Sunday, January 18, 2009
Offered by Adam H. Fronczek, Associate Pastor

Lord, you have been good to us.

The heavens tell of your glory, and the earth proclaims your handiwork.

You need no words to announce your power and glory; they speak for themselves. The birds of the air and the fish of the sea spread a word of goodness and mercy to the ends of the world. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We are created in your image, but all too often we are creators of discord and violence. So have mercy on us, O God, as we pray for the needs of a broken world.

We pray for your children throughout Israel and in Gaza. Care for peaceful people who suffer. Care for the injured and the bereaved and those who live in fear. And where people have hardened their hearts toward peaceful dialogue and pursue violence, open hearts and minds and eyes; care for them as well.

As the newspaper draws us to the Holy Land, remind us also of lesser-known places where people are in need. We pray for those who are sick in Zimbabwe or hungry in Chicago, for those who are scared in violent homes or cold on the street.

We also pray for ourselves and for the church. Here we have too often been a place of violence. Forgive us, Lord. Thank you for raising up prophets in ancient days and in more recent days, voices to set us straight. Thank you for raising up prophets in Selma, in Atlanta, in Birmingham, and in Chicago. Thank you for Dr. King and for those who followed him. Thank you for places where truth speaks to power, where hatred is silenced, and silence never allows hatred. And in a time when we might be short on hope, thank you for hope. Thank you that this week Dr. King will gaze down from heaven and witness the inauguration of a president who will be known not for the color of his skin but for the content of his character. Bless our new president, his family, and those he has chosen to help him lead. Bless us, O Lord. Let there be light. Help us to know that nothing is impossible for us. God, you did not create us to be at odds with one another. Take us, the people of your church, flawed as we are, and teach us, as your Son Jesus Christ once taught his disciples, to live and to love and to pray, saying, Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church