Prayers for the Week of October 23, 2022

Please feel free to join us in the prayers prayed in worship Sunday, October 23, 2022:

God of mercy and justice,

you created all the world in love,

and you accompany us every minute of every day.

You have searched us and you know us.

You invite us to draw near to you and each other.

You are already here, and always on the way.

We give you thanks and praise.

We pray for the deep need of the world, and our own.

For the war and violence of the world, we pray for peace.

For a world we have damaged to the point of collapse,

we pray that you would turn us to new ways of living,

that nurture and sustain, rather than destroy.

For those harmed by systems of oppression,

particularly American systemic racism,

we pray for freedom and the dismantling of all that does them harm.

For those who are sick or hurting, in body or in spirit,

we pray for your healing touch.

For those unhoused, shelter.

For those who are hungry, food enough, and more.

For those who are lonely, companionship.

For those who grieve, comfort.

We trust that in Christ there is a new creation,

you are bringing down the powers that harm,

and lifting up those who’ve been held low.

Help us see and embody the life of Christ

in the lives we live in our bodies

in and for the world you love.

Gathered together in the Body of Christ and in the communion of the saints,

we join our voices with the voices of all who have ever called your name,

praying the prayer that Jesus taught:

Our Father/Mother, 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin 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.

Photo credit: Inger Hewitt, used with permission.