Prayer of Praise: –

(from An Australian Prayer Book p233, Prayers of the Seasons of God’s People Year B pp41 – 44, Invocations and Denedictions p63) 

Eternal God, you are all powerful compared to what we can see and hear in the World around us; you are unlimited compared to our feeble actions, you are infinite compared to our finite qualities.  Majestic God, you are aware of all things, you are ever-present and everywhere, while we are bound by our mortality and Humanity.  Everlasting God, you know all things and are unrestricted in your understanding, while we often fail to grasp the simple meaning in life’s happenings.  Holy God, you are all sufficient, yet you look upon us with love and compassion.  We offer to you our thanks and praise.

  We are blessed by you with all the good things of life.  We are blessed by the supreme gift of your only Son, offering unmerited salvation.  We are blessed by your Holy Spirit, living within us, empowering us to a life of fellowship.  We offer to you our thanks and praise.

  We are honoured to be called your children, honoured to be called to follow you, honoured to be called to a life of service for you, and honoured to have a share in the blessings that you so richly impart.  You call each of us by name and relate to each of us as individuals.  We offer to you our thanks and praise.

  You grant us your peace in this World of turmoil and unrest.  You grant us your peace when events appear to overwhelm us.  You grant us your peace when others oppose us and ridicule us.  We offer to you our thanks and praise.

  Almighty God, you call us to a life of holy living.  By granting us life and empowering us to love and to serve as you have loved and served us, may we bring praise to you and honour to your name by our words, by our thoughts, and by our actions.  To your glory we offer this prayer.  Amen. 

Prayer of Confession   

Merciful God, we compare ourselves with your holiness and your holy standards and find ourselves lacking. 

We think and act and speak in ways that you disapprove and ways that cause you distress. 

We think of our own comforts and pleasures more than we think of our worship of you and our service for you,

more than we think of respect for others and respect for ourselves.  We confess our sin and seek your forgiveness.

We are too ready to listen to gossip and to scandal,

more than our readiness to listen to your soft call to come and to sit beside you.  We confess our sin and seek your forgiveness.

We are too ready to put more value in the words of others or in what is written in daily newspapers and magazines,

more than we put our trust in your Holy Scriptures.  We confess our sin and seek your forgiveness.

We avoid commitment to your will, we are not ready to risk all for your sake, we see service as too costly in time and effort, forgetting that Jesus was willing at all times to meet with the lowest of lepers and to talk with the poorest of paupers. 

We forget that a life of service is a life of blessing as well.  We confess our sin and seek your forgiveness.

Merciful God, please make our ears attentive to your voice and our spirits eager to respond.

Help us to embrace your will and give us strength to follow your call in our lives.  To your glory we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from 1 Corinthians 6: 14) 

The Apostle Paul writes that God raised Jesus Christ from death to redeem the World, and that the same power also raises us.  Having confessed our sins to God, we can trust in God’s promise and in God’s power to forgive us and to cleanse us in His sight.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others 

Sovereign God, we look around us at a World full of distrust and hate, a World that separates people of different races and cultures and backgrounds.  We look at a World in which people use power and violence to abuse others or to gain an unfair advantage in the availability of basic needs and health and education and a means to earn a living. 

May your Church worldwide present the Gospel in such a way as to spread your message of love and generosity and bring light to the dark places in society.

God of compassion, we think of those we know who are ill or incapacitated. 

Please comfort and console them at this time of distress for them; please give strength and energy to those providing care for them, so that their recovery may proceed rapidly.

God of wisdom, we bring to you those in positions of authority and governance in our Nation. 

We pray that they will govern with wisdom and foresight, not with prejudice or ideological bigotry, that they will seek to serve and not to rule, that will have the welfare of people as their priority and not their own prosperity.

Caring God we remember those who have experienced disappointment or conflict in their lives,

may you bless them with your peace, may they find the strength and hope that they require to get them through this dark valley.

Loving God, we pray for those facing a great change in their lives, a change of address, a change of school, a turning point in their career or lifestyle, a need to leave home and all that is familiar and go into care. 

We pray for guidance when they are perplexed with choices.  We pray for support when it all seems so difficult.  We pray for clarity when decisions are to be made.  We pray for comfort when the unknown seems so hard.

We pray for the peoples of Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

  We are thankful for the resilience of the people who remain in their homelands even when they face constant threats and ongoing violence, for the relief and assistance that has been provided to so many, for those who have made a new home for refugees fleeing from these countries, and for those who have worked continually for peace, justice and reconciliation.

  We pray for an end to the violence racking these battlefields of global powers, for political leaders emerging in these countries who will pursue peace, the common good, and Human rights of all groups, for the International community to pursue policies that will result in acceptable, just peace for all involved, and for greater openness to welcoming those displaced or fleeing from these lands, desperately seeking safety and wellbeing.

Prayers

Litany for Iraq

For lasting peace in this ancient land –
from you, O Lord.For wisdom and compassion for all in authority –
from you, O Lord.For comfort of families separated or bereaved –
from you, O Lord.For the release of captives –
from you, O Lord.For safety and security for minority communities—
from you, O Lord.For refreshment for the weary and healing for the sick –
from you, O Lord.For continuing faithfulness of the ancient churches of this land –
from you, O Lord.For tenacity of spirit for small Christian groups –
from you, O Lord.For the mutual enrichment and support of those of different Christian traditions –
from you, O Lord.
You, Lord of all, we confess;
You, Lord Jesus, we glorify;
For you are the life of our bodies
And you are the Saviour of our souls.

The response in the litany and this hymn both come from the Chaldean liturgy. The ancient hymn celebrates Christ the source of resurrection in all situations of death and deprivation. (in: With All God’s People, p. 21 + 22)

Prayer of praise

Christ has been revealed among us.
He who is God is here seated.
The voice of peace has sounded.
The command for the Holy greeting has been given.
The church has become one soul.
The kiss has been given as a full bond.
The adversity has been removed,

and love has been spread among us all.

Now, O you ministers, raising your voice,
give praise in unison,
to the united Godhead
to whom the Seraphim give praise.

(From The Sacred Music and the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, sent by a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Iran)

Prayer of Lament

Our Father in Heaven, holy is your name—
may it be made holy again.
We cry out to you, standing in your presence,
and remembering your promises—
with your own words, Lord God, we declare it:
Syria is your people, Iraq your handiwork.
Yet our hearts have fainted.
We are oppressed.
We need to see your love and forgiveness.

How we need your comfort now—
we need to know your love more than ever.
How long, O Lord?
How long will you leave your people
in this state of weakness, this hole of wickedness?
How long will you leave the work of your hands,
and let the depravities of the evil one flourish?
How long must we be cut off from our loved ones?
How long will we be strangers among the living?
Have mercy on us, O God, have mercy.
Have mercy on your children’s children,
have mercy on those who declare your holy name.

Forgive us every sin, silence our sighing,
and bring the joy of your salvation to our mouths again.
Forgive our complicity with any oppression,
and our years of spiritual famine and faithless fear.
Forgive us, forgive our fathers and mothers,
forgive our friends and leaders, forgive our enemies.
Pour out your Spirit now, O Lord—as it is in heaven,
let your kingdom come.

Give us faith in place of faltering, fuel our hopes,
and let the earth see your glory made new.
Do what we cannot ask for or imagine,
and bring a real and lasting healing to our land.
Open the eyes of the blind, now,
and strike shame and repentance in the hearts of the guilty.
Heal the spirit of your churches,
and let your faithful ones be remembered aright.
Cause the name of Christ to be known,
and let his light bring morning to our night.

Be the same to us, O God, as you were
to the Israelites in the Exodus, and in the wilderness of Sinai.
So that gardens of peace would grow in these wastelands of war,
and that your name be lifted high.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
we pray this—
One God forever and ever praised.  Amen.

(by Naji Umran)

(https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/prayer-cycle/iran-iraq-syria)

We pray for Manaksha, the principal of Vadathorasalur Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in India, as he continues to work at creating long-term sustainability for the Centre, praying that the new initiatives and programs will successfully meet this objective.

We pray for the students of this Vocational Training Centre, that they will work hard to gain qualifications and to find sustainable livelihoods.

We pray for Natalie Smith and her staff in Papua New guinea as they work in often hard-to-reach communities, for the safety of the staff, and for that those affected by leprosy will find ready access to the support they need.

We give thanks for the new UN Special Rapporteur on leprosy Dr. Beatriz Miranda Galarza, as she advocates alongside people affected by leprosy to break down barriers to participation including isolation and violations of their human rights.

We pray for participants in the Improved Leprosy Services (ILS) project in Timor L’este that they will have regular access to treatment and the opportunity to learn appropriate self care to ensure the best possible health outcomes for themselves.

We pray for the wellbeing and safety of ILS staff who support the Timor L’este National Leprosy Control Program to work towards strengthening the health system in leprosy detection, diagnosis, and management.

We give thanks for the Integrated Mobilisation of People for Active Community Transformation (IMPACT) team in Nepal.  We pray that more people will have self-confidence, improved livelihoods, meaningful employment, and increased inclusion in their communities.

  (The%20Leprosy%20Mission%20January%202024%20Prayers.pdf)

We pray for Gospel outcomes and safety for the Teen Ranch Adventure Camp running in mid-January and for the group of young people from SRE/ CRI classes in the central west and New England regions of NSW who will attend, along with their school chaplains and SRE/CRI teachers.

We pray for the prayer retreats happening in Far North Qld on 15 to16 January, and our Reef and Beef Retreat on 15 to 17 January, that our Chappies are well rested as we press into God’s presence, preparing to head back to school.

We pray for more volunteer NSW SRE teachers to teach God’s word in the State’s Primary Schools, praying that every class will have a teacher this year and that no child who has been enrolled for SRE will miss out.

We pray for the NSW team of Chaplains and SRE Teachers as they meet up online to network and pray for God to guide them as they serve our 20 school communities in the year ahead.

(SU%20SEQ-Prayer-Guide-DEC23-FEB24.pdf)

We pray for those who plan to undertake Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School in the new year.  Guide them in their preparation for the words to say and the approach to take with the children in their classes. 

We pray for Kylie Conomos, the Scripture Union Chaplain at Bald Hills State School, as she rests during these holidays before returning in the new school year to address the concerns and needs of children, parents and teachers at the school.

We pray for those who we have not seen for some time and who are unable to attend worship. Please guide and comfort them in their particular circumstances.  May they be aware of your care for them as they meet what each new day brings.

Lord God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your lovingkindness.  To your glory we pray.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,

Now and forever.  Amen.