BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Daily Prayers of the Church Street family
July 10, 2020
Pastor Jan
“Lord whose love through humble service bore the weight of human need,
Who upon the cross forsaken offered mercy’s perfect deed.”
We are truly humbled by your great love, O Lord! Its depth is beyond our imagining. What might love such as yours cost us, we ask, if we also cry out for things to change, for justice, for better lives for those who wither away in want and poverty? Give us courage, in spite of our fear, to take the risk of stepping out of our safe zone and speaking up for truth and equity.
“Still your children wander homeless, still the hungry cry for bread,
Still the captive long for freedom, still in grief we mourn our dead.”
We pray for all whose souls yearn for something better: for a place to call home, for the table filled with fresh food; for the imprisoned, especially those innocent ones whose lives are devoid of mercy; for those mourning dreams long dead and the good health that has eluded them; for loved ones whose days ended before a proper goodbye could be uttered. Give us hope enough to lift up the forlorn, time enough to sit with those who grieve, grace enough to share our bread.
“Called by worship to your service, forth in your dear name we go
To the child, the youth, the aged, love in living deed to show.”
Forgive us, Lord, when we neglect even the smallest gesture that might mean the world to another. Remind us to stop and make time for little ones, as did Jesus, who called the children blessed. Help us encourage our youth who struggle on so many fronts in our complex society, yet who accomplish so much, and who also long for a word of gratitude, of encouragement. We also seek your blessing upon each of these we now name, that your hand would be at work in their lives:
- Celebration: daughter returns from China after a long work assignment
- Thankful that a wife’s hysterectomy went smoothly today
- Gratitude: hospital, health workers & first responders taking great risks to serve others
- Grateful for prayers: a grandfather died peacefully last night
- Easing of pain for member following extensive oral surgery
- Successful heart surgery today for a young son (Blount Co Family Promise) at Vanderbilt; courage & safety for his family who travel with him
- Prayers for a wife with a 2 cm mass on brain, awaiting more tests
- Two members seeking relief from depression
- Healing: Close friend with leukemia that is not responsive to treatment
- Healing prayers for a frightened nephew (nurse in KY) with Covid-19 & protection for other family members who are currently being tested
- Four families mourning the recent deaths of loved ones
- Physician nephew in 9th day of isolation; his wife & 3 sons all well
- Two families in custody proceedings, grace to uphold children involved
“Hope and health, good will and comfort, counsel, aid, and peace we give,
That your servants, Lord, in freedom, may your mercy know and live.”
Dearest Friend, fix our eyes upon the present moment, not upon the final outcome of our service. Piece by piece you will ultimately gather all our efforts and fold them into your own restoration. For now, we need only remember that when we love your created world with all its intricacies and mysteries, we are loving you. And when we are serving others, we are serving you.
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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