Sunday, January 17, 2016
Offered by Layton Williams, Pastoral Resident

Good and holy God, we come to you in prayer with hearts wide open, seeking your love and grace. We are filled with gratitude for the gift of this day, for the warming presence of one another as we gather in worship, and for the miracle of our lives. We thank you for joy—for the way it holds us up and sustains us and emboldens us to trust in you. Thank you for our beating hearts and the love they can feel for you, for others, and for this world. Thank you for our stories—stories of joy and sorrow, of truth and justice, of faith and hope. Thank you for the way our stories bind us together and for the voices you give us to tell them.

On this special weekend, O God, against the ever-present backdrop of a world that is hurting, that is so often broken by violence and injustice and tragedy, we give you thanks for the voices who cry out for something better—for a world according to your promise and your hope. We give particular thanks for Martin Luther King Jr., for the passion and conviction with which he spoke and acted, for the justice it inspired, and for all who continue the work for racial justice and freedom from oppression for all your children. Help us to be bold to use our voices in such a mighty way. And help us to speak not only with our words, but also with our hands and feet, with our choices and actions.

We lift thanks, too, inspiring God, for those who—even in the face of hard things—use their voices to gift us with beauty. For those who speak kind words when silence or anger might be easier. For those who give shape and voice to our own feelings or to the common truths we share. For those who raise voice in song with notes that drift toward heaven, who give us joy even when life makes it a rare commodity. May we be inspired by these agents of kindness and beauty to lift our own voices and add to your song.

Merciful God, we pray also that you be with those whose voices strain as they call out for comfort. We pray for those across the world, in our city, and in our very midst who struggle. We pray that those who are lonely might feel the consolation of company. That those who are sick in body or spirit might find a balm for their pain. That those who are grieving loss from conflict, death, or some other misfortune might find peace. Show us how we might speak and act your grace to these beloved and all with whom we are bound up together in your love.

Finally, O God, we pray for ourselves. We know that you love and care for us beyond our comprehending and that you are always close at hand. And so we pray that you hear the words we offer, and for those prayers which have no words, hear the whispers of our hearts. Give us faith to hear your voice in our lives, that we may be strengthened and emboldened by it to bear the story of your love to this world.

Trusting in the promise of this same story of love, we join our voices with your Son, praying as he taught us: Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church