Faithful God,
We come to you this morning as those who have all been the prodigal child, people who have felt lost. We are so grateful that you hear our prayers at all times and we give thanks that you are faithful and that your mercies are new every morning.
We give thanks for those in our lives who help us see your love and for the ways they extend their arms to offer us a hug and welcome us back into relationships each week. And for the ways they use their words to offer us encouragement, affirmation, and reassurance of who and whose we are. We give you thanks for those who love us well and help us to laugh. For those who simply sit with us in silence. For those who find the good in all and for those who help us see you more clearly. We give you thanks for our faith community here at First on Fifth and pray that you will continue to bind us together in the great work of Love you have called us to do.
We also pray this morning that you be with those who weep and are crying, those who cannot sleep, who have no place to rest, who have no peace, who seek release – and still feel far from what feels like home. We have loved ones who struggle with poor health, with mental illness, with economic hardship, with broken and damaged relationships, with low self-esteem and a
lost sense of confidence, with anxiety and depression, and with loss of loved ones, those with transitions to move, and for those with unexpected loss that they never saw coming. We place them in your care.
We take time this morning to pray for so much happening around our country and around our world. In a time when so many seem so divided, we pray for us, the Church, to be given a new lens by which we see the world as you lead us into the places to love and serve others – to bridge the gaps to do justice and help others see each other the way you see them. Lead us through these struggles and challenges and bring us back to you every day – to life and love abundant. Transform us and all our broken ways, transform us that we can be made whole again.
We pray all these things in the name of the one who is patient with us when we doubt, when we feel lost, who offers peace for us when we are restless or gone astray, and who loves us no matter who we are and where we come from – Jesus, the risen Christ – and the one who taught us to pray saying….