Prayer of Praise  

(from Uniting in Worship Red Book p290, An Aust Prayer Book p184, The Book of worship pp35 to 38, Invocations & Benedictions p106, Opening Prayers p9, A Year of Prayer pp244 to 245) 

  Almighty and majestic God, we look in wonder at your Creation.  We marvel at your handiwork, at the intellect behind the design in Nature and the interrelatedness in the natural world.  We are in awe of your power to hold the Galaxy together in the seemingly infiniteness of Space.  We recognise your control even over the waves crashing onto the seashore and the thundering storms overhead.

  We thank you God for your patience, for you care, for the way you enfold your arms around us as we journey through life.  We thank you for the lessons of life that you impart to us, for the wisdom and understanding that you bring to our lives.

  All Nations sing your praise, Almighty God, all Peoples sing of your merciful kindness, because of the great hope that is represented in the incarnate Jesus Christ, your Word clothed in our likeness.  For in Christ we see the brightness of your glory and the fullness of your love for your Creation.  For in Christ we see the blessing that is ours because you walk with us and share every minute of our lives.

    Yet God, you seek to be with us, you seek to communicate with us and to relate with us, though we are feeble and prone to error.  You seek intimacy with each one of us, though we are so different in many ways.

    We praise you God that you are in control.  You are in control of the future, of our futures.  We praise you because you continue to call each one of us to come, to come to you in love, to come with you as you lead us into the dark and unknown future.  We praise you because you are the one person in whom we can put our whole trust, knowing that you will never leave us nor allow us to feel alone or unwanted.

    We worship you today, Almighty God, and offer to you our utmost praise and thanks.  May you be glorified and honoured all the days of our life and for Time everlasting.  Amen.

Prayer of Confession 

(from Uniting in Worship Red Book p290, An Aust Prayer Book p184, The Book of worship pp35 to 38, Invocations and Benedictions p106) 

  Merciful God, we remember at this time your purpose in sending the Light upon the Earth, that is, to open the eyes of the sinful to your condemnation, and to reveal to those living in the darkness of sin the despair of continuing in such a lifestyle.  We too acknowledge that we are no different to those of the World.  We confess that we too transgress your Law of Love and Obedience. 

  Merciful God, we humble ourselves before you, knowing how prone we are to wander from your pathway, knowing how easily we let go of your hand and seek to go our own way.

  There are so many things in life that we allow to clamour for our attention and to distract us.  But we fail to hear the soft calling of your voice, seeking us to come and sit quietly beside you.  We confess our neglect and ask for your forgiveness.

  We rush about with our daily tasks.  We hurry to do the things that we feel need to be finished, or the things that give us excitement.  But we fail to heed the call to spend time with others.  We fail to recognise the need in another’s life, the need for comfort, for companionship, for a hand to hold theirs.  We confess our neglect and ask for your forgiveness.

  Often we find ourselves in something unfamiliar or unknown.  Often we tend to trust in our own abilities and strengths to get us out of trouble or to guide us out of a dark place, instead of reaching out and searching for your hand to hold. We confess our neglect and ask for forgiveness.

  Merciful god, our guilt and disgrace before you is without question, and you stand in judgement before us.  Take away our sins and renew our souls, so that we may know the joy of sins forgiven and of our spirits being in fellowship with You.  Have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to listen to your voice and to follow your commands.  Steady our erratic and error-prone walk so that we may be conformed to Christ’s likeness.  May our lives thus honour you better than our tongues are able.  May we know with assurance the righteousness that is ours because you have loved us so dearly and have bought our reconciliation by the cross and death of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  Loving and merciful God, forgive us; open our ears and our hearts to receive your call to follow and to obey.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

(from Ephesians 3: 11 & 12)  

  The Apostle Paul writes to the Church in Ephesus that God achieved His secret Plan for the World through Jesus Christ, in that, in union with Christ and through our faith in him, we can boldly seek to be in the very presence of God, with our sins have been forgiven and having been cleansed of all unrighteousness.  Let us accept what Paul says at face value and with total confidence, and we should act upon Paul’s words, for indeed, God has forgiven our sins and God has cleansed us of all that is unrighteous and displeasing to Him

  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, that we may recognize our calling to be your daughters and sons, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to manifest your love and compassion through our words and deeds.

We pray for understanding, that we may learn from Jesus how to be fully Human and place all our gifts and talents into your service.

We pray for a renewal of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that you will stir up the gift of the Spirit within us, make us strong in our faith and dynamic in our love.

We pray for a deepening of prayer in our lives: that, like Jesus, we may grow in our relationship with you through prayer and listening.

We pray for courage, that you will strengthen us to bear the challenges of daily life and thus give witness to your faithfulness.

We pray for all who have been baptized in our community, particularly those during this last year: that they may be faithful disciples of Jesus and continue to grow in their knowledge and love of you.

We pray for all who have responded to your call to ministry, that you will strengthen them, make fruitful their service, and empower them with the Holy Spirit.

We pray for all who need a shepherd’s care, that you will provide for those lacking food or heat, guide refugees and those fleeing violence, and bring freedom to those unjustly detained.

We pray for all who are making vocational choices, that the Holy Spirit will guide them in responding to you guiding and directing.

We pray for all who have experienced abuse or discrimination, that they may hear your affirmation that they are beloved and that they will experience healing for their bodies, minds, and spirits.

We pray for all who have suffered persecution or discrimination for proclaiming the Gospel and living out their life of faith.  Strengthen them, bring them through their times of difficulty.  Convict those who display hatred and opposition towards your Church of their error and ultimately of the hatred that they are displaying towards you.  Convince them that it is you who represent what is truth and life giving.

We pray for all who are sick, that you will heal those who are ill, bring an end to the Covid pandemic, and sustain all who care for the sick.

We pray for all young adults who attend worship, that they may respond to your invitations to build up the Christian community and to participate in the mission of the Church.

We pray for a new dawning of peace and reconciliation, that those who strive for peace may not tire and that you will open new opportunities for opponents to recognize the good in one another.

We pray that you will guide those whom you have chosen to be your agents in places of authority, that they may rule with justice and integrity, and break down barriers to truth and honesty.

Copyright © 2021. Joe Milner. All rights reserved.<br> Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. – https://liturgy.slu.edu/

[Raymond Chapman in Leading Intercessions p90 & 91, David Hostetter in Prayers for the Seasons of god’s People Year C p36]

  We pray for the people of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine, during this time of increasing hostility within these nations and of increasing uncertainty about the future.  We pray for those who unceasingly work for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land, that you will encourage them and strengthen their efforts.  We pray for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, that it will achieve its goals of growing harmony and cooperation where hostility and suspicion now exist.  We pray for those who continue to welcome the multitudes of refugees in their lands, that they will see positive results from their work.

We pray for an ending the violence racking this region, that the people might live together in peace, security and respect for each other those who have grown weary and disillusioned in searching for solutions.  We pray for an end to religious differences being exploited to perpetuate conflict and further displacement of people.  We pray for political leaders who will courageously bring about justice and reconciliation for the sake of all.

Grant to all our leaders attributes of the strong; mutual respect in word and deed, restraint in the exercise of power, and the will for peace with justice, for all.

We pray for the Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital and the Christian Leprosy Mission in Eastern Shan province in Myanmar, please bless them and their work.  We pray for the success of an Early Childhood Intervention Pilot model, which is running in two townships in Myanmar.  We pray  for TLM Myanmar’s prosthesis, orthotics and orthopaedic shoes team & mobile workshops as they continue production and services for people affected by leprosy and persons with disabilities.  We pray for the successful completion of the workshop building and the installation of the machines and equipment.  We pray for a settling of the political situation in Myanmar, so that the work of treating leprosy is not hindered.  We pray for TLM Myanmar Staff as they commit to serving the community, may they be kept them safe from Covid-19.  We pray for the churches in Myanmar, that they will be more serious about the inclusion of leprosy and disability in their worship programmes. We pray for our Board Members and our Senior Leadership Team as they serve and govern TLM Myanmar.  We pray for MAPAL, the Myanmar Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy, for the different MAPAL groups across 15 places in Myanmar, that they will each be a blessing to their communities.

Partner in Prayer

We pray for all Scripture Union school chaplains that they will rest and recuperate during the school holidays so that they are refreshed and encouraged to face the tasks and challenges of the 2022 school year.

We pray for the success of the presentation of the Gospel at Scripture Union camps and beach missions over the school holidays.  We pray for the safety of the leaders and those who attend the activities.

We pray for those who provided Religious Instruction at Bald Hills State School during 2021, that you will encourage them to continue to lead their weekly classes in 2022.  May the Holy Spirit work in the hearts and minds of the children who were in these classes during 2021, that they will come to an understanding of the truths of the Gospel and respond to the message of your love and grace for them.

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