path of Hurricane Laura on our southern coasts; assist those who have fled the wildfires in Colorado and California, watching in horror as their homes and businesses are destroyed; diffuse the anger and bitterness that has infected our major cities; send your comfort and healing to the suffering millions in Spain, Italy, England, and Iran — each pommeled by the virus, job losses, and hunger. To these we add these personal concerns (and also the joys) of members of our church family:

  • Mother is thankful for opportunity to visit with daughter in Chicago
  • Grateful for prayers: Family of 5 now healed of Covid-19
  • One is celebrating negative virus test
  • Friend with lung cancer is now much stronger
  • Protection of daughter & husband living near violence in Kenosha, WI
  • Prayers please: one seeking help for anxiety; health, family & work issues
  • Prayers for a sister laid off from work; a sister facing leg amputation
  • Prayers for two tiny babies in NICU, grace & comfort for loving parents
  • Two who need to seek treatment for lengthy & dangerous addictions
  • Son with knee injury, for correct diagnosis & treatment
  • Calm & wisdom for husband taking licensure exams this week
  • Healing of depression for both a daughter & a daughter-in-law
  • Two husbands dealing with anxiety & depression, for healing
  • Young relative searching for new medications to halt spreading cancer
  • Cherished mother coping with side effects of cancer medication
  • Healing prayers for a father dealing with health-related anxiety
  • A sister who searches for answers to her health problems
  • Guidance for loving son who is moving his father into to assisted living
  • Continued prayers: a very ill father at home & a father in hospice care
  • Healing grace for a teenage relative in treatment for extensive burns

You receive our prayers, Lord, spoken or unspoken, clumsy or eloquent, vague or explicit; for yours is a piercing love which knows what we need and what we desire long before we can frame the words.

Gracious God, hear our prayer.

And although we remain distanced, we are close together in the heart of God, and we now join our voices in the chorus of all who serve you, praying the ancient prayer of 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 – August 25

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 25, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O One Who Calls, we heard Jesus say, “Take up your cross and follow me.” These are not words we particularly want to hear, and we wonder just what our own particular cross might be. Could it be enduring the thankless job we do every day, tolerating the grumpy co-worker, or putting up with the annoying relative who repeats the same story at every gathering? In our self-pity, are we reducing the gravity of Jesus’ command? When Jesus told the crowds “Take up your cross,” we remember how many troubled followers turned away. Perhaps they understood the true cost of discipleship far better than we. Will we continue to speak for Christ when all other voices have gone silent? Are we really ready to be twisted and broken, bent and bleeding upon a cross? God willing, should such times come, may our answer be a resounding “Yes!”

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Empowering One, has the world ever been this convoluted, we ask? Has evil always been this pervasive? Have divisions ever been more bitter? Our earth seems to groan with the heaviness it carries. Bear us up on angel wings today, we pray, that we might lightly touch others who are most in danger of sinking into the bog. Help us drop your gentle seeds of hope, for sometimes a mere whiff of your glory is all one needs to awaken to life afresh, to resist the downward tug of darkness, to spring to freedom.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Heart of Hope, strew your seeds of hope on each one we carry in our hearts this day, for we believe in your power to change us, to make our relationships new, to save us from despair, to give us courage and strength. You meet us where we are, knowing we are of fragile frame. Forgive us for repeating our prayers for help, but we ask us to be patient in our waiting, and we try to be. Hear first our most recent thanksgivings, those benevolences you have brought our way:

  • Gratitude: mother in hospice care died peacefully yesterday at home
  • Thankful that dear friend’s surgery yesterday at UT was successful
  • Grateful that an elderly father’s heart issues require no intervention
  • Prayers appreciated: young father now home from the hospital
  • A student celebrates a negative virus test result
  • Prayers please: one seeking help for her anxiety; health, family, & work issues
  • Prayers for a sister unexpectedly laid off from her job
  • Prayers for two tiny babies in NICU, grace & comfort for loving parents
  • Adult son whose addictions are breaking up his family, prayers that he will earnestly seek treatment
  • Peace & support for three members awaiting cancer surgery
  • Healing of depression for a daughter & a daughter-in-law
  • Wisdom for all to wear masks & attend to safety measures to avoid the spread of Covid-19, especially in schools, colleges & other public places
  • Two members in cancer treatment, for easing of debilitating symptoms
  • A sister who searches for answers to her health problems
  • Guidance for loving son who is moving his father into assisted living
  • Hope & healing for discouraged close friend, awaiting heart test results
  • Prayers for resilience for loved ones isolated in residences, for caregivers
  • Continued prayers: a very ill father at home & a father in hospice care

O Lord, you live in that kingdom of kindness, a world where love rules over all, a world where enemies embrace, where distinctions between friend and foe evaporate in the light of your mercy. Through Christ, we have a vision of what your home is like, and somewhere in this day, may we glimpse a bit of that kingdom on this earth. And rejoicing in that hope, we offer the prayer of Jesus who taught us about that place where our will and your will are the same:

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?

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Prayer for Today – August 24

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 24, 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 touch the grass today, to treasure its sacred scent of greenness, to bless the dewdrop seeping into the hydrangea leaf, to praise the crimson geranium, to cherish the bowing leaves, chilled by 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 for elections, endeavoring to carry on our work, 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:

  • Thankful that a vein procedure went smoothly
  • Family celebrates the birth of a new baby boy on Saturday
  • Gratitude: a husband is now home from the hospital
  • Prayers appreciated: granddaughter in ALA now healed of virus
  • A brother is thankful for a negative virus test
  • Grateful that ultrasound detected no new cancer
  • Cherished member celebrates her 100th birthday today
  • Prayers for two babies in NICU, grace & comfort for loving parents
  • Pray for the safety and success of all students & teachers as classes begin
  • Adult son whose addictions are breaking up his family, prayers that he will earnestly seek treatment
  • Prayers for a mother in hospice care who is failing, strength for her family
  • Peace & grace for three members awaiting cancer surgery
  • Healing of shoulder pain & patience for one recovering at home
  • Prayers for resilience for loved ones isolated in residences, for caregivers
  • Continued prayers: a very ill father at home & a father in hospice care
  • Wisdom for all to wear masks & attend to safety measures to avoid the spread of Covid-19, especially in schools, colleges & other public places
  • Easing of nausea & pain for one continuing new cancer treatment
  • Healing for three who are battling depression and anxiety

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?

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