November 19, 2023

Offered by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor

Let us offer our prayers and intercessions to God,
confident that the love of Christ continues to appear in our lives
in surprising and unexpected ways.
As we pray for the world, let us say,
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Holy One, we pray for all who seek your radiant light in the shadowy corners of our world;
may we find our way to you through our love for one another.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

We pray for all who are oppressed by injustice and unfairness;
bless us with a joy for justice that all may share in the blessings of this life,
walking in right relationship with you by caring for our neighbor.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

We pray for all who have no work,
for those without adequate health care, and
for all who hunger or have no shelter.
Bless us with meaningful work and an abundance of all we need,
as we love and care for each other under the protection of your sheltering sky.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

We pray for all who suffer violence on the streets of our very city
and in war-torn places;
keep all from harm’s way.
We pray for an end to violence, for the release of hostages,
for the rebuilding of lives and communities.
We grieve for lives lost,
and we pray for those who continue to live in fear.
Give us a vision of peace, Lord, and the will to work for peace,
that all may flourish as one family under God
with justice and freedom for all.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

We remember before you all who have died,
that they may know your peace.
Bless each of us with a sure and certain hope of eternal life,
that we may rest in your infinite love,
Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

We lift up these prayers and the unspoken prayers of our hearts,
joining our voices to pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
Our Father …

Notes

With minor adaptations from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2, pp. 172–173 and based on Psalm 145:8; Jonah 4:2; Matthew 20:3–7, 16; Philippians 1:29.

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church