Sunday Worship 18/2, Lent 1

Prayers of the people

Watch or 45:53

We’ll be entering now into a time of communal prayer. Afterwards, the Christ Candle will be moved to the Chapel space at the back of the church, and as is our custom here, you’re welcome to light a taper for your own prayers at the end of the service.

Let’s begin by taking a moment to quieten our minds, and as we listen to the music,
allow ourselves to become more aware of God’s presence.
{Instrumental “ O LORD HEAR MY PRAYER”}.

Eternal God,
Sometimes we can get so caught up in our heads and our busy schedules that we take for granted your gifts and the many blessings in our lives
And in our rush to get to the next moment,
we often miss seeing the beauty of our world
and we fail to see or respond to the needs of those around us
Give us your grace to slow down
to be more attentive to beauty of your creation
And help us to be more present with the people who come into our lives
Dear God, thank you for all your blessings in our life
Lord, hear us.
{Come and listen to me}

Loving God, we lift up to You all those who are unwell.
We pray for those with a terminal illness
For those who struggle with chronic fatigue or pain.
For those weighed down by anxiety, depression or grief.
For those who find losing their independence and growing old to be hard and lonely.
For those feeling overwhelmed in situations or relationships that drain their energy
Bless all who’re struggling, and bless their loved ones and their helpers.
And dear God, we’re prone to forgetting, so remind us often to lean on your strength and grace
Lord hear us.
{Come and listen to me}

Lord, we lift up to you the issues that persist to this day for our First Peoples
The vast inequality in health, education and job opportunities
The pain still felt by the stolen generations and their families
The hurt of last year’s referendum.
We lift up to you the leaders, community workers, and policy makers who work for healing and representation.
Give us all the courage to be transformed by your unconditional love
So we can become the change we want to see,
In a country where our First Peoples are honoured, reconciled and represented.
Lord hear us.
{Come and listen to me}

Loving God, we pray for our Government and the leaders around the world
May they be guided by love and be courageous in making policies and decisions
We pray for the vulnerable and needy,
For those experiencing war and persecution
We pray that asylum seekers around the world will find safe haven
We lift up to you courageous dissidents opposing repressive regimes, particularly Dr Yang in China
May he return safely to Australia.
And we feel for Alexei Navalny’s family – may his courageous life and death inspire and bring about change in Russia
Lord hear us.
{Come and listen to me}

Lord, we’re quick to feel the sting of discrimination when we suffer it
But slower to see when we discriminate against others
We don’t always notice that we can be at different times both disadvantaged and privileged,
That we can be the liberal in one area of our life and the raging fundamentalist in another,
That we can be the victim and the perpetrator.
Give us the grace to recognize facets of all of these roles in ourselves.
And help us to love ourselves and others as you so unconditionally love and forgive us.
Thank you that your grace and love are given to us so freely, abundantly and beautifully as the rainbow that follows a storm
Remind us to see beyond our immediate needs to those of our world.
We offer to you all our prayers spoken and whispered in our hearts,
In the name of Jesus, Lord hear our prayers. Amen.
{Instrumental “ O LORD HEAR MY PRAYER ”}.

Joanne van Ravenswaaij, offered for worship 18/02/2024, Lent 1B