Sunday, February 13, 2011
Offered by Victoria G. Curtiss, Associate Pastor

Glorious and gracious God, we praise you for meeting us in this place of worship, in this pause from the too-often-frenzied pace of our daily life. As we turn to you, we ask that you return us to our own true selves: people you have created in your image and called to be salt of the earth and light of the world. We thank you for your light, which dispels all darkness, breaking through discouragement and despair with your hope and newness. We seek your courage and correction that we may retain the true taste of faithfulness regardless of how many others follow a different path. Your compassion permeates even the hardest of hearts when we allow you in. We ask that you break us open even more that we may give ourselves fully in love to you and to our brothers and sisters.

Bless our city, our nation, and the nations of this earth with the gifts of your harmony and peace. Especially we lift up to you the peoples of Egypt and the Arab world, that political and religious respect, freedom, and stability are ushered in with changes in leadership.

We thank you that you know our needs even better than we. Yet you ask us to make vocal our desires and dependency to you. So we pray—for those who are suffering from illness or recovering or awaiting treatment; for any who are grieving and feeling all alone; for those who are unemployed or underemployed, anxious about how to feed their families or keep their homes. We pray for people in positions of power in business, in commerce, in education and governance, that their influence be shaped by your wisdom and what contributes to the common good. We pray for our earth, exhibiting strange and unexpected signs of turmoil in regions accustomed to more predictable climate patterns. Awaken us to work collectively to be better stewards of your creation.

All this we lift up to you confident in your abiding love, as shown through your Son Jesus Christ. Hear us now as we pray the prayer that he taught saying, Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church