Weekly Prayer – September 15, 2021

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of September 15, 2021

Written by Rev. Tim Best

Creator of heaven and earth, like the original disciples, we continue to wrestle with the calling of Christ. We are eager to name Jesus as our Messiah, the Savior, and King, but it is revealed to us that the path where Jesus leads us is filled with sacrifice, loss and suffering love. We seek the protection of power and the renown of prestige. Our hearts brim with enthusiasm to follow Jesus when we believe his ways will grant us power and influence. Forgive us when our hearts are bent inwards and our service is for self and not others. May your Holy Spirit abide within our church family and lead us into humble obedience. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for all those connected to Church Street United Methodist Church. Empower and guide this community that we would know Jesus within our community and proclaim him in the world.   Grant that we might answer the invitation to follow Jesus. We pray for all those whose obedience to you has resulted in suffering. Give us confidence in Christ’s promises that we would boldly pick up our crosses and follow him. Comfort the persecuted and instruct us in the care and support of one another.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who do not share the faith of the church. When our institutions and hierarchies become stumbling blocks for others, pluck out that which is blinding us to faithful living. Make your mercy and grace known to those who feel far from your love; and send your disciples into the midst of the world and away from the comforts that shelter us from following Jesus. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for all those who suffer, are alone, or are in any kind of trouble. Christ’s willingness to suffer is a sign of his commitment to the world. Christ entered the suffering of the world out of love for all that which God has made. May our hearts be softened that we, too, may encounter suffering ourselves, so that God’s love might be made known. We pray for the sick, the dying, the scared, the angry, the disappointed, the oppressed, and those whose suffering is hidden. 

And to these we add our prayers from the Church Street family.  We rejoice at the goodness you are bringing into our lives, and ask that you bend close to receive these special pleas voiced by your children:

  • Family celebrates a long-awaited pregnancy
  • Family grateful for a peaceful death for ill father
  • Gratitude for a friend’s Christian witness in spite of great suffering
  • Family gives thanks for a happy weekend wedding
  • Thanksgiving: 3 beautiful babies baptized Sunday
  • One thankful for prayers for safe travel – all well
  • Prayers appreciated, infant’s RSV now clear
  • Two families thankful for healing from Covid
  • ALS sufferer sends thanks for church support
  • Thankful for prayers – aunt with internal bleeding recovered
  • Prayers appreciated- spinal procedure went smoothly
  • Thanksgiving for ministry of church greeters & ushers
  • Gratitude for special Afghan family who reached safety in Pakistan
  • Gratitude for healthcare workers serving at great risk on our behalf
  • Prayers for safety and healing for husband- surgery Friday
  • Cherished husband ill at home – for recovery
  • Uncle with pancreatic cancer, beginning treatment
  • Beloved daughter nearing death
  • Prayers for one seeking financial stability & easing of depression
  • Easing of back pain for faithful church worker 
  • Bereaved family, miscarriage after 5-month pregnancy
  • Increased strength for paralyzed grandson
  • Father suffering from depression
  • For an adult son to overcome addiction
  • A young pastor in another church under great stress
  • Upholding 2 sisters, caregivers for 3 infirm relatives
  • Watch-care over three young pregnant women
  • Cousin with lung distress, Covid complications
  • Prayers for healing of our nation’s divisiveness

May your mercy be upon the nations. We remember this weekend the loss and pain of one horrific event that reshaped our world twenty years ago. We pray for the leaders of nations and peoples, that your peace may transform the world. We pray for all those who have known war and violence. We pray for our own leaders, for the president, the governor, the county and city mayors, all elected officials and those they appoint. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us hold fast to blessed hope of your kingdom. May we be willing to lose all else for the sake of gaining Christ. Let our hopes be grounded in the vision that Christ cast in the prayer which he taught us, as we join together, 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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – September 8, 2021

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of September 8, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God of Change, you are ever calling us to look for that new thing you are doing in our world, for you are the wellspring of all life. The turning of the season is in the air, showing us a future you are calling us to enter.  We enter it solely by your grace, O Lord; our steps are tentative, for we are indeed a tired people.  The tumult of the world has seeped into our psyche, the pain and losses we view onscreen every day have pierced our hearts, the widening division within our own nation has strained our spirits and sapped our energy.  

Even so, O Message of Hope, your voice rises in the cool air sifting through the trees.  Forgive us for leading such insular lives and for believing that we might live in this realm free of weariness and suffering. Forgive us for succumbing to inner despair. Forgive us for forgetting that, as long as you give us breath, you have a mission for each of us. May the surge of your life-giving force flow through us this very day, we pray, giving us renewed strength and hope to be your hands and feet in this world you love so much.

And should we set our disappointments aside, we would remember that everything we have is a gift you have freely offered.  Indeed, were we to write our thanksgivings among the clouds, there would be no room remaining in the skies! Our very lives, our health, our families and friends, our talents and service, our individual paths that have led us to you, our place within a community of faith, are all offerings from our Savior who promises never to leave us.

And as those who have been called to be keepers of our brothers and sisters, we remember those who find themselves in harm’s way, particularly all healthcare workers whose energy is worn thin, all firefighters, flood rescuers, police, and public servants who face dangers unknown to us.  We lift up those who are facing illness or more medical tests, those who are lonely, afraid, bereaved, or depressed. Especially today, we pray for . . . . . . . . . Comfort them and their families who care for them. Whisper your word of hope in each heart, we pray, letting all know they are not alone or forgotten. 

To each of these, O Lord, we bring both the thanksgivings and the concerns that have been voiced by your community at Church Street.  We offer these, for we have confidence you are moving in and through our lives: 

  • Prayers appreciated, grandson’s depression is lifting
  • Gratitude for prayers:  dear friend home from ICU
  • Appreciation for hospital workers
  • Gratitude: granddaughter (8) now free of Covid
  • Family thankful for unexpected financial help
  • Thankful for safe visit with son out-of-town assisted living
  • Thanksgiving for Stephen Ministers assisting members in crisis
  • Gratitude for prayers: daughter on ventilator steadily improves
  • Grateful for couple’s safe travel from Europe
  • Grateful: Steady healing from knee surgery
  • One thankful her covid infection is nearing an end
  • Family celebrates birth of a healthy baby girl
  • Healing prayers – infant with Rhinovirus and RSV
  • Ongoing prayers for member with ALS
  • Easing of anxiety for one who is traveling
  • Healing for member’s broken foot
  • Beloved aunt hospitalized with internal bleeding
  • God’s comfort: family mourns death of husband/father 
  • Renewed vigor & healing for paralyzed grandson
  • Sons mourning death of their mother on Wed
  • Caregiver/friend in dire condition – Covid 
  • Continued prayers for family of four with Covid
  • Safety for Knox County students and educators
  • Prayers three members with severe pain
  • Infirm cousin, lung distress due to Covid

O Voice of Heavenly Hope, even in the dimmest days, we cling to you: for you point to the light beneath the shadows, promise the harvest after scarcity, and offer the resurrection beyond the grave. It is in deep humility that we raise our heartfelt prayers to you, closing with the words your Son taught us:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – September 1, 2021

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of September 1, 2021

Written by Rev. Tim Best

Father of lights, we praise and thank you for your good and perfect gifts. We recognize the sins and temptations of the world around us. Yet your creation is from the beginning imprinted with your purpose and truth. Your Word has entered our hearts and made us a new community, dedicated to the works of your Spirit. Direct us in our calling to be first fruits of your new creation.

In a world that suffers, let our prayers rise to you above.  From our hearts call compassion to rise for those whose pain is far off and whose circumstances are a mystery to us. When our understanding and patience falters, let our hearts be softened by your merciful call, that we might love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

Renew our minds that our thoughts would rise above our own self-obsession and think often of our neighbors. Let our thinking and speaking be transformed that we might share the mind of Christ. In our speaking, our leading, and our daily choices, may our minds always turn towards others in service and obedience to you.

The Book of James encourage us to raise our hands in service to your kingdom. We recognize that we cannot build your kingdom; You O Christ our Lord build your kingdom upon your own actions and grace. Yet, we are called to serve your kingdom. You have invited us to partner with you in the work of your kingdom. May we offer our service to the world around us in witness to your love. Let us raise our hands in service and in praise.

As we raise our hearts, minds, and hands in prayer this morning we are mindful of so much pain and need. We ask that you would continue to be with those who grieve and suffer in Waverly, TN. Be with the citizens of Haiti and all who work to serve them now. We pray for the victims of the hurricanes that have battered southern and eastern coasts. Guide us to action that we would not only react to natural disasters, but that we would work and serve to protect the earth, ensure safe homes for our neighbors, and protect the vulnerable from future disasters.

We lift up all healthcare workers. Give them strength as they seek to heal and comfort the sick. Guide our actions that we would be a support to those who tend to the pains and sufferings of others. As our health system is again stretched, let your love stretch beyond our weariness and the exhaustion of all those who give care. May all find rest in you,  O God.

We pray for our leaders, for those who make decisions for our community, the nation and the world. We pray for Afghanistan and all those involved, from foreign leaders to Afghan families seeking safety or overwhelmed with fear. We pray for all those who died at the Kabul airport, including 13 Americans serving in uniform. We lift up all those who have died and suffered over twenty years of war.

Be present to all those who are grieving. We pray that your church would be a beacon of peace in our community and throughout the world. We lift in prayer these concerns and joys of our church family. React with compassion, we pray, to the prayers of your people.

  • Thankful for dedicated healthcare and hospital workers
  • One thankful for help of Parish Health Team advice
  • Grateful for a clear mammogram
  • Prayers appreciated for safe travel- all well
  • Thanksgiving – daughter’s first birthday
  • A paralyzed grandson now has wrist & toe movement
  • Gratitude for prayers for safe travel – all is going well
  • Two are grateful for new caregiving helpers
  • Family celebrates birth of a beautiful new granddaughter
  • Thankful for prayers – sister’s surgery went smoothly
  • Courage & strength for family mourning sudden death of husband/father
  • Psychological healing for cherished grandson (21) his family
  • Recovery grandson’s paralysis
  • Prayers for husband having bladder surgery Thursday
  • Caregiver/friend in dire condition – Covid
  • Courage, guidance for wife whose husband died August 31
  • Daughter on ventilator – Covid, healing for her husband & 2 children
  • Co-worker friend (and family), son-in-law killed in Kabul on Friday
  • Prayers for recovery of member’s vision & severe back pain
  • 2 sons whose mother died in Haiti; a husband with phlebitis
  • Grace & safety for grieving family – death of mother in North Carolina
  • Dear friend – ICU with cancer, heart, kidney disorders
  • Safety for couple flying from Europe to Knoxville this weekend
  • Dickson and Humphreys County flood victims and government officials making major relief decisions
  • Exhausted nurse striving to survive pandemic workload
  • Cousin in critical lung distress, Covid complications
  • Strength for family, grieving death of grandson (12)

May your loving Spirit surround each of these who reach out to you with their specific thanksgivings and their deepest prayers.  It was the Apostle Paul who taught us to pray without ceasing; and even as we close with the Lord’s Prayer, let our hearts rise in prayer to meet the world you created and love:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – August 25

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of August 22, 2021

Written by Rev. Catherine Nance

O God who is our armor, our defender, and our protection, the scripture admonishes us to “hang in there and pray for all believers.” Many of us older ones are used to hearing “persevere,” but the contemporary translation “hang in there” feels more appropriate: “Hang in there and pray for one another.” So here we are, O God, many of us feeling as if we are barely hanging in and not quite holding on. But we are thankful each time we gather as the body of Christ, in prayer or in person, remembering that it is you who holds on to us. It is your strength, your armor in which we wrap ourselves that allows us to keep calm and to carry on. We long to persevere, to do the work you call us to do. Hold onto us that we might be the people of God who exhibit faithfulness and not fear.

We long for the whole world to have this feeling of being put back together, O God. Your world is aching; it is aching, consumed by disease, wildfires, storms, and violence. It would be easy for us to hang our heads low instead of simply bowing them in prayer. Hanging our heads low in weariness and, if we are honest, despair.  But you have told us to stay alert by hanging in there and by praying for each other.

We pray for those devastated and grieving as their cities are flooded; those affected by Hurricane Henri, and those in Haiti who are without shelter, those in danger and crisis in Afghanistan.  We pray for all who work in our local hospitals which are stretched to their limits; and we pray for school personnel who are exhausted after just a week or two of classes.  

And as we list our concerns, help us not to be discouraged, but faithful.  For we know that your love, your comfort and abiding presence are a greater solace. We know that your resurrection power offers hope and a certainty that we too often forget.  As we pray for others who celebrate or mourn, may our hearts be more open, more compassionate, and more understanding of each situation:  

  • Gratitude offered for the long life of beloved church member
  • Family celebrates a weekend wedding 
  • Family gives thanks for a week of vacation
  • Thankful for dedicated healthcare workers
  • One thankful for recovery from Covid
  • Gratitude for birth of a little nephew
  • Celebration of Pastor Palmer’s ordination 8/27
  • Thanksgiving for each one joining the church last Sunday
  • Recovery for young grandson facing paralysis 
  • Prayers for dear sister in assisted living, confused & ill
  • Member needs prayers for her physical restoration
  • Cherished husband with dementia in assisted living
  • Blessings for a student teacher
  • Dickson and Humphreys County flood victims and government officials making major relief decisions
  • Hope for cancer sufferer traveling to MD Anderson
  • Strength, protection for ER nurse in critical work situation
  • Safety for college freshmen making a new start
  • For more persons to accept virus vaccinations
  • Blessings for young son leaving home
  • Exhausted nurse striving to survive pandemic workload
  • Safety for nephew, military duty in Afghanistan
  • Family grieving death of brother-in-law
  • Adult children whose mother died this week
  • Upholding son caring for mother in hospice
  • Prayers for one having knee replacement on August 30 
  • Cousin in critical lung distress, Covid complications
  • Prayers for bereaved family, death of mother  
  • Continued prayers, member with ALS
  • Peace for one facing new cancer scans
  • Healing for member’s severe back pain and eye malady
  • Mother with cancer, that new treatment may help
  • Safety for caregiver traveling 2 weeks with infirm friend
  • Strength for family, grandson (12) met a tragic death today
  • Brother with Alzheimer’s and his caregiver wife
  • Two loved ones suffering from advanced cancer

May we be moved to action, knowing that we have your resources at hand your armor of strength instead of our will; your truth instead of our misconceptions; your justice instead of our arrogance, prejudice and self-reliance. Thank you for your salvation, O Lord, that replaces the empty promises of success.  

And as we face what seems like overwhelming powers and principalities, give us the wisdom and strength to face ourselves and our own powers, to choose the path of peace in all of our living.  And may we be unified in the task of being faithful messengers of your word and your ways.  All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ who gave us this prayer for all seasons of life:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – August 18, 2021

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of August 15, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God, we call your Son the Prince of Peace, and yet we make war among ourselves, too often in your name. Forgive us, we pray.  Our hearts are torn when the see the anguished faces of those who have lost everything, as they flee in search of safety, of peace.  Dark frightened eyes peer out from veils, as if begging us not to forget them. Lord, have mercy. Shelter under your wings the weak and unprotected in Afghanistan; diffuse the evil retaliation that lives within the souls of the oppressors now in control. Lord, have mercy. And we pray your covering of security would rest upon the people of Haiti who have borne more destruction and upheaval than the human mind can comprehend or heart contain. Lord, have mercy. Supply sufficient wisdom, we pray, that prudent solutions may be reached in ministering to the refugees crossing our southern borders. May our hands join yours in the bold work of restoration and healing.  

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Candle of Compassion, shine your light upon all who are distressed by illness – either their own, or the sickness of loved ones.  Ease their burdens, we pray, and give strength to those who care for the infirm.  Particularly, we ask that you would bless the hands of all healthcare workers who labor to assist those afflicted with the Covid virus.  We thank you for instilling medical professionals with courage and a sense of mission to ease the suffering around them.  Give us wisdom, as people of God, to do all we can to shield from illness our brothers and sisters in your beloved community. And in whatever opportunity presents itself, may we keep your candle of hope burning brightly for those who are unwell or depleted. 

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

This week we remember how you have remained our Constant Hope, our strength and shield, and have brought goodness our way. We therefore name the private praises for the favors you have shown us in recent times . . . . . . . . . Glory be to you, the One who always offers hope.  And with our personal gratitude, we also name the singular ways in which you have lightened the burdens of others in our church family:

Thanksgivings:

  • Thankful for prayers, back pain is easing
  • Youth Choir that makes our hearts glad
  • Family grateful for church support during bereavement
  • Family celebrating birth of healthy baby girl on the 13th
  • God’s good work in the lives of a broken family
  • Rainfall upon our thirsty earth
  • Financial assistance received by one ill & in need
  • Gratitude for healthcare workers going the second mile
  • Thanksgiving: 2 family members received 1st vaccine
  • Two members recovering well from Covid
  • Educators giving of themselves for our children
  • Gratitude for young ones who model for us the love of learning

When we are wounded, we know your own heart bleeds for us.  So direct your gaze, we pray, upon each of these ones who name their own sorrows and challenges:

Concerns:

  • Safety for nephew, military duty in Afghanistan
  • Grandson facing paralysis from a diving accident
  • Hospitalized mother in great distress from Covid
  • Cousin in critical lung distress, Covid complications
  • Prayers for bereaved family, death of a father  
  • Family newly diagnosed with Covid, in isolation
  • Continued prayers, member with ALS
  • Mother with cancer, that new treatment may help
  • Easing of worries for husband’s upcoming surgery
  • Safety for caregiver traveling 2 weeks with infirm friend
  • Courage for friend with ALS symptoms 
  • Elderly mother recovering from surgery
  • Safety for brother, military duty in Africa
  • Family of another Knoxville youth killed by violence
  • Increased virus vaccinations within our population
  • Friend mourning brother who died unexpectedly (age 39)
  • Help for a mother, caregiver for ill adult son
  • Brother with Alzheimer’s, caused by agent orange

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Our feet are unsteady these days, Lord, with all that is happening in our world; and we confess we often waver in our commitments. Still, in your grace, we believe you accept even our smallest efforts and are already forming them into something wondrous and meaningful. We need not know all the intricacies of the Kingdom of Heaven, for we only pray that, in some mysterious way, we are on the right road to that holy province:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – August 11

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of August 11, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

All praise to you, O Living Bread, for you gave your own flesh and blood that we might know the essence of true life. You gave your heart, mind, spirit, hopes, dreams, and concerns that we might understand the love of the Father.  Ah, the manner in which you wish to abide within us is a great mystery; yet once we have felt you in the very sinews of our souls, we never wish to live without that sustenance that allows us to thrive in this difficult world.

God of Goodness, hear our prayer.

Lord, we remember it was Jesus himself who wore the robe of Teacher, knowing full well the distinct challenges such a calling would bring.  Therefore, we pray this week that insight and stamina be given to all those who educate students at every level, that they might be sufficiently equipped for the ministry to which you have called them.  Bless all the young people in our church family and within our community who wait to be taught, to be encouraged, to be understood, to grow in knowledge and wisdom.  Be at work in the homes of every family, attending each young one physically and spiritually, that they might trust Christ as their Teacher and their Eternal Guide.

God of Goodness, hear our prayer.

O Merciful Spirit, only you can erase the bruises which our failures have left upon our hearts.  You alone know the desires and hopes buried deep inside us.  We trust that you would find within us a profound longing to live a godly and upright life.  Such a yearning, we know, cannot happen without your underlying direction.  Give us hearts to practice daily scripture reading and reflection upon your word, to become disciplined in listening for your voice, which often comes as a mere whisper.  Assist us in remaining faithful to the commitments we have undertaken this season for the sake of your church:  to contribute generously, to greet, to teach and guide, to plan, to pray, to oversee, to build and repair, to chair a committee, to feed the hungry, to visit and transport the infirm.

God of Goodness, hear our prayer.

We lift up those within our own church family who are in sorrow, pain, sickness, or other hardship, and also those who are close to our hearts. Throughout this week, may each receive your light of reassurance.  Steel us with courage to face our burdens, so that in the end we may be counted among your faithful:

Thanksgivings:

  • Five have recovered from Covid
  • Gratitude for healthcare workers going the second mile
  • Gratitude for young ones who model for us the love of learning
  • Praises that sister-in-law hospitalized with Covid to be released soon
  • Family grateful for the diagnosis of a father’s illness
  • Thanksgiving for safe and happy visit with relatives in Illinois
  • Gratitude for family reunion in Arkansas
  • The blessing of our church choirs
  • Family gives thanks for upcoming wedding
  • Couple celebrate their wedding anniversary
  • Spirit’s presence with a family during a bereavement
  • Member thankful for Covid healing

Concerns:

  • For an increase in virus vaccinations within our population
  • Strength, courage for daughter caring for ill parent
  • Wisdom and safety for community in another Covid surge
  • Family mourning death of cherished mother
  • Healing prayers for very weak member, hospitalized
  • Sustaining our understaffed hospitals and weary staffs
  • Courage for grandson paralyzed in diving accident
  • An end to violence in our schools and community
  • Help for a mother, caregiver for ill adult son
  • Safe delivery of a first grandchild
  • Longtime friend in Cleveland, longterm illness
  • Prayers for KCS staff and students
  • God’s presence with four struggling families
  • Prayers for member recovering from an amputation
  • Healing mercies for member with ALS
  • Hospitalized cousin, seriously ill with Covid
  • Wisdom in diagnosing an intestinal malady
  • Two dealing with ongoing depression, for burdens to lift
  • Grace and blessings for brother with metastatic cancer

O God Who Listens, we thank you for receiving our praises and petitions this day, knowing your hand will be upon us.  Hear us now as our voices and hearts join together in offering the words of your Beloved, the Bread of Life, who taught us to pray:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – August 4

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of August 4, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God Who Opens Wide the Door, each day you draw near & call out to us, your children. “Come and be filled!” you say. At times, remembering your boundless generosity, we heed your call. We open wide our hearts & hands to receive your rich food of love, purpose and resilience. We cross the threshold at your invitation, knowing your companionship will be sufficient for every need. But at other times, we confess we are content to remain inside, tightly closing our hearts and hands around our own desires, plans, and interests. Forgive us, we pray, for those instances when we ignore your voice, when we seek that which does not satisfy. For deep down, we know when we reject your call, we are starving our very souls.

Lord, in your goodness, hear our prayer.

And still, your grace flows widely today, Benevolent One, for you have once again  drawn close. As you fed the hungry on that hillside long ago, you daily break the bread of life in our midst, a reminder that we cannot live authentically without your love. We pray for those who are blinded by grief this day, for those who are ill, weak, disillusioned, those facing major life challenges. We pray for our nation, and all nations once again in the throes of a dangerous virus, and for all healthcare workers who are already over-extending themselves on our behalf. Hear the cries of all who call out in your gracious name, especially these believers within our own church community:

Thanksgivings:

  • One is thankful for a negative Covid test result
  • A family is recovering from Covid
  • Thanksgiving for all who donated school supplies for neighborhood youngsters and teachers
  • Gratitude for exceptional guidance of a health professional – A brother’s hip surgery was successful
  • Family deeply thankful for clear cancer scans
  • Good news for two embroiled in legal disputes
  • One in depression has had some bright spots in recent days
  • Grateful for prayers: a relationship is being restored
  • Family celebrates a granddaughter’s engagement

Concerns:

  • Wisdom & safety for our community, now facing another outbreak of Covid and serious variants
  • Prayers for family recovering from Covid
  • Comfort for elderly mother hospitalized
  • Sustaining a weary caregiver
  • For maturity in decision-making
  • Healing mercies for friend with prostate cancer
  • Hospitalized cousin in TX, seriously ill with Covid
  • Lonely widow asks for prayers for bodily strength
  • Wisdom in diagnosing an intestinal malady
  • A lonely widower, for his openness to friendships
  • Protection & peace for two church families relocating
  • Two seeking relief from debilitating back pain
  • Strength for one in ongoing radiation

Continue to nurture each of these with your grace, we pray; and thanks be to our Savior who gathers up even the broken pieces of our lives, so that nothing is lost.

Lord, in your goodness, hear our prayer.

You have filled us with abundance, Lord, with beautiful faces of children that brighten our day, with our vibrant youth who eagerly work for the disadvantaged in our community, with music and voices that penetrate our hearts, with a worship space that truly says welcome, with devoted servants whose lives model the Christian way of life, and with a rich legacy of faith which continues to witness to the sovereignty of Christ throughout our region.

Lord, in your goodness, hear our prayer.

May all our thoughts and undertakings this week be dedicated to your glory, O Lord. Let us step out into the world with the Bread of Heaven in our hands, ready to share Christ’s living grace with each one we meet.  All this we ask in the name of the Son who nourishes and sustains in every hour, and who taught us to pray:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – July 28

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of July 25, 2021

Written by Rev. Catherine Nance

O God of Invitation, scriptures tell of folks who are far away being brought near by the grace of Jesus Christ. We thank you for the gift of worship that brings us near to you. Some of us have felt far away in recent days – some literally because of travel. Some are far away because of health concerns or fear of being in crowds, some are far away because of guilt or shame or depression. Even when we gather in person, there are those sitting on our same pew who still feel far away. What a gift worship is, O God who gathers us in. Our time of worship draws each of us near to you, and as we each draw closer to your throne of grace, we sense the presence of our brothers and sisters who also long to be near you.

Thank you for gathering us into one body, into one family. Today we bring our fragmented hearts and our broken spirits and you make them whole again. All praise to you, for you welcome all into your household; thus so, may we eagerly greet one another with compassionate spirits each time we are together.

When we bow before you in prayer, our hearts open and our petitions spill out. In speaking aloud to you the worries, the hopes, the anguish, and the joy that are in our hearts, we know you have already turned a listening ear towards us and are already breathing your Spirit into these petitions.  Open our ears, O Loving God, that we may hear how you desire us to respond, to think, to act, to dream.

As we pray for people who are far away — citizens of countries worn down by years of oppression and deprivation, citizens whose lives are disrupted by violence, for citizens in our own country who yearn for a return of order and safety, citizens of our northwestern states as forest fires and heatwaves continue.  Though all these are distant to us in miles, they are near to us in spirit, for you are the one who joins us all together.

We thank you for this church, for this particular congregation of the body of Christ and for the ministries and opportunities to serve. We give thanks for children who have learned new songs and for youth who have given of their time and energy; we are thankful for Sunday School classes meeting in new ways and reuniting in old rooms. We pray that the church that meets in this building knows full well that their hearts, their arms, their love, and, their awareness moves well beyond the walls to places we may never know.

We are indebted to you, O God, for you so freely listen and accept these murmured prayers, reflecting our dreams, hopes, and gratitude. Listen also, we pray, to these personal concerns and joys that live in the hearts of your people at Church Street:

Thanksgivings:

  • Thankful for prayers for brother with cancer
  • Prayers appreciated: Correct diagnosis made for young niece having seizures
  • One healing well after a fall
  • Knee injury is healing well
  • Two offer gratitude for the gift of prayer shawls
  • Family recovering from Covid
  • Father offers gratitude for daughter’s academic awards
  • Thanksgiving for generous friends supporting Beacon of Hope
  • Injections are offering relief for back pain
  • Grateful for prayers: one with back injury has returned to work

Concerns:

  • Prayers for family members refusing Covid vaccination
  • Friend in mourning – husband died following heart transplant
  • Two families isolating – Covid concerns
  • Comfort for elderly mother hospitalized
  • Continued physical healing of former Sterchi Lodge caretaker & comfort as she mourns the sudden death of her husband
  • Healing for friend symptomatic of ALS
  • Cousin in Texas, hospitalized with Covid
  • Lonely widow in poor health
  • Wisdom in diagnosing an intestinal malady
  • Prayers for son’s healing: PTSD and addiction
  • Family grieving death of mother on Tuesday
  • Protection and peace for two church families moving far away
  • Strengthening commitment of young married couple
  • Mending a broken relationship
  • Recovery for member in cancer treatment
  • Lonely ill widow
  • Two seeking relief from debilitating back pain
  • Healing for member — lengthy depression
  • Healing for friend — bone marrow transplant
  • One suffering complications following a rattlesnake bite

Lord of All, we, your wandering sheep, will travel roads both familiar and new in the days ahead. Stay close to us, through your grace, that our eyes remain open to your eternal truth; that our ears be open to your holy voice; that our minds be open to your love and comfort. And along the way, wherever we find ourselves, may our hearts beat in rhythm with the heart of Christ, who is the pulse of life itself:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – July 21

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of July 18, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

We come at this moment, O Lord Most High, knowing it is your will that all people be bound together in love and harmony.  Truly, it has long been our prayer that we might become an integral part of your plan; we would be among those focused and resilient ones who uphold your foundation of grace and love.  We confess, however, that we have fallen short of your expectations and have failed in our resolve. Our prejudices and pride have resurfaced time and again to weaken the very structure we have sought to buttress.  Forgive our flaws, especially the countless ways in which we have excluded those who do not think or act as we, those whose lifestyles and experiences are vastly different than our own.  And in your mercy, tend the wounds, we pray, of those whom we have injured.  Turn us again toward your true words of welcome and acceptance, that we might find our unyielding place beside your Son, the Cornerstone of our Faith.

Renewing God, truly your faithfulness comes to us new every morning. Even the vaporous undulating clouds overhead, ever changing in their mystery, speak of your nearness and your promise of new beginnings.  We praise you for their silent message that clear skies live just above mounds of gray; and that, through your grace, fresh possibilities await.  Give us patience, we pray, to work in your name even when the times seem ashen, even when our efforts seem fruitless. When our discipleship grows stale, point us toward that untried avenue of service that you have already planned for us.  Give us such faith, we pray, that we might never doubt that your clarity ever shines beyond the haze.

It was Jesus who took a single scant meal of bread and fish on the mountainside, blessed it, and it provided enough to feed a multitude. We recognize how you have blessed us and are humbled that you have given us more than we could ever ask or deserve.  Even life in this realm is your sacred miracle.  Help us who are so richly blessed to bless the multitudes, as did our Lord.  Bless the hands of those among us who feed the hungry and reach out to the poor.  Bless the hearts of those who never forget the homeless, the ill, and the vulnerable. Bless the feet of those who transport your hope to the hurting across the globe.  May your power continue to flow through these humble servants who extend your mercy in abundance, as did Jesus.

Remembering that your Son receives every care we cast upon him, we share our deepest concerns this week.   And also acknowledging the ways in which you are sustaining us, we name our thanksgivings:

Thanksgivings:

  • Gratitude: husband recovering steadily in assisted living
  • Thanksgiving: member continues to heal following a fall
  • Family celebrates out-of-town wedding of last week
  • Thankful for prayers during long journey cross country and safe arrival
  • Prayers appreciated: Husband home from rehab
  • Gratitude for life of faithful Christian servant at Sterchi Lodge
  • Couple thankful for respite – travel in northern states
  • Family thankful for a son’s college scholarship
  • Family celebrates a daughter’s engagement
  • Grateful for prayers: Neck surgery went well
  • Thankful for prayers: No side effects experienced during cancer treatments
  • Celebrating children and leaders in successful choir camp
  • Prayers appreciated: Member managing radiation treatments

Concerns:

  • Continued health and protection for four mothers-to-be
  • Couple separated for four weeks, work responsibilities
  • Grace and patience for one healing from a leg injury
  • Mending a shattered friendship
  • Three members in physical therapy
  • Two seeking relief from debilitating back pain
  • One in longtime depression, for a new beginning
  • A friend healing from heart transplant
  • Healing grace for young mother with bone cancer
  • Healing for friend – bone marrow transplant
  • Comfort for husband wife separated in assisted living
  • Continued healing for mother with broken pelvis
  • A daughter and son-in-law with Covid and their family
  • Steady healing for brother with colon cancer
  • Longtime friend with advanced liver and lung cancer
  • God’s grace for young friend showing signs of ALS

We ask all these things with confidence, knowing that you hear us even before we ask, and we pray in earnest, using the words Jesus taught his first disciples:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by

Weekly Prayer – July 14

,

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of July 11, 2021

Written by Rev. Tim Best

Gracious and Merciful God, you have indeed blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. We confess our tendency to grasp for more, while discarding the abundance which you have given us. Make us mindful of the many ways in which we are blessed and through which we are called to be a blessing to all those around us.

In a world that can often appear to be ruled by forces that divide, depress, and isolate, you, O God, have chosen us in Christ to enter into your presence. We pray that we might be a sign of your presence in the world. We pray for our youth who have gone out into our community this week and have partnered with our neighbors to make a difference in our city. We also pray for the children who have gathered to learn to sing your praises during children’s choir camp. Fill the youth, children, and their adult leaders with the certain knowledge of your abiding love, and give them energy for their labors.

God, you have destined us to be adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. We rejoice that have been called and claimed as children and heirs; give us patient humility to recognize that Jesus’ love is a gift we are called to share. Guide us to reach out in love to those who are alone, to those who we do not understand, and to those we would see as enemies. Our inclusion into God’s family is pure gift, help us to see all others as those who have also been invited into fellowship with God.

And within the fellowship of Church Street UMC, we lift up our praises and our concerns, believing that you will continue to hear us, to love us, and to heal us:

Thanksgivings:

  • Family appreciates prayers for ill wife, much improved
  • Thanksgiving: Husband’s injury will not require surgery
  • Celebration of a young son’s baptism last Sunday
  • Gratitude: Husband’s cancer scans were all clear
  • Gratitude: Grandson has completed lymphoma treatments
  • Family thankful for church member’s visit to an ill husband
  • One grateful for safe travel during storms
  • Sustaining grace for a bereaved family
  • God’s hand in bringing about a change of heart
  • Parents offer gratitude for a daughter’s wedding
  • Adult son’s heart tests were clear

Concerns:

  • Safety and guidance for sisters assisting ill relatives in California
  • Comfort and peace for a husband/father nearing death
  • Healing grace for a mother with bone cancer
  • Prayers for reparation of a broken relationship
  • A daughter and son-in-law with Covid and their family
  • Continued prayers for brother with cancer
  • Longtime friend with advanced liver and lung cancer
  • Healing relationships within a family
  • Prayers for one undergoing knee surgery on the 19th
  • Healing mercies for member having neck surgery next week
  • Continued healing for one in radiation treatment
  • Diagnosis for young niece experiencing seizures
  • Mother with fractured pelvis
  • Healing mercies for member beginning cancer treatment this week
  • Prayers for friend with cancer undergoing bone marrow transplant
  • Physical strength for wife and husband in physical therapy
  • Healing for an ill couple, professional performers

We pray in faith for that day when you will bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth. We pray for those who have died, and for those who grieve. We pray for peace amongst the nations, and for the unity of our community.

Living God, help us so to hear your holy Word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe, and, believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray in this way:

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

/by