BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
October 20, 2020
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Reassuring One, it is no secret to you that we are a restless people, moving first in one direction, then another, wandering far from the path you have laid out for us to travel, chasing one empty promise after another, and falling for the same old lines handed down by society’s self-appointed gurus. We pray you don’t become too tired of our unsettling behavior and the ways in which we keep forgetting you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. More than ever before, Good Lord, we need your reassurance. Take us to task if you must; yet remind us that you won’t give up on us, no matter what.
God of Mercy, hear our prayer.
World Lover, yes, there is more to confess: We admit that we’re always putting ourselves and our country first. We generally offer only a casual nod to other nations of the world, particularly those in which greed, fear, and injustice triumph every day. Remove the scales from the eyes of our hearts, that we might see the world and all its children as your beloved. Hopelessness weighs heavy on the backs of multitudes who need safety and security, meaningful work, improved education, clean air, fresh water, and sufficient food. Watch over these vulnerable ones whose faces do not resemble ours, but their bodies and souls are precious in your sight.
God of Mercy, hear our prayer.
O Friend of the Afflicted, we pray for those everywhere who are struggling with anxiety, depression, loneliness, poverty, and any other emotional or physical illness. May each see a glimmer of your light, sufficient to help them make it through another day. May that beam also find its way into the lives of your people of Church Street, particularly these who ask to be remembered:
- Couple offer thanks for their eighth wedding anniversary
- Prayers appreciated: Surgery on Friday was completed as planned
- Grateful for prayers – Member’s kidney surgery was successful
- Thanksgiving for our church musicians & all staff
- Gratitude: Atlanta friend’s Monday surgeries went smoothly
- Prayers for mother hospitalized, for proper diagnosis & treatment
- Husband dealing with depression & his overburdened wife
- Healing prayers: shrinking of tumor for one in therapy
- Healing for an aunt who suffered fractures in a recent fall
- Friend whose husband was killed last week in a tragic auto accident & their daughter who is to be married on Saturday
- Two members recovering from painful falls
- Upholding beloved husband in hospice care & strength for his wife
- Brother-in-law in Chicago w/ cancer; strength for his weary spouse
- Friend w/ cancer, caregiver for sibling w/ cancer & an elderly mother
- Prayers for guidance for a member making a weighty decision
- God’s peace for elderly friend trying to recover from the virus
- Continued healing for 2 member families recovering from Covid-19
God of Mercy, how fortunate we are that we might lay all our worries, our errors, and our thanksgivings on your doorstep. You are both the light in the window to welcome us and the home to which we always return. The Good Keeper, Jesus the Christ, sees that the door is open wide, and it is in his name we offer our prayers:
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.
