Prayers for the week commencing Sunday 6th June 2021

Servicing the Bald Hills and nearby Communities

Prayers for the week commencing Sunday 6th June 2021

Prayer of Praise

 (from Psalm 138: 1 to 8) 

I thank you, God, with all my heart,

I sing praises of your greatness and glory to all the World.

I worship you, God, and bow down before you,

I sing praises of your constant love and faithfulness.

You answered me when I called to you,

You give new strength to my soul.

The Kings and Leaders of the Nations on Earth must acknowledge your authority and call you Lord,

For they recognise the wisdom of your words and the justice of your decisions.

Though you are God Almighty, yet you care for the lowly,

And the proud are humbled before you.

You preserve me amidst all of my troubles,

You deliver me by your power.

You will accomplish all that you set out to do,

You will not leave any of your tasks unfinished.

O Lord, your love for us is steadfast,

And it endures forever.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession 

(from Liturgies On-Line Year B Pentecost 2) 

Merciful God, you continually challenge us to become the people you seek for us to be, through the life of your Spirit within us.  You continually challenge us to look at ourselves in the light of your instructions and guidelines, yet often we do not listen to you and choose to look the other way.

For those times when our conduct does not live up to your standards for us,

Merciful God, forgives us.

For those times when we do not speak loudly enough against the gods of sport and shopping, that attract people away from gathering for a time of worship of you,

Merciful God, forgives us.

For those habits of ours that are destructive of our relationship with you and of our relationships with others,

Merciful God, forgives us.

For our lack of involvement in easing the troubles and discomfort of the needy,

Merciful God, forgives us.

For our wantonness in leaving others to do all of the work you seek for the Church to do,

Merciful God, forgives us.

For our willingness to criticise others unjustly and to question their abilities,

Merciful God, forgives us.

God of mercy and grace, we confess our sins and our shortcomings.

We confess our wanting to follow our will and not to seek for your Will to be done, in our lives and in the life of the Church.

God of mercy and grace, cleanse our lives from sin,

Restore us to a right relationship with you.  Strengthen us to be your People and to be a light for the World.  To your glory we pray, amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness  (from Mark 3: 28) 

Jesus said to his disciples, “I assure you that people can be forgiven of all of their sins and of all of the evil things they may say.”  Having confessed our sins before God, let us take comfort in these words of Jesus, knowing that having confessed our sins before God, we are forgiven and our souls are cleansed in His sight.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

Let us come before God with our cares and our concerns.

Almighty God, we pray for the Church, of many members but yet the one body, that we may grow in unity and love as we manifest Christ’s saving love in the world.

We pray for grateful hearts, that we may grow in our awareness of all your blessings and make use of all the opportunities that we have to use them.

We pray for strength of spirit, that we may embrace the sufferings and challenges of life with courage and allow you to lead us through them to new life.

We pray for all who are being persecuted for the faith, that your Word and the love of fellow Christians may bring them strength and support.

We pray for all who are hungry, particularly refugees and those displaced by violence, that God will move others to provide them with food for their bodies and friendship for their spirits.

We pray for your guidance in keeping the waters of the World free from chemicals and other pollutants, so that the Human family and all your creatures may have safe water for drinking.

We pray for all who are suffering, that you will help the unemployed to find work, open resources to the homeless, protect run away children, and free those experiencing abuse.

We pray for Christian Unity, that you will heal the wounds and mistrust between Christians, and help them work together for your glory.

We pray that you will curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus, that people will implement measures to hinder the spread of infections, and that the provision of vaccinations will be widespread around the world.  We pray for a ready supply of oxygen where it is needed, of a ready supply of personal protective equipment for medical and nursing staff, and of the availability of equipment and facilities for the treatment of seriously ill patients.

We pray for healing for those who are ill, and for the restoring of health for those who are injured.  Please give guidance and insight to those providing medical and nursing care.

We pray that you will remove the divisions in the Human family, that tensions between Nations will be replaced by cooperation, that differences between neighbours will be replaced by a sense of community, and that conflicts within families will be replaced by humility and forgiveness. Copyright © 2021. Joe Milner. All rights reserved.<br> Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.  https://liturgy.slu.edu/

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 so as to cope with what each day presents.

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