July 12, 2020

Offered by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor

Holy God, gracious and loving God, we turn to you now, remembering you and relying on you to help us, to guide us, and to give us strength and love.

Into our anxiety, sow peace.

Into our fear, sow courage.

Into our confusion, sow wisdom.

Into our division, sow love.

We pray, God, for all those who are experiencing illness of any kind. Strengthen and comfort them. Heal their bodies completely. Heal their souls and their hearts.

Today, as we see the growing numbers of people infected by COVID-19, we say a special prayer—that you would be with each and every person. And be with our nurses and doctors and other health care workers, so many of whom are feeling overwhelmed right now.

Keep them strong and healthy.

Bring them wisdom and insight. Bring them the supplies and physical resources they need. Inspire the hearts of those who can help to carry this burden and to sow your love in even the most difficult places.

Holy One, we pray for all leaders of our nation, leaders of our cities and leaders of every state, that all may lead wisely, driven by compassion for all people and by a sense of responsibility for all they carry.

We pray for your creation, God. Help us to care for all that you have given us. Fill us with a spirit of generosity and a sense of security, that we may be free of fear and filled with your spirit of abundance and sufficiency. Give us joy and laughter to share with one another, as well as food, and safety, and justice.

O God of all creation, even as we worship in separate places and at different times, we pray that you would bind us together into one human family. Help us, we who are Christian, to be the body of Christ, loving and serving the world and all peoples. God, you have created us all.

Even as we are scattered, we join our voices in prayer, praying as Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father...

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church