BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
November 11, 2020
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Great and Gentle God, you seem to know that this is a time when we need your brightness more than ever, and that is why you have bequeathed us this strand of dazzling days. In the brightness we can more easily detect your presence and are even more aware of those gentle gifts that come our way: a meal delivered, a timely phone call, the quiet loyalty of a spouse or loved one, the sudden insight that makes all the difference in our faith, the word of wisdom that comes from the aging friend, the memory of a past blessing, a note of encouragement. You come to us in little nudges, new every day, O Lord, urging us to move on, showing us that life is worth the living.
You see our hearts, dear Lord, and the painful memories and regrets that abide therein. There are the harsh words we spoke yesterday that cut as sharp as a sword; there is the face of one who longed for a word of gratitude, yet our lips were silent as stone; there was the frivolous purchase that we made in a casual manner, forgetting the transaction itself could have fed a family of four. Forgive our insensitivity, we pray, for we want to be free of all our flaws. May tomorrow bring another set of hours, another cleansing beam, and other chances for us to set things right.
And there are many who need a fresh touch of grace: our public servants who keep order; those who work diligently for a cure for the dreaded COVID-19 virus; depleted healthcare workers whose hours are long and whose lives remain at risk; educators who trudge forward, balancing virtual and in-person teaching responsibilities; those for whom infirmity has become a way of life; those who have no family to help them bear their burdens. All these, and the special ones in our hearts we lift up to you in these moments: . . . . . . . . . . . We can picture you wearing our burdens as a yoke upon your shoulders, O Christ, and we are humbled that your desire is to ease our souls.
In your mercy receive all that we offer, asking that you also accept these special concerns and joyful thanksgivings which come from the hearts of your Church Street family:
- Member’s kidney surgery yesterday was successful, prayers appreciated
- Thankful for prayers: A friend’s hysterectomy went well
- Gratitude that a new home build is progressing nicely
- Thanksgiving for the United Methodist Women’s Service of Remembrance yesterday
- Prayers for healing of a member recovering from COVID-19 at home
- Comfort for beloved wife suffering from metastatic cancer; peace for her grieving husband and friends
- That tensions surrounding the presidential election will ease
- Continue prayers for one recovering from delicate heart surgery at Vanderbilt, strength and comfort for his family
- For peace to surround mother in hospice care, and her family
- Please pray for healing of a family member in ICU, weak with virus
- Pray for promising pathology reports for an ill member
- Dear friend hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia
- Healing for teenage daughter, wisdom and peace for her loving parents
- A hospitalized brother, healing of his foot infection, strength for family
- Staff and residents at local facility where virus numbers have spiked
- Pray for loving husband whose Parkinson’s is debilitating
- Continued prayer for autistic grandson, for healing of recent symptoms
We pray all of this, holding fast to the hope that you are our Sovereign and the Sustainer of our lives. And even though we cannot put into words just what it is that we believe, we pray through your Spirit, laying everything before you in the name of your Son, as we pray together:
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.
