Prayers for the week commencing Sunday 3rd July 2022

Prayer of Praise: –

(adapted from Spirit in Australian Prayers p61)

Spirit of God, active in Creation,

Spirit of majesty.

Spirit of Jesus, mediating in Heaven for us,

Spirit of love.

Spirit of holiness, present with us in the Church,

Spirit of life.

We rejoice in your presence around us and in us, through the Gospel of Christ,

like wind on our faces, and breath in our lungs. We praise you.

We rejoice in your power to give new birth and new life,

like fire, warmth and radiance, like life in dormant seedlings bursting forth in spring. We praise you.

We rejoice in your accepting us, ceaselessly seeking us,

freely treasuring us every new morning with love older than mountains or the distant stars. We praise you.

Creator Spirit, life-giving Spirit, nurturing Spirit,

We praise you for your compassion, for your love, for your mercy. We offer our adoration and worship, now and always. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Come to us God of peace, come with Your healing and reconciling power.

For we acknowledge that people are prone to act out of fear and not out of trust, that Nations seek comfort and security behind weapons of war and hate, and see gentleness only as a sign of weakness. Forgive us Lord and heal us.

Come to us God of justice, come with Your righteous judgements and mercy.

For we acknowledge that the cries of the oppressed throughout the World often go unnoticed, and the suffering of the poor and needy in our Land often goes unnoticed. Forgive us Lord and heal us.

Come to us God of love, come with Your extravagant kindness and Your goodness.

For we acknowledge that the love that You have for people of every race and culture is not always reflected in how people are treated by those with whom they share the very Earth in which we all live. Forgive us Lord and heal us.

Come to us God of unity, come with Your forgiveness and Your healing grace.

For we acknowledge that we live in a divided World in which few seek reconciliation with their neighbour, in which few seek to forgive real or imagined wrongs but instead hoard their feelings of resentment and their desires for revenge. Forgive us Lord and heal us.

We come, God of hope, as Your pilgrim people, on our journey to Your Kingdom.

We come in penitence, seeking Your forgiveness and asking for Your guidance, so that we can live humble and obedient lives to the glory of Your name. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

(from Psalm 30: 2)

The Psalmist declares that they cried out to the Lord for help, and He provided healing and wholeness. We, too, can rest assured that having cried out to God seeking help because of our sin, we know that God has heard our prayer, and that god has answered us with sins forgiven and souls cleansed in His sight.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Almighty God, knowing your love for all of Humanity, especially your compassion for the needy, we come to you with our cares and our concerns.

We pray for the Church, that we may freely share the gifts that you have given us, be open to receive the gifts that others have, and trust that you will sustain us each day.

We pray for the grace to embrace the cross, that we may accept the sufferings of life and allow them to transform us into new creations in Christ.

We pray for recognition and affirmation of gifts, that the Spirit will show us the gifts that are present in one another and give us wisdom in calling these forth into your service.

We pray for wisdom, that we may recognize the personal, communal, and social “wolves” that distract us from following Christ and be open to your inspiration and guidance.

We pray for deeper trust, that we may rely more fully on your providence and less on our possessions and status.

We pray for courage, that we may never be entrapped by our possessions but remain free to use them in our service of you and neighbour.

We pray for missionaries and relief workers, that you will renew their spirits, give them courage, and enable them to travel forward in the service of others.

We pray for all who strive to hand on the faith, that you will inspire parents, teachers, and preachers to share the Good News effectively and dynamically with all whom they encounter.

We pray for lay people who have assumed leadership of the Church’s ministries, that the Spirit will guide them in continuing the work of Jesus in pastoral service, education, healthcare, or social service, and in bringing forth your reign today.

We pray for each of us, that we may hear your call and share in the mission of the Church by bringing hope, relieving burdens, and offering compassionate understanding to all who touch our lives.

We pray for parents who are preparing to send a child out on their own, that you will help them to trust in your love and care for their child and that the Spirit will help these young people to remember the values that they have learned.

We pray for all cities burdened by violence and destruction, that your compassionate care will inspire people to work for the restoration of neighbourhoods and communities and restore hope to all who are struggling against crime and poverty.

We pray for all who long for freedom, that you will open a way for those with addictions, held unjustly, fleeing violence, or entrapped by poverty or illiteracy and help them to begin a new life.

We pray for all who are suffering, that you will open new paths for dialogue between conflicting parties, speed food to those who face famine, guide and strengthen those who strive against oppression, and give peace to those who are grieving.

We pray for all youth, that you will protect them from danger and harm during these holidays and help them to develop their skills and talents through their education.

We pray for the people of Kenya and Tanzania. We are thankful for the abundant wildlife, natural resources and people indigenous to these countries and that they are protected, not exploited; for the literacy rate in Kenya, the highest in Africa, and for the schools that churches and their partners support and sustain in both countries; for the faithful witness of the churches in their communities, and in building positive relationships with those of other faiths, and for the persons and organizations who meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees from other African countries.

We pray for greater tolerance between Christians and Muslims as they work together to improve the lives of all people; for youth, that they not succumb to radicalization but are prepared to sustain their lives and communities, for all victims of violence, especially sexual or gender-based violence, and all who are marginalized or excluded from communities, for those who are most vulnerable to climate change and drought, that they may have clean water to drink and for their crops and animals to flourish, and for economic growth and trade that benefits all the people.

In all seasons, let peace prevail

Dear Lord,
We thank you for the gift of peace. It’s a gift that only you can give.
Lord, we are living in great turmoil – hunger, disease, poverty and tears.
The cost of living has gone so high; there is so much desperation and despair.
Lord, your children are crying out to you – hearken unto us and bring forth a breakthrough.
We pray that above all we will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you are in control. May we be still and know that you are God who never fails.
We stand on your promises that you have a good plan for us – one of prosperity and not harm.
We pray that as we go through the various seasons of our lives – the ups and downs – that your perfect peace will prevail through all things.
We place our assurance on you knowing that you are above all things and in you all things hold together.
Be glorified Lord. Arise and take your place.
Amen.

God of Hope,

whose Spirit gives light and power to your people,
empower us to witness to your name in all nations,
to struggle for your own justice
against all principalities and powers
and to persevere with faith and humour
in the tasks that you have given to us.
Without you we are powerless.
Therefore we cry together:
Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus.
And grant that we may with one voice and one heart
glorify and sing praise to the majesty of your holy Name,
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

(“An Invitation to Prayer” at the opening of the fifth assembly of the World Council of Churches, Nairobi, 1975.)

We rise up in the morning before the day, to take ourselves to labour, to
prepare our harvest. Protect us from the dangerous animal and from the
serpent, and from every stumbling block.
Boora Punnu [God], you alone have created us and given us the capacity
to feel hunger, so we need grain and we must have fertile fields.

Kenya, Tanzania | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)

We pray for Zero leprosy, which is only possible if we interrupt transmission. We pray for the studies taking place in the Mycobacterial Research Laboratories at Anandaban Hospital, Nepal and the Stanley Browne Laboratory in Delhi, India, to find easy-to-use, affordable diagnostic tests for use by community health workers. We pray for the TLM team in Nigeria, in partnership with CBM and the University of Jos, which is trialling the implementation of new tools and interventions to improve the mental health of people with neglected tropical diseases, including leprosy. We pray for our Global Research Advisor, Dr Deanna Hagge, as she represents The Leprosy Mission at international research forums, and coaches and mentors other researchers. We pray for the development and testing of new drugs for leprosy and its complications, including alternative regimens for post exposure prophylaxis and drugs with fewer side effects for the treatment of reaction. We pray for the International Leprosy Congress will take place in India. By your grace, TLM researchers will be there to present their studies. We pray for them as they prepare papers and posters.

(The Leprosy Mission Prayer Diary 2022)

We pray for the work of Uniting World towards the easier access to clean water supplies in isolated rural communities in Papua New Guinea which affects the lives of women and children the most, with both the burden of carrying water and the incidence of water-borne diseases.

We pray for the work of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe through the Methodist Development & Relief Agency, to help ensure that people who can’t read are receiving important health information, to help with the tracking of potential COVID-19 cases in the communities, and as they work within and collaborating with the Ministry of Health to ensure that health clinic services are provided where needed.

We pray for the projects in Timor Leste involving the delivering of community health programs providing health education about hand washing and good hygiene in preventing COVID-19. We pray for the projects aimed at reducing the rates in the population of people suffering from tuberculosis and diarrhoea.

We pray for those projects that provide communities with health and nutrition education and access to clean water, latrines and healthy food, which reduces malnutrition and disease and promotes healthy living.

(https://unitingworld.org.au/what-we-do/our-projects/)

We pray for the success of holiday programs run by Scripture Union, that the leaders are well prepared and supported, and that those children and youth who attend are enthusiastic about participating in the activities and about in learning about their relationship with you.

We pray for the success of chaplaincy in-service days, that those who attend are encouraged and better equipped to serve their communities.

SU Prayer Guide June 2022

We pray for the young family at Bald Hills who recently lost their father and husband in a vehicle accident. Please be with them in their grief and loss. May they be aware of your comforting presence.

We pray for the Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School, that your Holy Spirit may be at work in the minds and hearts of the children who attend.

We pray for Kylie Conomos, the Chaplain at Bald Hills State School, that you will guide her as her interacts with the pupils and children at the School, that she will be aware of needs and of how to respond, that she is refreshed physically and spiritually refreshed over these school holidays so as to cope with what each day presents when school recommences.

We pray for the Deception Bay Congregation, for your guidance and insight for them with their call for a new Minister of the Word.

We thank you for Jillian and her work with the Church Council and the people of the Congregation to clarify our vision and mission goals as your people in the Bald Hills area. We pray for your blessing on the deliberations of those on Church Council as they continue to consider how the Congregation is to move forward in the future.

We pray for those who we have not seen for some time and who are unable to attend worship, especially for Hazel, and for Heather. 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.

Loving God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your compassion and care. To your glory we pray.

Amen