Pray With Us
Here are some prayers that might prove helpful when words do not come easily:
God, we pray that You would grant us the Spirit of wisdom and discernment so that we may know You better and love You more.
Give us an understanding heart so that we may be open to hear Your voice and hear You say, this is the path, walk in it.
Use us to be Your hands and feet – Your voice and heart that we may be a channel through which You pour out Your grace to help others – may we decrease to nothing so that only Christ is seen in our lives – we ask this in the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Assist us, Lord, in living hopefully into the future. In the face of change, help us to set unnecessary fears aside and to recognize our potential for creative response. Help us to develop a reasonable optimism when confronted by “the new” and to guard against our own defensiveness. Be with us as we remember and celebrate former times, and keep us from unreasonable yearning for them, which takes us from the work you have set before us in our time. All this we ask in the name of your Child, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Lowly…yet almighty.
Shepherd…yet King.
In your gentleness, guide us.
In your power, strengthen us.
In your lowliness, strip from us our selfish pride which only destroys us.
In your greatness, lift us up that we might aspire to greater things.
As a shepherd, call us to be your servants.
As a King, call us to be your royal priesthood.
O God, who is our shepherd and our King;
O Christ, who was crucified and is now risen from the dead;
O Spirit, who comforts and empowers;
O great One in Three, Holy Trinity, this hour, set us free to feel your presence among and with us. Amen.
A Prayer for Transition
Ever-present God,
You call us on a journey to a place we do not know.
We are not where we started.
We have not reached our destination.
We are not sure where we are or who we are.
This is not a comfortable place.
Be among us, we pray.
Calm our fears, save us from discouragement,
And help us to stay on course.
Open our hearts to your guidance so that our journey to this
Unknown place continues as a journey of trust.
Amen.
—The Rev. Canon Kristi Philip
We have many tasks before us, and we have some anxiety and uncertainty. But in you we trust, to you we hand over our burdens, to you we commend our lives and gifts. Use us as you see fit. May this work be pleasing before you, may our efforts and dedication honor you. We pray for each of us here, for our families, for our work, for our ministries, for our needs. And we pray for St. Luke’s. We pray for Ricardo, Dean, and Beryl, for strength, wisdom, guidance, and light. We pray for the many ministries within St. Luke’s. We pray for every person who comes to this Parish. We pray for our need of a new Associate Rector and a new Rector. In the meantime, guard us, lead us, sustain us, and strengthen us. Amen.
O Lord,
You are the light that guides our feet.
You are the map that gives us direction.
Your are the peace that makes us strong.
You are the leader whom we faithfully follow.
May your light illuminate our lives.
And your guidance bring direction to our work.
May we find inspiration in your Word,
And peace in our hearts as we follow you.
Amen.
“Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (BCP, p.255)
“Almighty God, you sent your son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself. We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are your for ever.
Amen.” (BCP, p. 838)