BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 7, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Master of Life, the ground beneath us seems to be shifting these days and we strive to regain our footing. Just when we think everything is under control, we feel ourselves slipping again, inch by inch. How unsettling it is when answers come so slowly. Still, we remember our Lord Jesus lived courageously in a time of great danger and uncertainty. He remained the calm amid the storms. Grant, O Holy One, that we might also reflect such inner calm that comes from our trust in you.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Indeed you do bless us with your Quiet Spirit in so many ways. This fall season brings indescribable beauty and you have blessed us with a string of perfect days, with sufficient food, with friends, families, and co-workers who support us.

And when our chattering and complaining minds slow down, we remember the apostle who told us that nothing can separate us from your love. So throughout this day, may we practice courage and faith by chanting with conviction the ancient words of the psalmist:

 The Lord our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. . . The Lord of Hosts is with us.  The God of Jacob is our refuge! (Ps 46:1,2, 11)

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Knowing that you are always working on our behalf, we lift up to your care these particular situations expressed by our church family:

• Gratitude: hip replacement surgery today went smoothly
• A new grandmother offers blessings for a new grandson
• Thanksgiving for the life & witness of a faithful disciple
• Prayers for wisdom & focus: 3 members taking the Bar Exam today
• Member w/ cancer diagnosis, for faithful husband who stands by
• Healing for an older father with Covid-19 & wife who are isolating
• Prayers for a member’s proper diagnosis of medical condition
• Member having a heart cath today, for diagnosis
• Protection from virus for daughter working at the White House
• Continued healing of one following gum surgery
• Cherished son with PTSD related to combat, for grace & healing
• God’s comfort for member grieving the death of her sister
• Pray for protection: daughter still traveling to ORE to begin work
• For God’s healing mercies to surround a troubled soul
• Mother with psychological issues, for her children trying to help
• Healing of our nation, broken by rancor, distrust, & violence 

Hear also now our private confessions and concerns . . . . . . and our praises for the joys you have brought about in our lives in recent times  . . . . . .  Thank you, Living Lord, for accepting us, for loving us as we are, and for remaining our Eternal Hope.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We leave these, our earnest prayers, with you, Holy One, for we follow your Beloved Son who taught us to pray without ceasing:

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.

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Join us for Holy Communion at Noon today!

Happening in the Magnolia Lot. If you are downtown or weren’t able to join us on Sunday, we hope you will join us (with your mask!) for a brief service today.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

October 5, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

O Morning Star, you speak to us through the fading leaves that float across the window pane, scuttling down to the cool earth, joining a thousand others. They collect much as our days, crumpled and lifeless, never to come again. These dry remnants seem to say that what is past is past, and that our failures and mistakes have no need of resurrection. As an already-barren branch dances in the breeze, you already seem to be fashioning something new. Let us watch and wait to see what new fruits you are planning for the season to come.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

As chill winds blow, we remember that Jesus taught we are to be our brother’s keeper. Bless those, Dear Lord, who have such thin jackets to ward off the brisk air. From our own storehouse, we have enough to clothe everyone in our city. Teach us to share our bounty more readily, we pray. And we lift up today those who have endured pronounced suffering throughout these long months of the pandemic. Draw near those who have lost their faith in humanity and even their faith in you; couples who have drifted apart; those who have broken down under the strain; those who have no one to speak out on their behalf; for all who are disheartened, and those near death.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Sure and Certain Hope, shore us up when we feel overwhelmed by the needs around us, for from time to time we ourselves fall into the grip of emptiness and despair. As you have sent others to lift us up in our time of pain, let us draw near and help shoulder the burdens of our brothers and sisters. And accept, we pray, these pleas for help which come from your people at Church Street, while also receiving our praises for your faithfulness:

• Thanksgiving: a young teacher in Mexico is healthy & out of isolation
• Prayers appreciated: a cataract procedure turned out well on Friday
• Celebrating at-risk infant’s perfect check-up on Friday at Vanderbilt
• Gratitude for the blessing of church’s in-person communion services
• Gratitude for prayers: sister died peacefully surrounded by loved ones
• Thankful that a mother’s infection is much improved
• Pray for protection: daughter still traveling to Oregon to begin work
• Remember in prayer: safety for daughter working at the White House
• Prayers for wisdom & courage: 3 members taking the Bar Exam this week
• A grandson, pray that he might mature & make wise decisions
• Daughter-in-law w/ aggressive cancer, strength for her treatment
• Comfort & healing for all grieving recent deaths of loved ones
• Healing for troubled family, dealing w/ multiple health issues
• Strength & courage for husband, prime caregiver for his ill wife
• Healing mercies for a member recovering from knee surgery
• Pray for healing: parents grieving the death of their infant son
• 2 mothers in TX w/ dementia, strength for caregiving families

O Waiting One, sometimes we hesitate to bother you with our earthly concerns, but then we remember you are never too remote to hear our praise or to accept our protests and laments. Take these, along with our noisy chatter and the turmoil of our world up into your Great Silence. And rain down your peace upon us all; for it is Christ’s holy peace for which we deeply long:

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.

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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 30, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Under leaden skies the rain patters lightly on the cedars, as softly as a cat moves into a room, licking away its residue of summer dust. The summer has brought its wonders but also fiery protests and the hot smell of death. If your mercy does fall as the gentle rain from heaven, we so need it now. As your sweet drops brush clean the window panes, we might press close, peering out through the clear glass once again. Could that be you, Holy One, huddled within the evergreens, weeping for your children gone astray?

In the chill of autumn, heavy branches bend low in worship, as needles drop to the wet ground. These are as residue of regrets, broken promises, words spoken in haste, missed opportunities for reconciliation. Bathe us with those steady showers of longed-for healing, we pray; and not only ourselves, but for all who suffer everywhere: for lives ended before their time, for loved ones crumpled over by grief, for the imprisoned, the disheartened, the poverty-stricken, the dying. We are a nation of parched souls, thirsting for holy wisdom. Lord, we have been splashed with such grace through the centuries that we have taken it for granted. Rinse away our collective sense of entitlement, we pray.

And grant that our tears may mingle with yours until that sweet-smelling vapor rises from the well-watered earth – the aroma of newness that tells us what is past is past, and what has never been is still possible.

In your mercy, we lay before you these individual joys and concerns that are much on the hearts of your people at Church Street. You know what we need before we ask, but we offer all these, as Jesus welcomed the concerns of all whom he met:

• A father’s outlook is brighter following a painful divorce
• Happy couple grateful for their upcoming December wedding
• Gratitude: our 3^rd graders who received their Bibles on Sunday
• Thankful for the life of a faithful witness who died on Saturday
• Prayers for couple dealing with damage to their property
• Prayers & protection for young teacher: in isolation in Mexico City
• College students under stress: academics & threat of illness
• Healing for troubled family, dealing w/ many health issues
• Prayers for 3 studying for the bar exam as the date nears
• Healing of dear friend enduring painful radiation burns
• Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family
• Healing of a mother’s infection
• 2 relatives with Covid-19, also recovering from Hurricane Sally
• Two who suffer from heart failure, for improvement
• Healing of grief: Parents of 39-year-old who died of addictions
• Adult children in TX, endeavoring to help mother w/ dementia
• Dear friend in TX w/ dementia; strength for adult son & caregiver
• Friend with kidney cancer, continuing to trust in God thru all his days

Give us your reassurance, Loving Father, as we move through these troubled times. Whether your encouragement comes as the steady tapping of raindrops on our shoulders, the sound of the earth drinking in your refreshing shower, or as a sigh that comes when something mysterious has happened. We will look for whatever you send, and will continue to pray the prayer 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?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 28, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain;
Restore my hope, remove me fear, and bring me peace again.

Holy Source of Life, we give you thanks for all the signs you offer, telling us that your Spirit’s power is working within all things. We thank you for Jesus, who stretched out his hands to heal the sick, to speak good news to the poor and lonely, who proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor, and who invited us to take part in his healing ministry. We shrink before the challenge laid out before us, but remember the One who multiplied loaves and fishes, who satisfied the five thousand, who amplified the efforts of ordinary disciples to render extraordinary results, wondering if you might also have a way to use even us.

Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin,
Dispel the memories of guilt and bring me peace within.

O Healing Balm, as we are bearers of our own wounds and brokenness, our own soiled pasts, and recollections of our failures, we are tempted to disregard your call; but your words hang heavy in the air: “Follow me.” Perhaps it is true that you choose only broken vessels to carry your balm of healing. If that is the case, you have many fragmented souls from which to choose. Cover us again with your limitless oil of mercy, found only in your immense storehouse. Heal us, we pray, that we might then worthily carry your restorative balm to those others who have also been maimed by the world.

May this day treat kindly those who wait in hope for rescue from illness, poverty, wildfires, storm, depression and despair; and those who wait for the next paycheck, the phone call, the medical report, the end of addiction, death itself. As we are your instruments, show us those places where we might make a difference and we will make haste to carry your oil of mercy wherever you send us. And remember as well, these situations uppermost in the hearts of our Church Street family:

• Husband thankful for church prayers & contacts during wife’s illness
• Gratitude for many prayers: NICU baby now at home w/ family
• Grateful that mother has been released from hospital
• For a relative to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit
• Prayers for a sister undergoing colon surgery today
• 2 relatives with Covid-19 & also recovering from Hurricane Sally
• Friend (62) with head & neck cancer, relief for radiation burns
• Prayers: cherished sister in hospice care in FLA; peace for family members now surrounding her with love
• Mother with infection, for proper treatment & healing
• Dear friend with heart failure, for successful treatment
• One who faces cardiac MRI on Thursday, for correct diagnosis
• Member ill in assisted living, comfort for him, his wife & family
• Member suffering greatly with back pain, prayers for relief
• Prayers for a mother-to-be, that coming weeks will bring safe delivery
• Friend with kidney cancer, continuing to trust in God thru all his days
• Young daughter awaiting diagnosis for fainting episodes

Fill me, joy of Jesus, anxiety shall cease,
And heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace.

Our fears are the color of darkness, Lord, but in your saving grace, you reach in, stirring up joyful blues, greens, and yellows to enliven the dusky hue. We long for the time when fear, unease, and loneliness will be no more. But till that era when heaven’s serenity lives in every heart, keep us filled to the brim with hope. And we shall remain faithful to the ministry to which you have called us, through Christ our Lord:

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?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

September 23, 2020

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say that to you he hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Indeed, Holy One, you are that sure foundation on which we stand. Amid the apprehension and unpredictability of this present era, our lives would crumble if you had not planted us securely upon your rock that never fails. Your scriptures and hymns, inspired by your Spirit, speak the words our hearts long to hear. We stand grateful for loved ones who have buoyed us when our souls were ragged, for our church family which offers a place of belonging. We believers are separated by distance perhaps, but not separated from our firm faith in your saving love, our commitment to your church, and our trust in each other.

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismayed,
for I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

The words you first spoke through your prophet Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you…” have reverberated through the ages, through many voices, giving us strength to carry on. You have provided aid in our most recent times of trial: for six months you have raised up researchers to probe the origins of and possible cures for the virus; you have called resolute healthcare workers and first responders to assist the ill; you have enlightened leaders to advise us concerning protection; and you have provided avenues which enable us to stay connected. Our vulnerability stems not only from the menacing disease that has seeped into every crevice of our lives, for we have been weakened also by the violence that has increasingly debased our common life. Save us, we pray, from the hatred that blinds us and the fear that leaves us cringing and dismayed. By your omnipotent hand, make us brave enough to confront the forces of prejudice and anger within ourselves, then turn our warring chants into a doxology of hope.

“When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”

Our lives are replete with personal stories of your saving deliverance, yet we remain fragile mortals who always seek out your healing and renewal. We cannot know the outcome of our prayers, but we trust that when we turn everything over to you, O Bedrock of our Faith, your grace shall be sufficient. So many across our globe are mired in misfortune and who also await your deliverance. Comfort and carry all the afflicted in their hour of sorrow, we pray, and attend to these concerns and joys that are uppermost in the hearts of your people of Church Street:

• One celebrates: no further treatment needed after cancer surgery
• Two thankful for long-awaited reunion
• Gratitude: Mother home from hospital, recovering well from surgery
• College student happily reports her post-surgery pain in easing
• Thankful: Benevolence Ministry – helping poor in our community
• Comfort for member & family – grieving mother’s death
• Traveling mercies for grandson en route to TX today
• Continued prayers for healing of NICU baby
• Dear mother in assisted living with many medical issues
• Member suffering greatly with back pain, prayers for relief
• Safety for members driving to a grandmother’s funeral today
• Healing for family grieving the death of beloved wife & mother
• Blessings for two mothers-to-be, that babies are born healthy
• NICU baby – pray for healing of his heart & for his parents
• All dealing with loss due to wildfires & tropical storm
• Member grieving the recent death of a lifelong friend
• Proper diagnosis of young daughter’s fainting issues

The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no never forsake.

Yes, our souls find their rest in you, Faithful One; may we find courage, too, that we will remain faithful to the end. And by your mercy, grant that we might grow in the resolve of your once-rejected Cornerstone, our Savior, Christ Jesus, 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?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.