Sunday, July 22, 2018
Offered by Judith L. Watt, Associate Pastor

Holy God, Creator of the universe, hallowed be your name. You have given us the precious gift of life, the bittersweet complexity of relationships, the beauty of nature, the people who have taught us kindness and moral values. Hallowed be your name.

We pray for your vision for our world to be fully realized. So much hinders that vision. Our insecure selves unable to fully love or to fully receive love. Wounded people in our midst who seem to hate more than love, to judge more than forgive. Nations scrambling for superiority. Leaders at all levels who disappoint and confuse. And so we pray, O God, again, for your love to overwhelm, for your kingdom to come and your will be done.

Be with those whose loved ones have been killed in Gaza, in Israel, in Mexico, in Syria, at border crossings, in neighborhoods where poverty erodes community, in freak accidents and natural disasters—wherever innocent people have lost their lives. Provide your daily bread of comfort and strength, endurance and grace.    

We pray for our earth, that you would move your people to save its wonder and beauty and to respect its rhythms and cycles. Help us feed hungry people. O God, most of all, help us to share.

We pray for our own children and the children of the world that they may be loved. We thank you for our parents, those who have died and those still living. We pray for this church, that you would continue leading us into our unknown future, moving us to seek your vision. We thank you for the gifts of the newer pastors you have given us and new members who have come each month and young babies baptized in your name. We thank you too for longtime members, who offer legacy and wisdom and welcome.

Forgive us our many debts, dear God—how we forget to love you with our whole selves, forget to love one another as you have loved us. Many pressures tempt us to turn away, but we ask that you keep leading us toward you and toward your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother and teacher and savior. We pray all of this in his name, saying together the prayer he taught, Our Father . . .  

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church