Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of October 6, 2021
Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade
O Author of All Our Days, our lives seem so scattered in this modern era, and we are quick to attach our lives to strings that others pull. Go here! they say; Do that! they advise; Follow me! they urge. And we confess that we frequently allow ourselves to be caught up in efforts that do not enrich our souls. Teach us, we pray, to listen more closely to the calling you so tenderly place in each of our hearts, to attend to your faint voice that whispers your will for us each day. By your grace, help us live up to our commitment to Christ, and to realign our calendars, that we would find joy in the slackened pace, in your gift of the moment. As the apostle has said, What does it matter if we gain the world, if our hearts are not beating with the love of our Lord?
In the liturgical year, the Church now finds itself in Ordinary Time, set apart from the high holy days. What better time to consider the mundane, the repetitive tasks of daily living – dusting and laundering, cooking and straightening, scouring and sweeping? In your great wisdom, O God of Harmony, you knew that if we performed these routine, ordinary chores, we might then become better stewards of our lives. For in ordering our households, companionship, creativity, learning and laughter, conversation and enjoyment might then have room to flourish. We remember our Savior who taught that every service performed with love, no matter how humble, will not be forgotten. Give us an openness of spirit, we pray, to once again discover both the joy and the importance of simple things.
God of Healing and Wholeness, we face the brokenness of our bodies, our spirits, and our relationships; and we confess that we do falter in our faith in this time of dread, disease, and dissension. Yes, some of our misfortunes we have brought upon ourselves; forgive our blindness, we pray. Still other adversities stalk us through no fault of our own, and in our humanness, we search for explanations, when there are no explanations to be found. As we are made in your image, O Divine One, you understand our pain and our perplexities; so come sit with us and linger awhile as we try to fashion a plan to move forward in faith. Dispel our doubts, we pray, as we lift up the broken parts of ourselves to your healing.
And hear also these praises and petitions that are offered by your people at Church Street. We know you as our refuge and strength in time of trouble; yet you have asked us not to give in to fear. May it be so:
- Gratitude for prayers: Aortic valve surgery successful
- Thankfulness for life of a beloved husband
- One celebrates a clear cancer scan
- Bereaved member sends gratitude for support of church
- ALS sufferer thankful for outpouring of financial help
- Praises that knee surgery went smoothly
- Member thankful for recent financial gift
- Family grateful for God’s presence at death of father
- Gratitude: Paralyzed grandson now able to feed himself
- Homebound member thankful for supportive friends
- One grateful for continued improvement following surgery
- Pray for a family member in deep depression
- A daughter who needs healing in her life
- Relief & healing for very ill member hospitalized
- Comfort for member whose brother died on Tuesday
- College student and family grieving death of grandfather
- Couple ask for prayers, tensions related to young son
- Continued watchcare for young mothers-to-be
- Healing for young family affected by addiction
- Recovery for cousin on ventilator
- Courage and calm for one newly diagnosed with cancer
- Cherished daughter in rehab, for recovery from Covid
- Pray for ongoing progress of paralyzed grandson
- Healing for member, torn tendons in foot and ankle
- Peace for best friend, aggressive cancer diagnosis
We thank you, O Redeemer, for the gift of your unfathomable love. Grant that your loving power would sustain us as we work to re-order our lives in the days to come. May we eschew the strong tugs of the world that lead to emptiness; but may embrace only those purposes which bring honor to you and to your 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.
