Prayer for Today – July 1

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

July 1, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Song of Welcome, the psalmist urges us to come into your presence with singing, making a joyful noise throughout the land! Thus we enter the gates of this new day, lifting high our thankful praise for all the ways you have cared for us . . . How can we but glorify you, whose mercy and truth are everlasting? Oh, sing in our hearts, Lord, throughout this day!

Sacred One, hear our prayer.

O God With Us, could we ever enumerate the times you remained close beside us during our life’s journeys? We reflect now, bringing to mind those special instances when we felt your presence most keenly . . . Your mercy has been our rock of refuge when loss, doubt, depression, illness, even despair entered our lives. It was your power working within us that held us firm.

Sacred One, hear our prayer.

We trust in you, Framer of the Universe, and believe you hear the smallest creature that calls your name. As you count even the sparrow as worthy of your grace, receive these concerns and joys which are carried to your door by your people at Church Street:

  • Gratitude: husband’s (cancer survivor) tests showed no sign of cancer cells
  • Thankful for prayers for young couple traveling to California; they remain safe and will reach their destination in a few days
  • Couple celebrate a husband’s retirement today
  • Thankful for all front-line healthcare workers who serve the public
  • Many thanksgivings for our choir members and music directors
  • Healing prayers for nephew (physician) with Covid, and safety for his family
  • Member who suffered a terrible fall 9 days ago, for restoration and comfort
  • Prayer for peaceful death for an aunt (96) suffering with cancer
  • Guidance to support Catherine and Tim, our two incoming pastors
  • Patience and healing for one facing long recovery from leg surgery
  • Guidance and hope to restore an ill father and to uphold a grieving son
  • Healing mercies for a granddaughter diagnosed with rare intestinal condition
  • Members dealing with work-related stress due to pandemic
  • Safety and smooth transition for daughter and family moving to North Carolina
  • Safety for a daughter, front-line health worker in Florida
  • Adult son now working in Florida, that he does not succumb to the virus
  • A husband anticipating a layoff from his job, for his worried family

As you sustain us, Lord, through all our challenges, may we learn more of your grace at the core of our being.

Sacred One, hear our prayer.

Canticle of Hope, continue to chant your lyrics of renewal in the background of our days, that, taking up your song, our own strains of praise might reach those who do not yet know of the recreating love of Jesus, the One 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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 30

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 30, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

You search us out day by day, Good Shepherd, desiring to know us more fully, to help us understand our own fears and longings, to show us how we might make decisions that are life-affirming. We praise you for wanting the best for us, O Lord. Work your wonders in our souls today, until our hearts beat in steady rhythm with yours.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God of the Apostles and Prophets, your cries for justice rang out through your messengers who walked the ancient roads of oppression. It wasn’t their own words they uttered, for you so eloquently spoke through them. May your words of mercy, equity, and peace flow through us as well, that we may call out freely in support of the needy, the neglected, the overwrought, the outcast. But not our words alone, we pray, for our deeds underscore the depth of your love for the maltreated.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Patient One, these months of the pandemic have brought us to our knees. Roadblocks have appeared just when we thought we were on the edge of release. Our hopes are dashed when outbreaks of the insidious illness flare up in unexpected places. This is truly a frightening era; yet keep reminding us that your blessings are still arriving. We have witnessed miracles of your healing presence in the births of healthy babies and lives restored to health; you have shown us new avenues of worship and have quickened our passion for justice. Yes, O Lord, you are teaching us patience as you continue to touch us with newness. And as we trust in your providence to sustain us, we lift again today both the gladness and the hopes of our Church Street family:

  • Family celebrating a mother’s final chemo treatment today
  • Father (91), pleased that his birthday was remembered by many friends
  • Daughters thankful for the life of their cherished mother who died Sat.
  • Gratitude: more than 40 participated in UMW’s Just Mercy discussion Sunday; prayers that participants will continue to work for racial justice
  • Cancer patient thankful for relief from long-term nausea malady
  • Prayer for peaceful death for an aunt (96) suffering with cancer
  • Patience and healing for one facing long recovery from leg surgery
  • For God to offer hope and wisdom to an ill father and grieving son
  • Healing mercies for a granddaughter diagnosed with a rare intestinal condition
  • Strength for a young wife battling an autoimmune illnesses
  • Safety & smooth transition for daughter and family moving to North Carolina
  • Restoration of member’s health following several surgeries
  • Blessings upon young daughter moving to Boston Tuesday to take a new job
  • Safety for a daughter, front-line health worker for Florida Department of Health
  • Adult son now working in FLA, that he does not succumb to the virus
  • A husband anticipating a lay-off from his job, for his worried family

Living Lord, we remain a blessed people, for you have heard our prayers, are giving us release, and are always working for wholeness on our behalf. May we never take you for granted, O Holy One, for we know the grace you shower upon us in this realm is but a foretaste of that grace so evident in your home above:

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?

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Prayer for Today – June 29

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 29, 2020

Pastor Jan

The prophet dreamed of a time when lions and oxen would feed together, when leopards and lambs would play in the same field, when wolves would sleep with the cattle. We hold that same vision, Lord. We also long for the violence to evaporate as the dew, for injustice to be blown away as dust, for anger to melt as the frost. Some say such dreams are fantasies, for distrust and division have always been with us. Yet we hold onto that holy hope, as we trust in the God of Miracles, the One who created the good earth, blessed it with wildlife, who called forth humankind to be at work re-creating in his name, and who even brought life out of death.

Praise be to you, O Lord.

Source of Renewal, we enter your presence, as you invited us to do so. You hollowed out that cavern within us that yearns for communion with the holy. Much is taking place beyond our veil of knowing, for your Spirit works in ways and in places of which we have never heard. Fill that empty space you created inside us, we pray, for it is just large enough for that presence for which we thirst. We shall rest now in silence and let you touch whatever it is that needs attention . . . For your radical love that accepts us, for your amazing grace that replenishes us, and for your covenant blessing which binds us to you, we are grateful and humbled.

Praise be to you, O Lord.

Accompany those who travel with heavy sorrows this day, O Lord, as they stumble through the dark expanse of pain. As Jesus also knew the sharp edges of loss, we know he will walk with them. And when they fall, may they realize they do not fall alone. There are others who cry out to you, as well, so attend to these Church Street members who bring their own praises and concerns this day, knowing their pain is your pain, their joys are your joys:

  • Gratitude for our two incoming pastors arriving on Wednesday
  • Member is thankful her business has been healthy during pandemic
  • A family is thankful for a time to vacation together this week
  • Gratitude: ongoing work of Stephen Ministers & Parish Health Team
  • Patience & healing for one facing long recovery from leg surgery
  • Guidance, healing, and hope within a family dealing with major challenges
  • Healing mercies for a granddaughter diagnosed with rare intestinal condition
  • Strength for a young wife battling an autoimmune illnesses
  • Safety & smooth transition for daughter and family moving to NC
  • Blessings upon young daughter moving to Boston Tuesday to take a new job
  • Courage & guidance for a young woman endeavoring to make a fresh start
  • Solace for a cousin mourning the death of his wife
  • Adult son now working in Florida, that he does not succumb to the virus
  • A husband anticipating a lay-off from his job, for his worried family

Thank you, Blessed One, for always leaving your door ajar, just in case we cry out.

Praise be to you, O Lord.

In spite of our unworthiness, Generous Friend, you treasure us and have even made us members of your very own family. We thank you for allowing us to be among those who call you Father and who pray with us these words taught by your Son:

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?

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Prayer for Today – June 26

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 26, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

“For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies.
For the love which from our birth over and around us lies …”

Yes, Loving Creator, we are pilgrims upon this good earth, and it has sustained and blessed us richly. You have made our planet an artist’s palette of hues and tints: grassy plots moist with dew, dancing sunlight on pink calla lilies, green shimmering leaves, sturdy branches of shade, filmy clouds adrift in an azure sky. All praise to you, O Lord, for each of these! As we move through the hours ahead, may we not forget to seek you in the smallest corners of the day. And if we go in search of more gifts along the way, remind us of all that we have already.

Fount of mercy mercy, hear our prayer.


“For the gift of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above, all who breathe thoughts kind and mild…”

O Lord of Justice, we remember those who walk for peace and equity, for those who refuse to return violence for violence, those who speak reason to the unreasonable. We pray for those who labor to lift the burdens of all who suffer.  Particularly we remember those close to us who dedicate themselves to the work of peace . . . And we remember, as well, these friends and families of Church Street who carry both gratitude and burdens within their own souls:

  • Praises: a brother’s surgery on Thursday greatly relieved his suffering
  • One appreciates prayers — she is regaining strength following an accident
  • Friend is grateful for family members caring for her following cancer surgery
  • Couple thankful for a restful week of vacation
  • Prayers for a husband’s 2nd consultation today regarding his kidney lesion
  • Strength for a young wife battling a chronic illness
  • Courage & guidance for a young woman endeavoring to make a fresh start
  • Dear friend with stage 4 cancer, courage for herself & for her family
  • Lifting spirits of lonely members & loved ones remaining in isolation
  • Adult son now working in FLA, that he does not succumb to the virus
  • All who are depressed, confused, & overwhelmed during this pandemic
  • A beloved father near death & a cherished member hospitalized for tests
  • Those working to secure able caretakers for Sterchi Lodge ministry

Fount of mercy mercy, hear our prayer.


“For thyself, best Gift Divine, to the world so freely given
For that great, great love of thine, peace on earth and joy in heaven. . . “

Summer clarity sometimes turns our thoughts to our early years and to those who shaped our walk of faith. We remember parents who were imperfect, yet who tried to point us in the right direction. We recall those who shared Jesus with us and who told us we were chosen, special even. We remember those who encouraged us when we were tentative, who named our gifts and talents. No one is truly self-made;  we are clay in the hands of those who cherished us. How marvelous are your ways, O God, for you are still molding us to suit your purposes! And when we travel to your holy realm, you shall finish the work of forming us into perfect vessels, fit for your kingdom.

Fount of mercy mercy, hear our prayer.


“Lord of All, to you we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise!”

As you greeted us in love at dawn, we trust you to bring us to the close of this day in that same 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?

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Prayer for Today – June 25

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 25, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O God on the Move, you continue to call your servants to prepare for the journey. Just as the Israelites traveled from pillar to post, Jesus’ disciples were also itinerants, strangers stepping into unfriendly conclaves. Bless richly, O Lord, those who give up their home places to serve you far and wide. May we not forget them in their journeys, as they join with persons of different backgrounds, languages, and customs in living out your gospel truth. We are not all called to rove, but we are called to remember these traveling ones in our prayers and in our financial giving. Our reward is to know that we are somehow supporting the feet of your messengers who walk distant byways to proclaim the love of Christ.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Most days, O Source of Grace, we spend our hours in the smaller world of our homes, our neighborhoods, our familiar shops and workplaces. We stick to the traditional route. Help us, though, to become more aware of the larger world where frightful situations exist. Jesus said we would always have the poor with us – the poor in spirit, the poor in understanding, the poor in health, the poor in hope. How will we see them, however, if we remain within the gates we’ve erected? We may not be able to help all those who are hurting, but through your grace, we might become at least a small part of your healing.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Fountain of Mercy, we recall how Jesus showed mercy to the outcast, the unclean, the undeserving, even to the blatantly evil ones. All these years we have struggled to do the same, but we still shy away from handing out mercy so freely. Perhaps you shake your head and throw up your hands, O God, when we are so frugal with our grace. And perhaps you are saying to us even now: “Little Ones, do you not know you may be entertaining angels unaware?” Oh yes, we forgot about that.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We lean on you this day, O Tower of Truth, to manage what lies in the hours to come. Whether blessing or burden, may we receive what appears, knowing your Son spoke truth when he said he would be with us even to the end of the age. And especially be with these who open their hearts to you:

  • Grateful for prayers – a wife’s knee surgery went smoothly – now home
  • One celebrates her retirement effective June 23
  • Gratitude: very ill friend was able to move to Knox to recover from illness
  • Thankful for prayers: a mother’s medical tests revealed no malignancy
  • Prayers appreciated: niece arrived home safely from Kosovo last night
  • Strength for a young wife battling a chronic disease
  • Peace and courage for a brother having surgery today & for his family
  • Four women recovering from cancer
  • Daughter asks for strength to help her mother move to TX
  • All who are depressed, lonely, & overwhelmed during this pandemic
  • A father-in-law near death in FLA, strength for his family
  • Healing mercies for a young father with advanced cancer
  • Prayers for correct diagnosis of a brother’s medical situation
  • Those working to secure able caretakers of Sterchi Lodge to help carry out the ministries of the church
  • A son & daughter-in-law moving cross country, for traveling mercies

Receive our prayers we offer this day, O Lord, as we have been touched by your presence. We are confident that the utterances of our souls are bound up with all those who pray today as Jesus taught:

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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 24

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 24, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Generous One, this day we lift our eyes to the heavens and offer our praise. As scripture tells us, you cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. So too you offer freely your drifting, translucent clouds, your shimmering rays of sunlight, your bracing breezes. You are a spendthrift God who lavishes goodness without restraint. Teach us, your people, to be as excessive in our own distribution of blessings. May we offer grace to the just and the unjust, to those whose beliefs and politics offend us, to those whose appearance and habits we find improper. You are leading each of us homeward, so let us be gracious to those who are traveling in the same direction, if only by another road.

God our helper, hear our prayer.

Sometimes throughout the day we become lulled by the routine and move slow-footed through the hours. Give us wake-up calls along the way, O God, else we will remain unaware of the secret ways you are at work around us. Call our attention to the mystery of an encounter, the blessing of a moment, the whiff of your presence. Your most precious gifts are often hidden in the mundane, so keep us awake, we pray, lest we miss your quiet glory.

God our helper, hear our prayer.

We open our hearts, that our compassion might mirror your own. We lift up those who wait: for the medical test results, for the divorce decree, for the loneliness to end, for the new job, for the illness to pass, for death to draw near. Watch over all of us who wait in hope, O Lord, and also over these church friends who ask to be remembered:

  • Grateful for prayers: member received grade A to finish her graduate work
  • Prayers appreciated – member’s colon lab tests were clear
  • Ill member is grateful for all prayers for his recovery
  • Gratitude: the life and example of a cherished brother who died last week
  • Thanksgiving for prayers: a brother’s heart tests called for no surgery
  • Families who are mourning great losses; members hospitalized
  • Prayers that a niece may fly home safely from Kosovo today
  • Healing for dear friend newly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer
  • Those working to secure able caretakers of Sterchi Lodge to help carry out the ministries of the church
  • Peace and clarity for one whose medical tests are explained today
  • Courage and success for a young adult moving away for employment
  • Peace to surround a member having knee surgery on the 24th
  • A son and daughter-in-law moving cross country, for traveling mercies
  • Member asks for strength to help her mother move to TX

Eternal Guide, we ask for your forgiveness of our sins, particularly these private offenses . . . ; and also we confess our collective sins of rampant greed, exploitation of the poor, careless use of your creation. Turn our minds toward the reality of our actions, and turn our hearts to the truth of 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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 23

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 23, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Wind of Heaven, awaken us this day to your holy acceptance blowing through us. Most days we feel we are too insignificant, unworthy of your attention. We recall our past mistakes keenly, wearing our failures as badges of remembrance on our chests. How foolish this must seem to you, O Gentle One, for you swept away our blunders long ago in your swirls of forgiveness. May this day be for us one of release, we pray. May we let go of the past and allow you once again to carry our wrongs away on the current of your airy and lifegiving breeze.

Hear us, O Lord, for your mercy is great.

O Lord of the Dance, you invite us to sway with you on the dance floor of life, to be comfortable with all your movements. Our steps are sometimes tentative and awkward, but you don’t seem to mind. It takes time and practice, you tell us, before we are able to move with delight with our lifelong partner. The melodies will be ever changing, we know, but by your leading, may we dance with devotion to your music of grace.

Hear us, O Lord, for your mercy is great.

As your servants, Loving Friend, we lift up those who are closest to our own hearts today, especially . . .  that they may be strengthened and refreshed as your rivers of healing revive them.  And also may streams of life flow into all our members at Church Street, particularly those who give voice to their thanksgivings and trials:

  • A happy couple celebrating a 14th wedding anniversary
  • Grateful for a successful hip replacement of last week
  • A sister, stroke victim, is now home from hospital & improving
  • One is thankful that medical tests reflected no abnormalities
  • Couple excited about planning their upcoming wedding
  • Wisdom and strength for husband in caring for his wife with memory loss
  • Healing for a daughter recovering from hand surgery yesterday
  • Prayers for one being tested for cognitive issues, for courage and hope
  • Courage and success for a young adult moving away for employment
  • Peace to surround a member having knee surgery on the 24th
  • Prayers for member hospitalized with breathing problems
  • Courage for father-in-law in hospice care at home in FLA & his family
  • Three who are depressed due to economic challenges
  • Beloved brother facing critical heart tests today, courage for his family
  • Grace and courage for one facing another surgery & another round of chemo
  • Two undergoing important medical tests today

We trust you to hold our situations and concerns in the palm of your hand, to sprinkle them with your healing hope, and to refresh us in the time to come.

Hear us, O Lord, for your mercy is great.

Loving Savior, we begin this day with good intentions to follow you, and we pray that by nightfall you will be pleased with our efforts. May all our actions be covered by the grace of our Redeemer, 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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 22

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 22, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O God of Compassion, open wide the doors of our hearts that we might receive the wounded souls who pass quietly by. We see them so near our threshold, but we rarely invite them in to see how they are feeling, what pains they might be carrying. Perhaps we fear that if we look straight into their eyes, we will recognize our own fear of being as wounded and vulnerable as they. It is not easy to follow your open-door policy, Lord, but give us courage to unlatch the deadbolt and see what meaningful encounters might come to pass.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We are at it again, O Patient One. Morning arrives and we reach for that dreaded list of duties. It’s a pattern we fell into so long ago that we hardly remember a day when our notepad was blank. So many projects clamor for our attention that we become unfocused. At least, help us to attend to one task at a time, attempting to live in the present moment. This moment is all we are promised, but we readily destroy it by dwelling on the past and the future. You were with us in our yesterdays, you breathe within us in the present, and you will remain with us in whatever tomorrows we may have; so give us grace to embrace what we have right here, right now.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Reviver of Souls, we bow before you today, bringing our praises for your willingness to enter our lives as our Companion and Keeper. For the riches you bring us each day our hearts fill with gratitude. If we have overlooked any favor you bestowed, receive them now as we reflect upon your benevolence . . .  And receive also, Good Lord, these celebrations and concerns that fill the hearts of your people at Church Street:

  • A couple celebrates their recent purchase of their first home
  • Young man is thankful he has completed his first college year with honors
  • Gratitude: a professional who has received an honor for her leadership
  • Thankful for fathers & father figures, for their love and support
  • A happy couple celebrate their marriage
  • Wisdom and strength for husband in caring for his wife with memory loss
  • Guidance for pastors throughout our conference: those who are moving & all those who are anxious about reopening their churches for worship
  • Guidance for our new pastors and families: Catherine Nance & Tim Best
  • Continued healing mercies for one recovering from cancer surgery
  • Healing mercies for dear friend in pain & her sister, victim of a stroke
  • Calming of a wife’s anxiety about her husband’s health
  • Courage for father-in-law in hospice care at home in Florida & his family
  • For a job opening for a husband, depressed by lack of work
  • Beloved brother facing critical heart tests tomorrow, courage for his family
  • Grace & courage for one facing another surgery & another round of chemo
  • Easing of worry for undergoing medical tests tomorrow
  • Courage for one in lengthy recovery & his family offering support

The old hymn states so simply, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” Grant that we might never treat that favor lightly, O Listening Ear, for we know your concern for us is what keeps us from falling.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In the infinite and redeeming power of Christ we make our prayer this day:

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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 19

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 19, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

We bow before you this day, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May we face today with you in our hearts, knowing you as the Source of all our days. May we embrace these hours as your holy gift, offered without cost. Restrain us when we pack our hours with endless errands and choke them by rushing from one task to another. Temper our pace, we pray, that we might move more gently savor your presence.

Great God of Heaven, hear our prayer.

How neatly we divide our lives into weekday and weekend increments; yet how fortunate we are that the flowers, bees, and birds take no weekends off. The leaves of the giant oaks and magnolias do not stop their labor, but continue to create oxygen for the living. Rivers and streams sing everyday as they rumble along. Is it sinful to take these holy mysteries for granted? Surely it is.

Great God of Heaven, hear our prayer.

All praise to you, O Perfect One, for in your own secret way, you are uniting us in holy communion with all our brothers and sisters for whom we pray. Today we remember the sick and the suffering throughout the world, those who have no place to call home, those of all races and cultures who are daily faced with oppression. In each one, there is a longing for wholeness. Fill that longing with your mercy, we pray. And share that same mercy with these people of Church Street who open their hearts to you:

  • A family rejoices: a son’s heart surgery on Thursday was a success; please pray for his continued recovery in ICU, Austin TX
  • Thankful for a new pregnancy
  • Recipients of cards and calls from church volunteers send their warm gratitude
  • One is thankful for recent blessings and promise of a new start in life
  • Thanks for Thursday prayers for husband’s tests, hoping for better news
  • A father-in-law near death in Florida, faith and courage for his family
  • Peace, clarity, patience, understanding & healing for all feeling overwhelmed and uncertain in this extraordinary time
  • Continued prayers for brother with serious heart problems and for family
  • For better days for a husband without work and easing of financial worries
  • Healing mercies for one continuing to endure immense back pain
  • Faithful, lonely member endeavoring to adjust to assisted living
  • Grace and courage for one facing another surgery & another round of chemo
  • Patience and calm for a mother awaiting tests next week
  • Courage for one in lengthy recovery and his family offering support

May your grace and goodness shine through all that we undertake this day.  And when others observe our attentiveness and patience, may they see you at work.

Great God of Heaven, hear our prayer.

We are all on the journey to you, Good Lord.  Some days we maintain a steady gait; but other times it’s all we can do to put one foot in front of the other.  Still, we know you are shepherding us, that we will arrive in your own good time, and we will then pray as one great multitude the prayer of your Beloved:

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 request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 18

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 18, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

God of Knowing, you have plans for us, plans for a future filled with hope. Our path is often uncertain, for we see only through the eyes of this earthly realm. Yet through your eyes of eternal love, you envision a clear road and a place where prosperity and peace can abide together. Show us how to become part of your overarching vision; and even in our doubt and uncertainty, lead us to that place of clarity.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God Ever at Work, sometimes we think we in the church must do all your work alone. Your people come to us needing comfort and solace, but we place them on committees with spaces to fill. We crowd our calendars with meetings, making certain we are well-organized and efficient. We keep a frenzied pace, making sure the church functions as a well-oiled machine. Forgive us for our feelings of self-importance and believing we must save the whole world ourselves. You have many flocks laboring in your name, O Holy One, so slow us down. Grant that we might simply rest, breathe in your grace and breath out your love. For you alone are in the saving business.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Quiet Friend, we have been told many times that idleness is the work of the devil. How odd Jesus would have found this teaching. This One weaned on the scriptures would have remembered his Father’s command through the psalmist: Be still and know that I am God. Only when we quiet the soul and push aside the noisy inner clutter do we make room for the Holy.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And now, from the depths of our hearts, we lift up these pleas and these praises that are offered today by our church family:

  • A family is thankful that they will have a week of well-earned vacation
  • Faithful member celebrated a joyful 91st birthday
  • Gratitude for the ministry of Rev. Chuck Starks
  • Member offers thanks for the clergy team for support of the church family
  • Healing & protection for a son in Austin having heart surgery today, calming his own anxiety and his mother’s
  • Peace, clarity, patience, understanding & healing for all feeling overwhelmed & uncertain in this extraordinary time
  • Courage for a friend & his wife – his brain cancer is beyond treatment
  • Husband having medical tests today, that treatment may be possible
  • Healing mercies for dear friend with cancer diagnosis
  • Prayers for a dear brother with a serious heart condition & for his family
  • Calming anxiety as one completes her work assignment in a PA lab
  • Continued healing & patience for an ill member recovering at home
  • Grace & guidance for a cancer victim facing surgery soon

We have received mercy and you have noted all our cares in your book of remembrance. Thank you for working on our behalf.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your grace, may we go into this day lifting up praise to you, O Lord, for you entrust us to bless your good earth, to proclaim your name, and to offer our petitions in the name of 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. 

 

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Join us for a Noon Devotion!

Church Street lay leader Steve Richardson leads us in our midday devotion today. Click here to join us at noon.

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