Prayers for the week commencing Sunday 28th April 2024

Prayer of Praise

(from Psalm 25)

It is to you, Almighty God, that I offer a prayer of praise, for you have shown your kindness through remembering and meeting our needs, for you have shown your goodness through the blessings that you lavish upon us daily.

It is to you, Almighty God, that I offer a prayer of thanks, for you have shown how you protect us from the deceitfulness of Satan, for you have sustained us in our times of stress.

It is to you, Almighty God, that I offer a prayer of gratitude, for you have provided solutions for our seemingly insolvable problems, for you have provided the direction that we needed when we were bewildered.

It is to you, Almighty God, that I offer a prayer of adoration, for through your grace you offer us a pathway to the forgiveness of our sins, for through your mercy you have shown us the way to be reconciled to you.

It is to you, Almighty God, that I offer a prayer of dedication; may I always have reverence for you because of your faithfulness towards all of Humanity, may I always put my trust in your power to save us and to deliver us from evil and the power of sin, may I put my hope in your constant love for each of us to preserve us in this life and in the life to come with you for eternity.

To you, Almighty God, be all glory and honour, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

(from Psalm 25: 9, 13, 16 – 18; 26: 2 – 5; 27: 12 and 28: 3)

Merciful God, you have examined me and tested me,

You have judged my desires and my thoughts.

Merciful God, you have seen where I have deliberately disobeyed you and have intentionally turned away from you,

You have seen where I have been negligent and careless in my words and actions and decisions.

For those times when I have not been humble in my attitude and have boasted of the blessings that you have graced upon me as if they were the works of my own hands,

Merciful God, forgive me.

For those times when my words were friendly while my heart was full of envy or anger,

Merciful God, forgive me.

For those times when I was silent because that was more convenient than speaking the truth or owning up to an error,

Merciful God, forgive me.

For those times when I was in distress and suffering but, instead of trusting in your care, chose instead to wallow in self-pity and to seek comfort elsewhere,

Merciful God, forgive me.

For those times when I have abandoned my friends and neighbours in times of their need because of the perceived cost to my time and energy,

Merciful God, forgive me.

For those times when I hoarded my prosperity rather than share it with those who were seeking mercy from me,

Merciful God, forgive me.

Because of your constant love and grace please forgive my sins,

Relieve me of the burden of my transgressions and errors,

Turn to me Lord, be merciful to me and forgive me,

Remove from me all that displeases you, save me from all that is worthless and wicked in my life, so that I may again rest in your peace and faithfully follow your guidance. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

(1 John 4: 10)

The Apostle John tells us that God loves us and sent His son Jesus to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. Let us hold onto that truth, and trust that, having confessed our sins to God, He has indeed forgiven us and reconciled us to Himself.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Merciful God we hear of much distress in the World, of floods and tornadoes, droughts and famine, and outbreaks of diseases.

Please give comfort to those who have lost members of their family through these events. Please support those who endeavour to give support to others.

Merciful God, we pray for the leaders of our Nation,

may they strive to alleviate the needs of people rather than strive to increase the power and profits of Corporations or of Unions.

May they seek to co-operate to develop solutions to problems rather than contend with each other to find the way to be re-elected back into Government.

May they strive for the welfare of people rather than to have power and influence and prestige.

We pray for an end to wars and the threat of wars,

we pray that leaders of Nations will remember the lessons of History that wars do not build things up but always tear things down,

that wars do not achieve peace and stability but create only death and destruction, suffering and loss, pain and hardship.

May there be a lasting peace and reconciliation between nations and comfort for families who have been separated by war and tension.

Merciful God, we pray for the needy in our Society. We pray for those who are ill or sick.

Please bring healing and wholeness to their lives.

We pray for those who have lost hope and meaning.

Please give them purpose and peace of mind.

We pray for those who struggle to make ends meet and to pay for the next meal.

Please lead us to find solutions for them to their problems and a way forward.

Merciful God, we pray for those members of our armed forces who are serving overseas to bring peace to troubled parts of the World or who are striving to inhibit the illegal transport of drugs and arms.

Please give them the resolve to undertake their duties. Please support the chaplains who endeavour to provide guidance and comfort to them in times of distress.

Merciful God, we pray for your Church that it may be guided to seek and to do your will and purpose in the World.

May it act with integrity and fairness, and not with prejudice or in judgement.

May it be the voice calling people to live lives of purity and goodness as you decree and not as Society sees fit.

May it be a voice calling people to repent and to return to right worship of you.

Loving God, we pray for the Church, that we may continually draw life from Christ and bear a rich harvest of virtues and Christian values for your glory.

We pray for the grace to surrender all to you, that you will help us to let go of those things which need to be pruned so that your life and love may blossom in our lives.

We pray for all who are experiencing pruning through loss, transition, or change, that you will give them strength, guide them, and help them find courage and support through fellow believers.

We pray for all who feel cut off from you, from friends, from themselves, or from life itself, that you will show them how they are connected and from whom they can draw life.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to give witness to the good news of your love in deeds of loving service and justice.

We pray for all who are ill, that Christ, the source of all life, will ease their pain, heal their illness, and restore them to their loved ones.

We pray for Christians facing persecution, that you will give them strength, wisdom to overcome obstacles, and the grace to forgive their persecutors.

We pray for all communities overwhelmed by the Covid-19 virus, particularly in India, that you will slow the spread of the virus, give strength to all caregivers, and open opportunities for the distribution of vaccines.

We pray for all bound by guilt, that the Holy Spirit will free them and give them strength to trust in God’s love and forgiveness.

We pray for an end to violence in our communities, that you will turn hearts from destructive deeds, that you will open pathways for dialogue, and that you will protect the innocent from harm.

We pray for the peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

We are thankful for the long history of Christianity in these lands, for Christians and Muslims who have witnessed to their faith during long years of repression and persecution, for positive developments these countries have undergone since the end of the Soviet era, and for those who pursue peace and reconciliation in the face of old suspicions and animosities.

We pray for greater respect for the human rights of all the peoples living in these countries, for just changes for those living in situations of poverty and discrimination, for the healing of past wrongs and distorted memories of what has occurred, for a prophetic witness of the churches in relation to new challenges, and for the Georgian Orthodox Church, that it may rediscover a rich relationship with the family of churches worldwide.

Prayer at the Armenian Genocide Memorial

O triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

We cry to you, with deep pain in our hearts and souls for our Armenian brothers and sisters, children, adults, and elders that were persecuted, robbed, exiled and killed during the Armenian genocide. They suffered because of their ethnic origin and because of their Christian faith, becoming victims of hate, intolerance, abuse and ethnic and religious purge. As Christians that follow your commandments to forgive our debtors and to love our neighbours, we pray to You to offer peaceful rest to the souls of the victims and to heal the wounds of their descendants. We are reminded of what Christ has said, “I am the Resurrection and I am the Life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25)

We pray for the recognition of this genocide by the descendants of those that initiated, planned and committed it and for the establishment of the historical truth regarding the genocide, for You taught us that the truth will make us free. (John 8:32) We pray for peace and reconciliation between the descendants of the murderers and victims for You are the God of forgiveness.

God, you created us to be stewards of life and community. Help the Armenian community to continue building their country in peace and contribute to the respect and confidence between peoples and nations. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

You are not the accuser, but the liberator,
not the destroyer, but the rescuer,
not the executioner, but the saviour,
not the scatterer, but the gatherer,
not the traitor, but the deliverer.
You do not pull down, but lift up.
You do not knock down, but stand upright.
You do not curse, but bless.
You do not take revenge, but give grace.
You do not torment, but comfort.
You do not erase, but write.
You do not shake, but steady.
You do not trample, but console.
You do not invent the causes of death,
but seek the means to preserve life.
You do not forget to help.
You do not abandon the good.
You do not withhold compassion.
You do not bring the sentence of death,
but the legacy of life.
You are not opposed for your generosity.
You are not blasphemed for your grace.
You are not cursed for your bounty.
You are not insulted for your free gifts.
You are not mocked for your patience.
You are not blamed for your pardon.
You are not accused for your goodness.
You are not dishonoured for your sweetness.
You are not despised for your meekness.
For these, we send not complaints,
but gratitude that cannot be silenced.
Take away my sins, Almighty.
Remove the curse from me, blessed.
Pardon my debts, merciful.
Erase my transgressions, compassionate.
Extend your hand of deliverance
and I will instantly be made perfect.
What is easier than this for you Lord,
and what is more important to you?
Thus, providential Lord, revive me,
made in your image and brought to life by your breath,
in order to renew the breath of your pure
enlightening grace, protecting my sinful soul.

Prayer from the Sunrise Office of the Armenian Church

O Light!Divine and one Holy Trinity,we who are born of the earth glorify you always,together with the heavenly hosts.At the rising of the morning light,shine forth upon our souls your intelligible light.

English transl. Archbishop Tiran Nersoya, New York, Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, 1969. Let us Pray to the Lord, ed. George Lemopolos, WCC, 1996, p.2.

We thank you God for the literacy program established by the Pakistan Bible Society teaching women to read and write. We pray that participants will quickly embrace these teachings and be impacted by God’s word, that partner churches will continue to respond positively to the program, and for the wisdom and safety of the Pakistan Bible Society staff on this project.

We praise you God for women like Shaina* who are learning to read through the Pakistan’s Bible Society Bible-based literacy project. Shaina shares, “I joined the class just as a fun in the start but as I became involved, I learned that the education changed my lifestyle. I feel that I have developed self-confidence and now I can speak boldly with other people.”

We pray for the All About Life campaign in Rwanda, aiming to mobilise churches to reach their communities with the gospel, and serving as a healing tool for people suffering trauma. We thank you God that African Enterprise is helping people experience a personal relationship with Jesus and pray for the effectiveness of the planned workshops and outreach events.

We pray for the Auslan Bible translation project, for your continued guidance as the committee regularly meet and make plans. We pray too for more team members, especially for more Deaf translators. We pray for good health for the team, and for your protection over them as they grow this ministry to the Australian Deaf community.

We thank you God for literacy work taking place worldwide through the Bible Society, and for the Global Literacy Coordination project run by the United Bible Societies (UBS) Global Mission team which continues to provide support for the work. We pray for their plans to develop regional strategies this year, and that they may effectively support French and Spanish-speaking Bible Societies. We pray also for the Literary Officers as they uphold the work.

We pray that you will work through the Bibles distributed to kids with cancer through the ‘Hope and Smile for Children with Cancer’ project run by the Bible Society of Nicaragua. We thank you God too for the regular spiritual support provided, and that these families have been given the opportunity to know his word. We pray that they will continue to seek you in prayer and trust you in every situation. (Bible%20Society%20Prayer%20Letter%20April%202024.pdf Bible%20Society%20Prayer%20Letter%20May%202024.pdf)

We pray for those who undertake Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School in the coming weeks. 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 addresses the concerns and needs of children, parents and teachers at the Bald Hills State School.

We pray for those who we have not seen for some time and who are unable to attend worship regularly. 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. Amen.