20 September 2020
A prayer that we might be refined by our experience of God
Lord, you have promised to be like a refiner’s fire,
proving and purifying our lives as your people.
You refine us like silver and test our lives like gold.
In these last months we have suffered grief and known all kinds of trials.
These have come so that the proven genuineness of our faith
- of far greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -
may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
It all sounds so stirring and heroic when we read it on the page of Scripture,
but, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of old in the fiery furnace,
we have felt the heat of the flames that have licked around our lives.
We’re not sure whether we shine brighter,
or we are in danger of shrinking back from the lessons you have taught us.
But we want your refining to redefine our lives as your people,
and as your church.
Help us to take confidence that as we have walked through the fire,
we have not been burned and the flames have not set us ablaze.
Already refined by the experience of pandemic and lockdown,
give us a fresh faith to call on your name,
and to know that you will answer us and say, ‘They are my people,’
so that we can reply with new vigour, ‘The LORD is our God.’
As your work in us is further revealed by fire in these days,
and that furnace tests the quality of our life and witness,
may we be further refined into your ways for us -
reformed, remoulded, reshaped, re-polished, reignited,
for your glory.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
13 September 2020
A prayer for discernment as life returns to a new normality
Lord of this season of stepping into the future,
I’m beginning to think there might not be much new,
in what is becoming normal again.
It’s so easy to slip back thoughtlessly into old ways,
as the speed of having to get up and going again picks up pace.
I’m in danger of missing what it is that you want to teach me through all I’ve experienced -
the kind of change that you want to bring to my life.
And what if what does become new has novelty value for now,
but turns out to be shallow and worthless?
It’s so easy to have my head turned by the voices of the world,
summoning me to a lifestyle that does not reflect the heart changing ways of your kingdom.
I’m in danger of minimising those core things that you want to bring back into focus -
calling me to prioritise them once again.
It all feels like a bit of a muddle just now,
my head and heart spinning in the messy middle of the road out of lockdown.
So, please grant me a discerning heart,
shaped by attentiveness to your Word,
soaked in prayerfulness,
watchful for what you are doing in and around me,
not so taken up with all the nuts and bolts of what has to be done and how,
that I miss the wood for the trees.
I know life has to return to a new normality,
but may it be one that is further fashioned by the norms of your ways for me.
Help me to trust in you Lord with all my heart,
not to lean on my own understanding,
or be distracted by the ever-changing sound bites of the world.
Enable me to see and acknowledge you in all my ways –
personal, home, family, social, working, church and community life.
Straighten my steps on your path ahead for my life,
as I edge into your new normal.
For the glory of Jesus.
Amen.
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage
6 September 2020
A prayer to hasten slowly in a world in a hurry
Lord of time,
all of a sudden everything has speeded up again.
After the slower, steadier pace of lockdown,
hurry sickness has set in once more.
I feel it in myself,
I sense it all around in society,
I know it in the way my congregation has approached the resumption of its life –
the re-emergence of that ever-present push,
to more, more, faster, faster.
Patient Lord –
creator of a world in six days,
gradually developing each aspect of life,
when you could have done it with one word;
redeemer of humanity,
who waits for the fullness of time to come,
before sending your Saviour;
builder of a kingdom that grows at the pace of nature,
from seed to sapling to tree,
from leaven to loaf;
help me to hasten slowly in these days.
Rather than rush back to what was before,
or hurry headlong into what everyone is saying is the new future,
give me the grace of waiting,
of walking, not running –
little by little,
moment by moment,
day by day,
letting you set my pace,
keeping in step with the Spirit’s leading.
Progressively reveal your will to my heart,
the wisdom of what you have taught me to my mind,
the well-crafted lifestyle you want me to adopt in my daily existence,
the ways of God for my spiritual community and spheres of service.
Train me in timeliness,
rein in my impulsiveness,
make me mature in discerning,
not premature in deciding,
that I might better sense your presence and prompting,
your leading and guiding.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
30 August 2020
A prayer of new appreciation for the community of the church
Lord of the church,
what a gift you have given us in the body of Christ,
in living stones locally assembled to be a spiritual house.
Sometimes I haven’t seen my congregation that way,
as I have grumbled and complained about my spiritual family,
selfishly looked to my own needs before the interests of others,
and carelessly neglected my need to meet with brothers and sisters,
for their encouragement and mine.
Now I see things more clearly -
valuing little things like the chat before or after worship,
that reminds me that someone else cares;
cherishing the opportunity to raise my voice with others in praise of God,
even if they or I am a little out of tune;
gaining a new sense of awe for the word of God preached,
and the way it challenges and encourages my everyday walk with Jesus;
setting much more store on your invitation to ask, seek and knock in prayer,
now that we have seen you give,
found you answering,
and known doors opened,
during the period of pandemic,
life under lockdown.
Help me not to lose this new found appreciation for the community of my church,
as things begin to return to normal.
Help me not to take for granted those who lead and serve,
but to pray for and support them as they labour in the Lord,
listening, learning and lending a hand where I can.
Help me to express a fresh commitment to the life of my church,
and its living witness to Jesus,
experienced in those ways that show we belong to him,
and to one another.
Chosen and precious cornerstone,
thank you for the people of your choosing,
that make up my congregation,
built together as one,
a holy nation of fellow travellers,
your special possession,
called out of darkness to bear your light.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
23 August 2020
A prayer for going back to school
God our heavenly teacher,
thank you for the gift of learning,
that enables us to grow in wisdom and stature,
in relationship with you and others.
We pray for school life as it resumes again,
after months of lockdown and the long summer break.
Be with governors, principals, drivers, cleaners and others,
who have responsibility in arrangements,
for the smooth running of the school day.
Be with teachers and classroom assistants,
as they help pupils settle again into learning.
Be with parents, grandparents and carers,
as they gently help loved ones readjust to the return of school.
Be with children and young people,
as they renew relationships with staff and peers,
embrace new rhythms and routines in familiar places,
pick up the threads of the curriculum again -
remembering what they have learned before,
and quickly making sense of new knowledge coming their way.
Be especially with those in crucial exam years,
taking away fear of months of learning lost,
giving confidence in what can yet be gained.
Help whole school families grow in these days -
physically in their new environments for learning,
mentally as new thinking is required,
emotionally as strains and stresses have to be negotiated,
socially in community with one another,
spiritually as they recognise God at work among them.
Lord Jesus,
whose teaching amazed and astounded,
with its stamp of authority,
and left its lasting mark on many lives,
hear these our prayers for our schools this new term.
Amen
16 August 2020
A prayer for fresh motivation on return to work
Creator God,
you call us to work with you that all life might flourish,
spending our days in the use of the gifts that you give us,
for your glory and the good of others.
As our working lives begin to return to greater normality,
after such a long period of interruption or inactivity,
give us a fresh appreciation of work,
renew our motivation in the exercise of our callings,
help us to readily adjust to the changes we find,
in what we do and how we do it.
We feel the ground under our feet cursed by pandemic,
full of thorns and thistles that have grown up in lockdown.
The cold sweat of so many uncertainties settles on our brow,
as we contemplate what lies ahead.
So, we ask that you would work in us and through us.
Give energy to those who are tired,
having worked on through the difficult days of lockdown.
Help those who are returning from furlough,
to quickly adjust again to the rhythms and routines of working life.
Restore morale that has been shattered,
by the painful loss of colleagues to illness or cut backs,
by the reduction in clients and customer base,
by the obsolete planning that now lies in tatters.
Give us new insight to follow where you are leading,
grace in rebuilding team relationships,
agility of mind and method,
confidence in rising to new challenges,
servant hearts in tending to the needs of others.
Enable us to put our hand to the plough and not look back,
so fitting our work for the service of your kingdom.
For we ask it in Jesus’ name.
Amen
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage
9 August 2020
A prayer for wise witness in a post pandemic wasteland
Lord of softly spoken truth,
I hear the volume of life steadily rising,
Redeeming Father,
you so love this world,
that you gave your one and only Son,
so that anyone who believes in him,
need not perish, but can receive eternal life.
Right now this world needs to know your love so much.
In my worlds of family, friends, neighbours and colleagues,
so much has perished in this post pandemic wasteland.
The loss of loved ones is deeply felt,
the loss of certainty and security has exposed new fears,
the loss of confidence in just being together,
has created a cavern of distance between us.
It would be so easy to say,
“I told you so, this is what happens when we ignore God”.
And you have told us so much,
that explains the brokenness of the world because of sin,
that exposes our individual contributions to that dysfunction,
in the ways in which we fail to love you,
and our neighbour as ourselves.
And yet, I need to remember in my witness to others,
that you did not send your Son into the world to condemn it,
but to save the world through him.
So help me in my thoughts and words and deeds,
my attitudes and actions,
to find the tenor of truth,
and the tone of grace,
that is wise and winsome,
in welcoming the hurting to find healing,
the weary to find rest,
the fearful to find peace,
in Jesus.
In whose name we pray.
Amen
2 August 2020
A prayer of new appreciation of silence
Lord of softly spoken truth,
I hear the volume of life steadily rising,
how it’s all getting so noisy once again.
In lockdown everything seemed so much quieter,
no planes, less traffic,
fewer crowds, more tranquility.
Lockdown helped me to learn to listen perhaps as never before,
it truly was a time to be silent,
to hear creation voice its praise of you,
to hear one another in a deeper way,
to hear the inner voice of my soul.
Thank you for reminding me that you can be found in the silence,
and that I often fail to sense you present amid the daily hubbub of a busy life.
Thank you for the uncomfortable sense of conviction that silence evoked,
of how often I sin in words casually thought and carelessly uttered,
all adding to the clamourof godless inner and outer chatter.
Thank you for the silent moments of deeper appreciation of all your gifts,
calling forth fresh thanks and praise, fuller adoration and gratitude.
As the racket of life ramps up once more,
help me to carefully recall and retain -
the silent awe of just being in your company,
the silent response as your Spirit brings home your Word to my heart,
the silent heart of prayerful reflection,
the silent moment to remember you go before me in an eventful day,
the silent, unspoken love given and received in just being with someone special.
Hear these my prayers,
softly spoken, deeply felt,
gently offered, greatly sought,
from the one who hears even my inward groans,
as I wait for the full unfolding of future hope in you.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
26 July 2020
A prayer for ears to hear and eyes to see
Loving Lord,
you have so much to say to us,
so much to show us,
so much to teach us,
through our experience of these last few months.
But sometimes our ears are deaf to your gentle prompting,
our eyes are blind to what you want to reveal to us
our hearts are so indifferent we shy away from your redirecting touch.
We simply want to get back to normal,
continue as if nothing had ever happened,
forget the trials by which you teach us your ways.
It is so much easier that way,
we don’t have to stop to think, pause to consider, dwell to assess.
Instead, we can fall back on what we know,
settle for staggering forward again into familiar routines,
stumbling along in reliable ruts and grinding grooves.
Break through our stubbornness and foolishness;
strengthen knees enfeebled by the weight of yesterday’s burdens
so that we might walk with purpose into tomorrow’s world.
Shatter our desire for safety,
give grace that we may grow,
faith that we might follow,
insight that inspires.
Give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
May our eyes be blessed because they see,
and our ears because they hear,
and our hearts because they are open to learn from you.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
19 July 2020
A prayer of confession from a world stopped in its tracks
All sovereign God,
we come before you humbled by the experience of coronavirus and lockdown.
Our world has been stopped in its tracks:
so much of what we take for granted suddenly became uncertain;
so many of the plans we made have not prevailed,
our lives really feel like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
We confess we do not like the sense of not being in command,
we are reluctant to release control even to you,
we see so many ways in which we have been proud, boastful and foolish.
Forgive us for our lack of faith that has been revealed,
for the restlessness in our hearts that has been uncovered,
for the many ways in which we stubbornly rebel against you.
Teach us what it means to seek first your Kingdom,
for your Kingdom to come and your will to be done,
to patiently allow your Kingdom to grow like a tiny seed to a great tree.
For too often our thoughts are not your thoughts,
our ways are not your ways,
as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so your ways and will tower above our puny imaginings.
For you reign, rule and overrule,
for your glory and our good,
and that your grace might be known to the ends of the earth.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage
12 July 2020
A prayer for rest in this strange season of summer
Lord of changing seasons,
we thank you for summer.
This year, like everything else, our summer feels different:
our holiday plans have been disrupted,
our church life feels like it is winding up not down,
school holidays feel like an extension of lockdown,
rather than a welcome change of rhythm and routine.
Often, we treat summer like an escape from reality,
but this year we need it to offer rest on an unfinished journey.
We come to you as reeds bruised by a stormy spring,
knowing that you desire to lift us up, not break us.
The smoldering wick of our spirit burns low,
but you want to fan it back into flame,
not see it snuffed out.
Shine again upon our lives like summer sun.
Calm our troubled souls like summer breeze.
Help us to relax into the carefreeness of long summer days
So renew us in mind.
Refresh us in body.
Restore us in spirit.
Recreate us again this summer,
that we might better bear again the likeness of your Son,
and find our rest in him.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
5 July 2020
A prayer of thanks for God’s presence with us on the journey
Faithful God,
we pause on this unexpected and unchosen path,
somewhere between our Mizpah and Shen,
to raise our Ebenezer stone,
declaring ‘thus far has the LORD helped us.’
You have been present with us on this journey -
sometimes guiding reliably,
like pillar of cloud by day,
sometimes spectacularly illuminating,
like pillar of fire in the night;
always providing like you did daily manna in the wilderness,
drawing forth faith one day at a time.
At times we have looked for you,
in earthquake, wind and fire,
but like Elijah at Horeb, mountain of God,
you have spoken in the gentlest of whispers,
and we have found it enough.
Like Samuel in the night,
or Mary in the garden,
we have known you speaking our name,
calling us to learn from you,
to follow you to places
to which we have never been before.
And you will be present with us as future days unfold.
You say,
‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’,
and we reply with fresh confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’
God of peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant,
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
continue to equip us with everything good for doing your will,
keep on working in us what is pleasing to you,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
28 June 2020
A prayer for restoration of our shattered lives
Helper of the helpless,
so much of our lives lie shattered and tattered;
our minds wander through the wreckage of the last few brutal months,
our hearts are heavy through the havoc wrought by suffering,
the deficit of distance is felt in even our closest relationships,
just making ends meet seems to matter more than it has for a long time,
our souls are shredded by the strain and stress of uncertainty.
O, restore us, we plead.
Restore our souls,
LORD our Shepherd.
Restore us, LORD God Almighty,
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
Restore our fortunes, LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
Restore our withered hands,
sightless eyes,
troubled minds,
by today’s touch of the Master,
on the broken body of the church he loves.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation,
and grant a willing spirit to sustain us.
Let us rejoice like Jacob,
and be glad like Israel,
when you restore us as your people.
God of all grace,
who called us to your eternal glory in Christ,
after we have suffered this little while,
restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast.
For Jesus’ sake.
Amen.
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage
21 June 2020
A prayer for creativity as normal gives way to new
Creator God,
you have made all things out of nothing;
out of emptiness and darkness,
fashioned every form of life,
and birthed light for each new day.
In this moment –
the ways we have always done things
seem inadequate and redundant;
we know things have to be different,
but our well-worn routines shackle our thinking;
our range of vision for alternatives
is limited by our struggle to imagine other possibilities.
Help us in this twilight zone,
between what was and what is to come.
Give us a sense of your presence with us in the storm,
speaking to us above howling wind and tossing wave,
calling us to take courage,
not to fear,
inviting us to take those first faltering steps,
in answer to your call out of the familiar,
to exercise fresh faith in you.
Draw our eyes to Jesus,
and fix them there.
Reach out your hand and catch us,
in those times when our faith shrinks,
and our doubts grow.
Expand our thinking,
enlarge our courage,
enable wise choices,
extend your grace,
engage us heart, mind and soul,
equip us for what lies ahead.
For you are making all things new,
and we want to be renewed as your people,
after the image of Christ.
In whose name we pray.
Amen
14 June 2020
A prayer for our congregation in this time of separation
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you have drawn our congregation together into you as one,
familiar faces, shared stories, different gifts,
gathered to be your family,
together to express your love for others.
But just now we feel scattered, splintered, separated,
our life stifled by continuing lockdown restrictions.
In this time apart -
watch over the lonely, the sick and the anxious,
bless young and old, families and singles,
strengthen our minister, elders and leaders.
Be present in every pastoral telephone call,
each act of kindness for brother or sister.
Engage our hearts as one in digital worship,
expand our faith in online gatherings for Bible study or prayer.
Extend your grace to those who have been bereaved,
encourage us all on this strange journey through wilderness days.
Remind us that, although separated from each other,
nothing can separate us from the love of Christ,
no trouble or hardship,
neither death nor life,
not what is happening at present,
nor what might come in future,
nothing in all creation.
We are victors even over this virus,
more than conquerors through him who loved us.
So, hear us as we pray for one another,
in these days.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage
7 June 2020
A prayer for patience in a time of waiting
Timeless God,
what we thought might be a short pause,
now seems like an eternity;
what we began describing as extraordinary times,
are beginning to feel pretty ordinary;
what we first experienced as an interruption to our lives,
has merged into an unwanted new normal.
We need you to stay our hearts,
giving staying power for the long haul,
but also helping us stay put for the moment with patience and restraint.
Help us to learn the lesson that our times are in your hands,
and as we wait upon the Lord our strength will be renewed.
Help us to live in the in-between time;
like our father Abraham anticipating your blessing,
before the birth of God’s promised son;
like Joseph captive as a prisoner in Egypt,
before his dreams came true;
like Moses tending his father-in-law’s flock in the desert,
before encountering you in the burning bush;
like the Israelites wandering for forty years in the wilderness,
before entering the promised land;
like David on the run from Saul,
before his anointing led to his ascending the throne;
like Jesus, tried and tempted for forty days and nights,
before emerging to his life’s great purpose.
Our hearts cry, ‘how long O Lord?’
And you reply,
‘know that the testing of your faith,
produces perseverance,
let perseverance finish its work,
so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything.’
As we continue to wait on you,
give strength and courage,
for these long days.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
31 May 2020
A prayer for love in a time of loss
Sole King and Head of the church,
in this our annual week of General Assembly,
we bow before you, a church strangely apart.
This year there will be no opening night,
sharing of bread and wine in silent communion,
rousing singing at the Wednesday night rally,
catching up with familiar faces in the coffee queue.
We are experiencing a twenty first century disruption
to our Presbyterian ways,
caused by threat to public health, rather than theological principle.
And yet, this year,
we find ourselves curiously more drawn together than ever,
not in one place, for one week,
but as one people, to witness as one,
the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
in shared circumstances across the whole island.
We look again to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for in you, and for you, all things were created,
even life in lockdown and vaccines for viruses.
You reign in heaven and earth,
unpanicked in the face of pandemic.
In these uncertain times,
still shaken governments north, south, east and west,
bow envious of the power of your kingdom,
which doesn’t falter and cannot fail.
You hold all things together,
even when they feel like they might be falling apart.
And you are the head of this body, the church - this church,
our church, as we like to call it,
even though we know it is really yours.
Yours to lead, guide, direct, correct in this moment,
because, glorious firstborn from among the dead,
in everything you have the supremacy.
Amen
24 May 2020
A prayer for love in a time of loss
God of all comfort,
hear our cry in this time of loss,
when emotions are on edge,
hearts are hurting,
lament is lasting,
and we are processing our pain.
Tender Father,
draw alongside us in our brokenness,
with your rod and staff to comfort us,
with your unfailing love to bind our wounds,
with your peace that passes all understanding.
Man of sorrows, suffering servant,
taking up our pain,
bearing our sufferings,
stricken, afflicted, pierced,
wounded, oppressed, crushed,
help us to know your loving presence with us in our anguish.
Holy Spirit, mentor us in prayer and care,
that we might know how to:
mourn with those who mourn,
be a loving neighbour to those in need,
bear one another’s burdens,
avoid being a Job’s comforter,
blaming and shaming those already bowed down by grief.
Even now, wipe away tears from our eyes,
as we yearn for that time when there will be no more death,
or mourning, or crying, or pain.
For this old order of things will have passed away,
swallowed up in the victory of the King of love,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray.
Amen
17 May 2020
A prayer for hope in all the hysteria
God of the future,
for such a long time we have lived without hope.
Who needed it,
when our busy, distracted lives,
kept us living only for the present,
and provided ready escape from reality?
Now we do,
because frightening times have unnerved us,
death has a new inescapability about it,
our deepest insecurities are surfacing,
and a silence we find hard to bear gives us no place to hide.
Yesterday's comfortable certainties,
have given way to today’s paralysis and panic,
tomorrow's great unknowns darken our horizon.
We grasp for something solid,
to slow spinning minds,
soothe storm tossed hearts.
And we have this hope,
an anchor for our souls,
found in Jesus,
secured for us in heaven,
able to steady the ship,
sufficient to bear us to an eternal shore.
Help us to know and grow in it,
in our own lives.
May we show it and sow it,
as we move among others,
that the world may rediscover safety, security, serenity in you.
God of hope,
in this moment,
fill us with all joy and peace,
as we trust in you,
that we may overflow with hope,
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
10 May 2020
A prayer for faith in the face of fear
Faithful God,
these are frightening times we find ourselves living through.
It’s like our whole world is on edge;
a massive cloud has descended,
casting a great shadow over all of life,
and hiding you from our sight.
Fear spreads faster than the virus itself;
manufacturing worry,
multiplying anxiety,
making us nervous.
We stumble along by faith and not sight,
not because you have told us to,
but because we have no choice.
It feels like treading a tightrope,
sometimes we gain balance as we look to you,
but more often we waver unsteadily,
swaying in the clamour of the latest news and views.
Like that father in the gospel,
bringing his son to be set free from the spirit which tormented him,
we do believe,
because you are God,
because you have never let us down,
because you have the words of eternal life;
yet we need you to help us overcome our unbelief,
because we do doubt,
because our minds race,
because our hearts wander.
So, enable us to have faith in you in the face of fear,
to know our days steadied by it,
to find the inward strengthening of our hearts by it,
to discover our lives showing and sharing it.
For we ask it, believing and not doubting,
in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
3 May 2020
A prayer for God’s provision in uncertain days
Faithful God,
it isn’t easy to trust you in these uncertain days.
We have so many questions:
Will I catch the virus?
Do we have enough to get by?
What about my job?
Help us to know you as the God who provides;
supplying manna in the wilderness,
sustaining Elijah with food brought by ravens,
feeding five thousand,
giving us each day our daily bread.
Help us not to worry about our life,
about what we will eat or drink,
what we will wear.
Help us not to be anxious about tomorrow,
or the impact of a pandemic that might last weeks or months.
Teach us not to waste these lingering hours of lockdown worrying.
Instead lift our eyes to the birds in flight,
draw our gaze to the flowers in bloom,
to see that our heavenly Father,
will meet our everyday human concerns.
Keep us focused on seeking your kingdom,
watching for how all we need will also come our way,
from your generous hand.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
26 April 2020
A prayer in these days of grief and loss
God of all comfort,
in these days of deathly statistics,
when for many of us,
numbers become names,
figures have familiar faces,
and we remain isolated from those most ill;
we look to Jesus,
who wept at Lazarus’ grave,
who took Jairus’ dead daughter by the hand,
who in his own body drew the sting of death on the cross.
In this moment when darkness closes in on many homes,
but we are only able to look on helplessly from a distance,
we thank you that you are not a God who stands afar off,
but who, in Jesus, draws right alongside,
taking up our infirmities,
carrying our sorrows,
sympathising with us in our weaknesses.
In the afterglow of Easter,
dispel the shadows with your resurrection light,
soothe our pain with the peace of your living presence,
heal with the hope that comes from your love poured
into hurting hearts.
Consoling Spirit;
be gracious to a grieving world,
bind up a nation’s wounds,
bring us gently through this season of loss,
to find again the light of life.
Compassionate God, hear our prayers.
For we ask them in Jesus Name,
Amen
9 April 2020
A prayer from here for everywhere in this global pandemic
Lord of all the earth,
In this moment of global pandemic,
our horizons are suddenly expanded.
Hard borders on the island of Ireland,
trade borders in the Irish Sea,
building bridges to Scotland,
seem so much less important when politics is paralysed and retail has receded.
All our insular red lines are increasingly fading to pink.
Suddenly we are interested in what is happening in Italy,
keen to learn from the experiences of countries like China.
Impress upon us in these days that we really are global disciples:
part of a bigger church and world,
called to live with love locally to those from whom we are socially distanced,
but also to pray with passion for those from whom we are spatially distanced and will never meet.
Hear our prayer,
for nations near and far,
for peoples of every tribe and tongue,
for the global effort to fight this virus.
Remind us that,
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun,
Does his successive journey’s run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Lord of all peoples,
hear our prayer from this place,
for your world.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
A prayer for an extraordinary Easter
Lord of cross, grave and empty tomb,
I can’t ever remember an Easter quite like this one.
Encircled with darkness and overshadowed by death.
Eerily quiet and filled with inactivity.
Expectant of your living presence,
but not in the usual recognisable rhythms and readings of worship.
And yet, when I stop to think of it,
how like that first Easter,
of cross, grave and empty tomb.
This extraordinary Easter:
in the enveloping gloom,
turn our gaze again to that first Good Friday,
to see Jesus, suffering and dying for this sinful and broken world;
in the jarring silence,
tune our ears to the silence of that first Easter Saturday,
to hear the Father’s silent lament for his only begotten son;
in the unfamiliarity of days like none of us have ever experienced before,
tether our hearts to the hope of that first Easter Sunday morning,
to know the shining glory of the resurrection of Christ.
Lord of cross, grave and empty tomb,
thank you for the reminder of another Easter so much like this one,
and for how it resonates with reality in our situation today.
See! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
For her Lord is living, death has lost its sting:
Thine be the glory,
Risen, conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the victory,
Thou o’er death has won.
Amen.
A prayer for new heart to pray this Palm Sunday
Lord God,
who hears our prayers,
we ask as your people across Ireland call out to you,
that you would hear and answer our cries.
Forgive us for our prayerlessness,
how too often we thought ourselves:
too busy to pray,
able to manage on our own,
in no need of you as our lives trundled on through their well-worn routines.
In this moment of fear and uncertainty,
this shuddering interruption to daily life,
the stillness of lockdown,
the loss of so much that we have taken for granted,
open our hearts to you in prayer,
give us fresh voice in prayer,
impress upon us your greater willingness to answer than our eagerness to ask.
Help us to take confidence in your promises that:
as we ask it will be given to us,
as we seek we will find,
as we knock the door will be opened to us.
Show mercy in these days of suffering and death.
Shed your light in our darkness.
Supply grace sufficient to meet our need.
This Palm Sunday give us cause to cry with those that first Easter week,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’
‘Blessed he is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Hosanna in the highest!’
as we experience King Jesus stooping down,
with meekness and majesty,
to save.
Amen
29 March 2020
Prayer for these days of lockdown
Loving God,
In this moment when we feel,
locked in to a terrible set of circumstances,
locked up in our homes,
locked down by fear and uncertainty;
help us to find freedom in faith,
healing in hope,
liberty in your love.
In this time when tempers can get frayed in relationships,
give us the fruit of your Spirit in our lives, our homes, our dealings with one another in society.
We pray for - Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
Be especially with those who feel most isolated and alone.
Grant them a deep sense of your presence through long days and lonely hours,
bring comfort and calm,
strength and support.
Help us to appreciate simple pleasures in a fresh way through our unusual circumstances,
the blessing of home,
the joy of loved ones,
the view from our windows,
the voice of a friend on the phone.
Lord, hear our prayers.
For we ask them in Jesus Name,
Amen
CLICK HERE to return to the These Three Remain homepage