Prayers of the People

Loving God,

We offer ourselves to You in prayer on this day, knowing that so often we are unaware of what is happening within us and around us in the present moment. God, so often we are entrapped by the past – ashamed of things we have said and done, fearful of realities we experienced, angry about injustices, worried that our past will haunt us. So often live in the future – again, afraid of what might happen or perhaps driven through compulsion to make things happen. Sometimes we forget to live in the present moment and to recognize what an absolute gift it is.

Help us to notice colors, beautiful plants, clear skies, the animals that give us pleasure, and the sunshine that warms our city and our planet. Help us to notice smiles in others and allow us to be affected by the energy of that kind of peace. Help us to notice when people may be suffering – perhaps hiding behind walls of anxiety that communicate they can’t be open about what is so painful. Help us to be present to ourselves. Help us to be present to them.

We pray for those who are experiencing deep joys and deep sadness in this present moment:

We pray for families who are expecting new life and families who are nurturing young lives in their midst. . .

We pray for people who are struggling with sickness in its many forms and for those who have anxieties about their health. . .

We pray for those who rejoice over new jobs. . .

We pray for those who are longing to find a job. . .

We pray for those who find themselves grateful for secure places – homes, peaceful emotions, and good, healthy relationships. . .

We pray for those who are homeless, those overwhelmed with difficult emotions, those who are longing for friendship in this world. . .

We pray for the dying, that all people might have the dignity they deserve and that friends and families may be comforted. . .

We pray for the grieving, those who have lost loved ones recently or for those who continue to feel the absence of a loved one who died many years ago. . .

We pray for the new energy in our church, that it would lead us to wholeness and vitality. . .

We pray for those who are experiencing injustice – for those who know the hot, angry tears of discrimination or unequal access to needed resources in our world. . .

We pray that You, O God, would be with all of these people. And we pray that in the present moment, we would be gifted to be with all of these people too. Keeping our holy calling in mind, we pray the prayer you have taught us, saying. . .

Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy Kingdom Come,
Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever.
Amen.

-A Prayer of Pasadena Presbyterian Church