PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, Cycle C: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Proper 2, January 27, 2019
Let us draw near to the Throne of Grace, offering prayer and supplication on behalf of the Church, the world, and one another.
A brief silence
Lord God, thank you for your Word, given to us as Holy Scripture as the sure foundation for our life as your beloved community. Thank you for your Word made flesh in your well-beloved and only Son, Jesus Christ. Shape us more perfectly into his image. Send us with your Word of life to all who are blinded by the distractions of life, deafened by the voices of pleasure and power, lamed by the sufferings of life, imprisoned by sin, and impoverished in body, mind, or spirit.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Make your Church a place where all your Word – Law and Gospel, lament and praise, history and exhortation – are faithfully proclaimed, eagerly heard, and gladly heeded. We pray also for our sisters and brothers who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake. Do not let us despise or ignore their suffering or their testimony. Say to them, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Build up the Body of Christ in this congregation. Help us to claim, develop and share the gifts you have given each of us; to encourage and rejoice in the gifts of others, whether those gifts seem small or great to us. Let all be done to glorify you and to share your mercy with those around us.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray, therefore, on behalf of shut-ins, the physically and mentally challenged, the frail, and all those of our congregation and acquaintance whose gifts are often overlooked or despised, even by themselves. Grant that, following our Lord’s example, we may honor them; and that we may rejoice together as fellow members of his Body.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Teach your commandments and precepts to all who take counsel for the nations; to our military; and to first responders. Grant them wisdom, integrity, and common sense, so that their citizens may live peacefully, work fruitfully, and enjoy the blessings of liberty, justice, health, every other good thing you have provided for the benefit of all.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Your Son came to proclaim healing, sight, freedom and the good news of the Gospel to all who are in bondage to the powers of sin, evil and death. We lift before you the needs of all who need to hear, feel, and truly experience his strong saving love, including: {List}. Visit them with your salvation; heal their bodies and revive their hearts; and let them rejoice you.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Thank you, heavenly Father, for receiving into your Kingdom those who died trusting in your Word – especially {List}. Keep us close to your dear Son, that we may hear his Word of life, and feed on it; that we may be filled with his Spirit, and share it; that we may be knit into his Body, and rejoice in it. Keep us faithful unto death, and then say to us, and to all your people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength, forevermore.”
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Graciously hear, and generously answer our prayers, most holy Father, in accordance with your wisdom and mercy for us, and in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
