Prayer for Today – April 7

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 7, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Come, Holy Spirit, and visit us in our homes, workplaces, or wherever we find ourselves this day. May your personal touch be upon each one caught up in this mysterious virus malady and turn our thoughts to you as our Anchor. As your Son showed authority over wind and wave, bring peace and calm to each one who is troubled or in danger, we pray. Brush away those burgeoning clouds of dread and despair that hang too close above us. May we hear again those words you spoke so clearly in the presence of your first disciples: “Peace be still!” And it was so.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Especially, Gracious Lord, ease the hearts of those who suffer this day, and particularly accept these concerns and gratitudes offered by members of our church family:

  • Gratitude: physician friend in Brooklyn hospital remains virus free – continued prayers requested for her & her weary colleagues
  • Gratitude for members of our Armed Forces, the National Guard, and their leaders as they help America through this crisis
  • Thank you for praying – a daughter’s spine pain has disappeared
  • Prayers for academic success of students in online learning situations
  • Prayers for a nearby friend, diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor
  • Traveling mercy for a bereaved couple; prayers for a grieving husband
  • Prayers for a member who feels God is leading her to a new ministry
  • Safety for and blessings upon all healthcare teams & first responders who risk their lives to offer healing to others

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

With the quiet breath you yourself breathed into us, in these moments of calm, we now reflect upon our most recent regrets . . .

Forgive us, O Merciful Father, wash us clean, and remember our sins no more.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Thank you, Most Holy God, for gathering us into a beloved community, for your blessings too numerous to count, and for hearing our prayers, as we offer them in the name of Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever:

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 – April 6

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 6, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Master of Life, your glories abound in the springtime. Your wonders are the treasure found in the field. Trees are covered in green lace; cascading blossoms dance in the air. We give thanks for this sacred awakening of the earth. And there are personal blessings that also remind us of your growth within us. We now silently give thanks for your generous personal benefits which you have provided, even in our time of trial . . .

Create within us truly grateful spirits.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Lord of Mercy, we lift up to your light our loved ones who have recently entered into your kingdom. Embrace especially those dear ones whom we now name in the silence of our own hearts . . .

Wrap each in your cloak of grace and shine your light perpetual upon them. Grant solace to their families, we pray, and also touch each of our church members, especially those who are mentioned in these particular prayers:

  • Gratitude for members of our Armed Forces & the National Guard & their leaders as they help America through this crisis
  • Thanksgiving – a friend is recovering from the flu
  • Gratitude for all dedicated healthcare workers
  • Grateful for public service workers who unselfishly offer help
  • The friend who visits & talks to me through my glass door
  • Prayers for grieving husband (and family); his devoted wife died Friday
  • Cherished sister dealing with cancer, her husband with dementia
  • Prayers for a serviceman who returns to the Middle East on Tuesday
  • One enduring stress & strain in her workplace; for situation to change
  • Academic success for students in challenging online learning situations
  • Safety for a sister in assisted living, for those near her who have the flu
  • A worried member, scheduling medical tests, for his courage

In your own perfect way, O Beloved One, answer each and every plea.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Lord, you are in the midst of us and we are called by your name. Show us ways to assist our brothers and sisters who may be in need at this time of confinement. Blessed are those who reach out in love and service, and especially all those who continually offer prayers on our behalf.

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 – April 5

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 5, 2020 (Palm Sunday)

Pastor Jan

 

O Lord of All That Is, through this Lenten season we have made our weary way. Many times, however, we confess we have lost our direction, entangling ourselves in the brush by the roadside. But just when the shadows have become their darkest, we see the figure of our Savior in the distance. He rides not a great steed, but rather, he sits upon a lowly donkey; and we know this image itself is his message of humility. So we ourselves kneel and ask for pardon for all those times we have thought too highly of ourselves. We follow Jesus’ lead toward the road of return, but this time we do so with unpretentious and unassuming hearts.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

“Hosanna!” the people cry. “Lord, save us!” Today we join our voices with all those who are weighed down by private sorrow and all who are unable to pray for themselves. We ask that you hold each one fast and sustain each in their suffering. Also receive both these prayers of gratitude and the pleas for courage and guidance from our church family:

  • Thank you for prayers – a sister’s heart surgery went well, continued prayers are requested for her 2-week recovery
  • Gratitude: A COVID-19 sufferer is now healed & returns to work Monday
  • Gratitude for prayers, a mother died peacefully today and is in heaven
  • A family gives thanks for prayers during their week of bereavement
  • A member is grateful her physician son remains healthy in Middle TN
  • Strength and safety for a physician friend in Maimonides Medical Center Brooklyn
  • All the unemployed, anxious and depressed workers in our city and state; available counseling for those who are contemplating suicide
  • A beloved mother in lockdown in a nursing facility, that she might remain healthy; peace for her daughter who worries about her
  • Prayers for all healthcare workers throughout the world; may they receive protection and blessings for their sacrifices
  • Calm for a daughter-in-law most fearful of contracting COVID-19

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Lord, you know that we can be an angry and critical people, particularly when our needs are not swiftly met. But on this holy day, we do not raise a clenched fist. Instead, we raise the palm branch, the symbol of hope, triumph, and salvation; all these shall come to us in due time from the hand of your Blessed 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 – April 4

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 4, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Faithful Presence, we seek your Spirit this day. The prophet Isaiah once wrote:  “O Lord, you have hidden your face from us.” But we know it is really the other way around. We have hidden ourselves in the darkness of our own making; we have placed our trust in the wrong things. We have depended upon our own resources and abilities to make things happen. The result has been our lonely walk through a cloudy void. In this time of rampant illness, however, we have learned it is walking in faith as community that is of prime importance. When one hurts, we all hurt. When one suffers, we all feel pain. When one succeeds, we all rejoice. Truly, your presence, for which we have waited, has been here all along, breathing ever near. Breathe on our  community afresh this day, O Breath of Life, for we are one in your sight.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

And just so, as members on one body, we lift up our individual praises . . .

And also our private confessions . . .

Accept these, O Breath of New Life, and also receive these petitions from the hearts of our church members:

  • Grateful that husband & wife, D.C. physicians, remain virus-free
  • Gratitude for unexpected time to enjoy flowers & blossoms of spring
  • Gratitude for all health professionals who set aside personal safety to help others – prayers for their strength, courage and peace
  • Reassurance and strength for a physician son in NC who worries about contracting COVID-19 & infecting his wife and children
  • Hope and help for family members and friends who have lost jobs
  • Prayers for courage and strength as a family bids farewell to their young daughter at her graveside today
  • Safety and strength for a longtime friend who is alone, ill and needy
  • Reassurance for a member, anticipating tests for unknown illness
  • Four faithful churchwomen presently undergoing cancer treatments

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

May your holy peace breathe in our hearts as we carry on amid our trials, we pray, and hear us now as we join our voices in community with all the saints:

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 – April and 3

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 3, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Love Everlasting, your well indeed is deep and you never tire of offering your children living water. You hold out the cup of acceptance, not to the strong and self-possessed alone, but most assuredly to the weak, to the vulnerable, the disenfranchised, the poor, the hungry, and all of us fretful ones who live behind locked doors. You know that we fear the unknown, but these 40 days of introspection are meant to give us a true longing for you. Stretch out your hand, O Generous One, and we shall drink from that cup of living water until we never thirst again.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Your grace comes to us as quietly as the dew — so silently that we often take it for granted. Forgive us, we pray when we fail to recognize your pulsing life in creation, in the laughter of a child, in those who care for us, in the stranger who gives us a kind greeting, the one who brings us our mail, the one who stocks the grocery shelf, the one who brings our meal to the curb. Praise be to you, O God, for those drops of goodness that enrich our days.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

And in that same goodness, receive these petitions from our church family:

  • Praises that a friend with COVID-19 is now well
  • Gratitude for all health professionals who set aside personal safety to help others – prayers for their strength & courage & peace
  • Gratitude for remote worship, devotionals, phone calls, notes, & everything keeping us connected as a congregation
  • Someone is thankful for a much-needed monetary gift
  • Prayers for a sister having delicate heart surgery tomorrow, for her anxious family
  • Safety & strength for a longtime friend who is alone, ill, & needy
  • Reassurance for a member, soon having tests for an unknown malady
  • Prayers for a young wife in D.C. who presents symptoms of COVID-19
  • A couple enduring difficulties request prayers
  • Prayers for a daughter to find relief from spine & leg pain
  • A family moving to a new home across town, that all might go smoothly

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

All these prayers we cast upon that Great Stream Renewal, your Beloved 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.

 

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Prayer for Today – April 2

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 2, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O God of the Ages, we who are shaken enter your presence today, for the messages of illness and pain have filled us with dread. We are afraid for ourselves and for others. We fear the threat of illness, the interruption of our lives, the breakdown of normalcy. To whom can we turn in time of turmoil? Where can we find comfort? It is your apostle who sends us ready reassurance: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so we take heart, for we are more than conquerors through the One who loves us and will never let us go!

Thanks be to God!

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

And look with kindness on these fellow members of our church, we pray, who offer their expressions of gratitude and their pleas for help:

  • Gratitude: a niece’s cancer surgery yesterday was deemed a success
  • A member living alone is thankful for the “angel” who brings his meals
  • A widower is grateful for notes & Lenten devotions sent by the church
  • Gratitude for prayers—expectant daughter & family have found a way to leave NYC and return to Knoxville, are living in seclusion, a great relief
  • Gratitude for courageous health professionals who set aside personal safety to help others; continued protection & blessings upon them
  • Prayers for a sister at Cleveland Clinic, undergoing rare heart surgery on Friday; family members are not permitted to be with her
  • A executive furloughed from her high-level position in the hotel industry
  • Solace for 3 church families who grieve recent deaths of loved ones
  • Son-in-law & his two children in Middle TN – all positive with COVID-19

In all our bewilderment, remind us that you will give us strength to endure; and one day you will turn our weeping into joy, our mourning into dancing –- for you are indeed our Living Hope, our very present help in time of trouble.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Watch over us now and in all our days to come, until we meet you face to face, joining with all your saints who bow before your throne above, saying:

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 – April 1

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

April 1, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Attentive Friend, we confess we are prone to set ourselves at the center of the universe. Perhaps it is our human nature that causes us to consider our own desires before the dreams of our neighbors. But the truth is that your love calls us to expand the narrow confines of our individual concerns. Your love whispers the truth: that we have received grace upon grace throughout our lives; and all that we have results from your goodness or the generosity of others. May your Spirit work within us, particularly during this time of universal struggle, to deepen our compassion, to pray for the unlovable, to offer gifts, even to the ungrateful, without counting the cost.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Divine Parent, there are many among us whose hearts are unsettled, who bear pain of body, mind and spirit. So breathe your healing breath, we pray, upon those who need it most. Especially touch those whose names we now whisper in the silence of these moments . . .

And also attend to these requests written upon the hearts of our church members:

  • Gratitude for a healthy baby born to a pre-school mother
  • Thanksgiving for a negative COVID-19 test result
  • Gratitude: all who work unselfishly to protect the lives of our citizens
  • Gratitude for the life of a remarkable Christian mother who died today
  • A quick recovery from flu for a beloved wife and mother
  • Prayers for a mother-to-be, that a safe April delivery comes to pass
  • Healing of a son-in-law diagnosed with COVID-19, safety for his family
  • A niece having surgery today, successful removal of cancerous tumors
  • A lonely widow as she searches for a new path
  • Church member sitting at the bedside of his dying mother and a peaceful & painless end for her

May each one know that he or she has not been forgotten and that your mercy and grace flow out in ways beyond our understanding.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We boldly place all these, our earnest prayers, before you, for we follow the One 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.

 

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Prayer for Today – March 31

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 31, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O God Most Holy, deep within us is the very real desire to be in your holy presence this day. Accept us as we are, O Lord, for with our gratitude for your benevolence, we also bring with us our frailties and our faults. But still we come, for you have asked us to be faithful in bearing one another’s burdens, and in dreaming one another’s dreams.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Shining Light of Our Salvation, you are the stronghold of our life; therefore what shall we fear? In truth, we remain uneasy about many things. May those who are ill or frightened somehow know your hand rests upon their brows. May those in sorrow remember your tears mingle with their own. May those who feel lonely open your door of welcome. May those who are impoverished receive a generous sharing of what we ourselves possess.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And also bend your ear to receive these earnest prayers of our church body:

  • Gratitude: A brother & his fiancé in Michigan are virus free
  • Gratitude: All who are calling to check on fellow church members
  • Gratitude: A member’s grandchildren who came to wave & play in her yard – at a safe distance
  • Continued prayers for a nephew, internist in ALA clinic, that he can remain virus-free as he tests his adult & pediatric patients
  • Grieving family mourning a beloved mother/grandmother (drowning)
  • Family members in NYC & physician relatives working in NYC hospitals
  • A family asks for prayers as they await a mother’s death – hospice care
  • God’s protection for all who risk their own health by working in hospitals, medical laboratories, clinics, nursing homes, etc.
  • A sister with a rare heart condition, for successful surgery on Friday

As you are the Source of Life, we know you hear us and you will save us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Receive our ardent prayers this day, O Holy One, as your grace is our hope, your love is our joy, your will is our most sacred desire:

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 – March 30

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 30, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Generous One, we bow before you this day, expressing our gratitude for your unfailing care. You have sustained us till this hour and have poured your endless grace upon us. Even in these unsettling times, help us to open our eyes that we might behold and name the immeasurable gifts you have showered upon us . . .

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

Jesus, we know you as the Good Listener who never tires of your children’s voices; and no voice is too faint for you to detect. You have even invited us to cast our burdens upon you, for you care deeply for us. And so, in the silence of these moments, we offer our individual prayers of private pain and our haunting fears . . .

Listen also as we offer these appeals on behalf of our church family:

  • Gratitude for the beautiful life lived by a young member; prayers for her family & friends whose hearts are broken by her death
  • Gratitude for prayers & medical team who diagnosed a rare blood disorder
  • Thanksgiving: a father in assisted living who is strong & healthy
  • Safety for an ICU doctor in Scotland, intubating patients with COVID-19
  • A dear friend in Miami with painful gallbladder, fearful of visiting ER
  • For leaders in our nation’s capital to work together for our citizens
  • For adequate gowns, masks, ventilators & critical supplies to be found
  • Mother of a daughter-in-law who drowned on Friday in a boating accident; for her husband and family trying to cope

Remind us, Good Lord, that your love bridges any distance; and even in the most remote valley, our cries reach the ears of your heart.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

All these prayers we offer this day in the name of the One who is the author of our faith, our Faithful Friend, 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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Go to Facebook.com/CSUMCKnoxville at NOON for a greeting, scripture, a short message and prayer each Monday and Thursday. You’ll have a chance to interact, send prayer requests, and just connect for a few minutes a few times each week with your church family. See you there!
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Prayer for Today – March 29

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

March 29, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

We enter the Sabbath, O Holy One, remembering that you created this day to slow us down. In you holy wisdom, you knew that when we cease our mad pace, we are more likely to behold your work in the world, to listen for your voice, and to remember that you hold each of us in the palm of your hand. You alone have appointed the days and nights of our lives, so let us join our voices with the Psalmist who proclaimed: “This the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice & be glad in it!”

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Dear and Ultimate Good, your grace is not founded upon our worthiness; for if this were so, who could stand? But there is infinite mercy in you. You know the secrets of our hearts and you count every tear. Receive now these particular petitions, as shared by our church family:

  • Gratitude for our Soup Kitchen guests – so thankful, respectful & kind during these weeks of uncertainty
  • Thankful that more virus test kits are becoming available
  • Grateful for truckers who bring our food & supplies, for their safety
  • Gratitude for our church staff & laity who carry on the work of ministry & for their protection
  • A nephew & his family in NYC
  • Safety for son & wife, physicians caring for the sick in Lafayette General Hospital in Louisiana
  • A church family grieving deeply; for prayers to sustain them
  • A dear sister whose cancer has returned & her husband with dementia
  • Our nephew & fiancé in Michigan awaiting results of COVID-19 testing
  • Protection for healthcare workers, EMT’s & medical teams everywhere
  • Solace for a grieving family: Their beloved father died Sat. in Crossville

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

We know you accept all our prayers, for we join our spirits with that Greatest Spirit who prays for us in sighs too deep for words. And we offer again the prayer your Beloved imprinted upon our hearts so long ago:

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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