Prayer of Praise  

(from Psalm 145: 8 & 9, 14 – 21) 

The Lord is loving and merciful,

Slow to become angry and full of constant love.

He is good to everyone,

And has compassion on all He made.

All living things look hopefully to God,

Who gives them food when they need it.

He gives them enough

To satisfy the needs of all.

The LORD is righteous in all He does,

Merciful in His acts.

He is near to those who call to Him,

Who call to Him with sincerity.

He supplies the needs of those who honour Him,

He hears their cries and saves them.

He protects everyone who loves Him,

But sends the wicked to their doom.

I will always praise the LORD;

Let all His creatures praise His holy name.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession 

(Uniting in Worship 1 p 582 & 582 from numbers 6, 7, 8 & 9) 

Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you,

We have sinned in what we have thought and said,

In the wrong we have done,

And in the good we have not done.

We have sinned in ignorance,

We have sinned in weakness,

We have not done your will,

We have followed the desires of our hearts.

We have rebelled against your love,

We have not loved our neighbours.

We confess the things we try to hide from you,

We confess the things we hide from others,

We confess the things we hide from ourselves.

We confess the worry and heartbreak that we have caused others.

We confess our failure to heed the cry of the needy.

We confess those things which we cannot forgive in ourselves.

Merciful God, have mercy upon us,

Forgive us and renew us,

Grant in us an obedient and faithful heart,

So that our life brings honour and glory to you,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Romans 8: 29 & 30) 

We are no longer separated from god, we re God’s children, put right with himself through our faith in the saving work of His son, Jesus Christ.  Having confessed our sins, we have the assurance that god has listened and that god has forgiven us.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

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

We bring to you our prayers for the World around us and for people individually.

God of compassion and mercy, just as you helped Aaron and Moses as they spoke boldly to Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, help us speak up for modern slaves around the world and even in our own back yards.

You gather the outcast, heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds; please bring liberty and freedom to all whose lives are entangled in slavery and trafficking in our world today.  Lift up the downtrodden and tread wickedness into the dust.

(https://www.chausa.org/prayers/cha-prayer-library/prayer/prayer-for-international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery)

We pray for all who are hungry, facing famine, are undernourished, or struggling with failed crops:

that you will ease their suffering and touch the hearts of many to share what they have in abundance with them.

We pray for all who work in or support food pantries:

that their efforts may show the love and compassion of God to those in need.

We pray for all who work the fields or bring food to our tables:

that you will protect them, renew their strength, and make fruitful their labours.

We pray for those who visit and bring nourishment to the sick and homebound:

that they may see Christ in all whom they serve and bring God’s love to those whom they visit.

We pray for the members of all levels of our Governments and Local Councils:

that you will open a new understanding of the issues that they face and help them to work together to serve make better our Society.

We pray for the sick, for those injured in accidents or in their employment:

that you will relieve their pain, restore them to wholeness, and guide all who are caring for them.

We pray for all recovering from natural disasters:

that you will give them strength and help them find the resources to repair and rebuild.

We pray for all who are seeking employment:

that God will give them courage, open new opportunities for them, guide them to settings where their gifts can be fully utilized.

We pray for Peace:

that you will transform hearts so that violence may end and dialogue expanded in areas of conflict throughout the World.

We pray for the Church:

that we may welcome all who hunger for meaning and purpose where they can be nourished by your Word and the Bread of Life.

Copyright © 2020. Joe Milner. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. – https://liturgy.slu.edu/18OrdA080220/ideas_other.html

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