THE PRAYERS,
20th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22, Cycle B (October 7, 2018)
Let us intercede before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of the Church, the world, and one another.
A brief silence
Loving Father, you appointed Jesus not only as our gracious High Priest, but also as our elder brother. Grant that your Church may always be a gathering place for all whom you are gathering into your family Christ. Make it attentive and faithful to your Word. Use it to challenge and comfort to all who struggle with sin and temptation. Let them take heart and cling to Jesus, who was tempted as they are, save without sin – so that they might share his life forever.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Give strength, faith, and holy charity to your persecuted servants. Use them to soften the hearts of their tormentors, and to turn many from scorn and hatred of Christ to true and life-giving faith in him.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We speak of our congregation as a family. Help us to be your family, and to lovingly befriend and mentor those whom you desire to adopt through Holy Baptism. Give us boldness to invite, patience to teach, wisdom to counsel, kindness to embrace, and gentleness to encourage all whom you would have us call sisters and brothers in Christ.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Deal gently with families who are stressed and wounded, especially when divorce seems possible, or has occurred. Help couples to do the hard work of forgiveness, repentance, repair, and renewal, so that what would be so easy to tear asunder might, by your grace, remain joined together according to your will. Heal the bitterness, anger, and spitefulness that poison hearts and lives. And help parents to always be mindful of the welfare of their children, even above their own.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Grant wisdom, integrity, and humility to earthly leaders. Make the welfare of their people more important than their own agenda or status. And teach us to live, so far as it is possible, in peace with one another.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for our military; for police, firefighters, and all who stand in harm’s way on our behalf. Equip them with courage and compassion; competence and fairness; a zeal for justice and a heart for mercy. Bring them home safely and soon when their task is done; and bestow your peace on us all.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Grant that all who suffer in mind, body or spirit may find a ready welcome and deep healing in our Savior’s arms. We pray especially for: {List}. Besides these, we pray for those among us who have been divorced; for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and for all who may find your words about marriage and divorce to be hard or hurtful. Bless, heal, forgive, and love them. Help us to be gentle and humble, that they may firmly believe that we love them too.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Most holy Father, we bless and adore you for your steadfast mercy and loving kindness to your servants who trusted you in this life and are now at rest. Bind us ever more closely to your dear Son by the power of your Holy Spirit, so that we may live all the days of our earthly pilgrimage in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another. And, in your good time, gather us into your eternal family home, where with all the redeemed, we may delight in beholding our Elder Brother and may forever rejoice in your fatherly love.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear our prayers, gracious Father; and answer them in accordance with your will, for the sake of your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
