March 12, 2023, 3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 17:1-7 (Israelites murmur against God, who gives water from the rock)
Psalm 95: (We are the people of God’s pasture; don’t be like those who murmured!)
Romans 5:1-8 (9-11) (Justified by faith in Christ, we have peace with God through
him, who died for the ungodly)
John 4:5-26 [may add 27-30, 39-42]) (Jesus and the woman at the well)
***
Let us lift our hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer, that he would be merciful to his people.
A brief silence
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, your living water. Sometimes we don’t realize how thirsty we are. Sometimes what we drink makes us even thirstier. Thank you that Jesus provides what we need most – your goodness, love, forgiveness, and life – in the most spiritually digestible form: Himself.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Make your Church a place where your living water flows. Use it to quench the thirst, heal the hearts, and cleanse the souls of people dying for lack of your love. Make it always share your holy Word so that many may hear, and come to believe, that your Son is the Savior of the world.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
We pray on behalf of our sisters and brothers who, in remaining faithful to you, have endured suffering we cannot comprehend. Fulfill in them the Apostle’s words: that suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope; and hope does not put them to shame, because God’s love has been poured into their hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Jesus said the fields are ripe for the harvest. Therefore we pray: Call, equip, and send new pastors and evangelists to preach the Good News. Make each of us disciples “on a mission with you” to eagerly share the Living Water with thirsty souls in our communities.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Have mercy on this congregation. Make us people eager to worship you in spirit and in truth; to care for one another with gentle hearts; and to share the living water of your Son with everyone we know.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Thank you for the people and organizations that make clean drinking water available throughout the world. Thank you: for water pumps and purification units; for sanitation and irrigation instruction; and for the simple joys of a glass of cold water or a hot shower. Grant that all who benefit from the pure and refreshing waters of this life may also be drawn to the Living Water of eternal life, Jesus Christ your Son.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Have mercy on our nation, its leaders, and its people. Although we are all sinful and rebellious, save us, we pray, from our folly. Give us hearts and minds that delight in your law, and wills set to obey it. Remove from us the spirit of discord and strife, and crown us with the blessing of your peace.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Refresh and heal with your Living Water everyone burdened with suffering and sorrow, including: { List}. Give them renewed strength, deep peace, and unshakeable hope, and abiding faith in your compassion.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Father, with reverence and affection, we entrust our beloved dead into your care. Wipe away the tears all who mourn. Refresh us with your Word and Sacraments as we pass through death’s valleys. Help us to encourage one another; to rejoice even though suffering; to cultivate good character; to live in hope; and to lean on your promises. Speed the day when, in Spirit and in truth, the whole company of the redeemed will worship you, and acclaim your Son as the Savior of the world, our Lord and our God.
Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.
Into your hands, gracious Father, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
