Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of October 2, 2024
Written by Rev. Tim Best
This prayer was offered in worship on Sunday, September 29.
We open our hearts in praise and prayer to you, God of heaven and earth.
You hear our prayers and tend to our needs. Hear us as we pray for our community and our neighbors. Over the last several days we have seen communities we know covered in the national news. Loved ones have been left without power. Roads and bridges have washed away while homes and businesses have flooded. We ask that you would guide us to support and care for our neighbors as they seek to rebuild and recover.
Hear us as we pray for those whose suffering has deepened over the last few days. We pray for those who were hospitalized and needing care, only to find themselves in danger in a hospital. We pray for those who have been lonely or afraid because they have been stuck by themselves, unable to call or travel. Make us mindful of all the ways that suffering is magnified in the midst of tragedy.
Watch over those who serve and lead. We pray for all who are working to restore power, those who are helping to keep others safe, and those already preparing to help people recover. We pray for all of our leaders. Help those who lead in all things and at all times. Guide them not just in emergencies, but in the before and the after.
See the needs of our world, gracious God. We are aware of the violence and warfare that continues in so many places. Make us be a people committed to your peace. Transform the hearts of those bent on violence, and remove from our hearts the bent towards anger and hatred. Even as we are so acutely aware of the suffering within our own community, help us to see the needs of all people, and give us courage to speak and act.
Almighty and everlasting God, hear us as we lift these concerns to you. See also our inner thoughts and feelings. See all those things that weigh upon our hearts, and see also our joys.
We pray….
- All government officials and presidential candidates; may they stay focused on their responsibilities
- “Third-world” countries, who are struggling with poverty and health; praying for the US to not lose our vision to care for them even when other world issues take precedence.
- A member in hospital; prayers that antibiotics will do the work needed for his body to heal!
We continue to pray for….
- For infants and children at ETCH …
- For one who is experiencing depression
- For a member who is now in hospice care
- For a sister in Virginia who is recovering from ankle surgery but fighting infection. Thankful she seems to be responding well to the second round of antibiotics.
- For a daughter who is very sick with Covid and pneumonia
- For so many who are having respiratory issues, covid, pneumonia, etc.
- For a husband and children grieving the sudden death of their wife/mother
- Neighbors who are having legal trouble with housing
- Couples who are wanting to start a family ..
- All of the men and women in the military….
- Those who are caring for family members who have dementia …
- Members who have cancer and are going through the ups and downs of treatments.
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for….
- For all the stories of compassion coming from the Helene! In midst of disaster, people share God’s love!
We join all our voices together in prayer as we offer together that prayer that our Lord, Jesus Christ, has taught us, 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.
