Second Sunday in Lent, March 1, 2015
Offered by Judith L. Watt, Associate Pastor

God, our creator, you have given us the gift of prayer and have invited us to offer our petitions to you. Hear us now and guide us, that our prayers for others and for our church and for our world will speak to your steadfast love in this world.

Merciful God, you bear the pain of the world, and so we ask that you would look with compassion on all those who suffer today. Stand with those who sorrow over great losses, and help them to see hope, even if only a glimmer. Be with those who have heard bad news about their health, and lead them to wise and compassionate care. Support those who grieve for and care for others but find themselves wondering what they can do, how they might act, what should be said. Remind us again that nothing at all will ever separate us from your love, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For those with worries about jobs and income, we pray for doors to open. And for support. Move the leaders of this country to make decisions that increase opportunities for training and work, for those who are educated and for those who are not, for those who are privileged and for those who are not. Continue to move us, in this church and through Chicago Lights, to keep offering a cup of cold water, to continue caring for the least of these, and to increasingly recognize our own need and vulnerability in doing so.

Again, O God, we pray for peace in our world, for peace that is the result of justice for all. Yet so much of the time our prayers seem hopeless or ineffective. Encourage us, O God, to continue to pray with hope, to know again that you are sovereign over this world. As we pray, show us how we can bear peace and justice in our own worlds, in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our church.

We lift up this church community to you and ask that you would bind us together more strongly than ever, that our doors would be opened wider than ever, and that the love of Jesus would be palpable here. We pray that you would accept our attempts at living faithfully and that you would also give us courage to share our doubts, but that, through it all, our efforts to live according to your will would cause us to grow and to be more compassionate people, with others and ourselves.

With thankfulness for your gift of revelation in Jesus Christ, we pray the prayer he taught to his disciples, asking for your kingdom to come fully and asking again for enough bread to sustain us for this day. Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church