Prayer

Prayer of the People, 19 January 2020

January 22, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You have always been at home with yourself in the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you for the miraculous grace that has made us at home with you too.

For most of us Lord— home, feeling comfortable in our skin— has been an illusive experience. We need the radical experience of being loved by you and being accepted by others.

For some of us Lord even the memory of home is filled with conflict and with damaging messages perverting the truth and deforming us with the enemy’s lies. We need your truth and grace to reform us.

Ultimately we are longing to be at home with you —  
For you to wipe away every tear  — 
For you to set all things right — 
For you to free us and the world from the infection of sin.

We have tasted the reality of goodness even now through Jesus Christ our Lord and through the gift of your Spirit. Even in our fellowship with the Church we get glimpses of your shallom and your power.  Thank you!

Forgive us Lord for acting as independent agents — we want to be our own gods.  Protect us from willful rebellion — may these sins not rule over us. By your grace our spirit is willing. Oh how we still need your grace — our bodies are weak. Our souls are drawn to the deceit of this world. 

We need a spiritual makeover every week — well we need one every day!

We lift up our friends at uVillage Church and the Point gathering today around Simon Fraser University. Fill them with your Holy Spirit. May your Word build them up and cause them to persevere. May you cause them to faithfully shine as a beacon of Jesus’ love.

We lift up the country of Lebanon. The country is host to many people seeking refuge from violence and oppression. Bless them Lord. They feel the strain of their hospitality and they feel the weight of their dreams. Cause the people to truly prosper — may the gospel of Jesus cause them to flourish like a tree planted beside the waters.

Oh how we long for your Kingdom to come — so we pray as Jesus teaches us:
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 29 December 2019

January 2, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We are grateful for the grace that has brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Glory to your name forever and ever.
You created us and gave us the breath of life.
You redeemed us from the ravages of sin and death through the Cross of your Son.
You have filled us with your Holy Spirit and keep pouring your love into our lives.
We cry out to you — Abba Father!

Thank you for your care for us in this past year.
You have given us wisdom when we didn’t know what to do.
You have brought strength when we felt so weak.
You have been our comfort when we felt alone in our grief.
You have provided what we needed when we did not know how our needs would be met.
You have disciplined us when we went astray.
You have sent friends to give us a word of encouragement or correction.
You have sourced love, joy, and peace through your Holy Spirit. 

In the world’s leaders we hear and see a pattern of domination. Lord, help us to choose humility and service in how we relate to all people just as Jesus did.

In the student movements and protests, we hear a cry for justice. Lord, show us specific ways this week we can act justly and live mercy for our neighbours.

In the cry of the poor, we hear indictment at our ease and greed. Lord, we want to live in a way that stores up riches in Heaven. 

While we look back on 2019, with the best photos of this and that, the best and worst moments being paraded out, we acknowledge how You are our best.  You are the one who knits together s our lives. Help us see Your hand in how this last year unfolded, and more importantly help us look to You to set how 2020 will unfold. We want to abide in You, to love others, and to pursue righteousness. 

We seek Your face.
In Jesus’ Name 

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Prepared by Craig & Ellen O’Brien

Change, Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 22 December 2019

December 24, 2019 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You are in control — in control of the light, of the night, and of our lives.

We turn to You for peace this season, for comfort, and for joy. We enter by your grace into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Help us immerse our thinking in Your humility, Your love, Your wisdom, Your truth, Your wellness.  During this season, we are busy with festivities. And then sometimes we pause to look back over our year with you. We catch glimpses of the wellness of soul that You have made possible. Thank you for the many good promises you have fulfilled for us. It is well with our souls!


Give us courage to approach You and to fully live into the salvation You bring to us this season.

We need Your light and Your revelation. We ask for the light of Jesus to be cast on the dark places in us as individuals and in our community. Shine Your powerful, purifying presence and light

  • In India. Shine your wisdom in the hearts of students. Give lasting hope to Muslim immigrants facing the loss of security and home.
  • Shine along the US Mexico border. Bring justice and hope to those seeking a new life.
  • Shine in the hearts of those dispersed by oppression and violence all around the world that they may know their true worth in your eyes.
  • Shine in our hearts to drive out the spirit of domination that would crush another person and refuse them the dignity of your creation.

We bow to Your sovereign will and trust Your goodness to redeem what seems lost.

When we sing “Joy to the World”  we make that our prayer, so you can bring Your eternal joy into every sphere of our lives.  You are our strength and our Joy.

In Jesus’ Name.

Please join me in praying the Lord’s prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Change, Prayer

Prayer of the People, 15 December 2019

December 17, 2019 0 Comments

Prayer of the People  — 15 December 2019

Heavenly Father,

From the beginning it has been your intention for us to enjoy your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you for this grace!

You have fulfilled your Word to us. Every “yes” has become a “yes” through Jesus Christ your Son. You know what is in us — yet you have come to us. You have fulfilled your Word to us.


You have sought us.
You have raised our curiosity.
You have enthralled our minds.
You have awakened our souls.
You have made us alive in you.
You have saved us.
You have made us glad.

Only you can satisfy our souls and lead us in the everlasting Way. May we delight in your Word and see your Word revealed in us as your Church. May we become more like Jesus.

Forgive us Lord for our word is not always true. 
Yet, it does reveal our hearts — that our affections are not set on you.
Forgive us and reset the desires of our hearts according to Jesus, The Truth. Thank you for this grace!

Lord we lift up to you fellows students pressing in to complete the term and its exams. Help them study with you and to delight in your wisdom.

We lift up S Chan and his family to you as they are grieving the death of his grandfather. Comfort them and extend your care to them during this season.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters at uVillage Church and ask you to cause them to flourish as your Church. Provide for their needs and fill them with Your Spirit to bring your healing to the nations.

We lift up Langara College and the neighbourhood there. Raise up your servants who will speak of Jesus boldly. May you raise a holy curiosity in the lives of students — may they seek you with all their hearts.

We lift up the students of Hong Kong, India, Iran, and Iraq to you. Oh Father, how you love them. Reveal yourself to them that may lay down despair for the joy of your Son’s Kingdom.

Today with your Church all around this globe we pray as Jesus teaches us:

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

Prayer

Audience

December 14, 2019 0 Comments

When Anna’s
Hummingbird
holds court 
on the line in
December or
in August do
not hesitate 
to call in on
God directly
as you will.

Poetry, Prayer

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