Heavenly Father, We thank you for the grace in which we now stand. You have created a cathedral in Creation and your glory fills it all. There is no corner of creation that is hidden from you, nothing escapes your view. However, we would have missed you in the fog of our unbelief.
Graciously, Father, Jesus ushered us into your communion — the very communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and our faith continues to grasp just a bit of your greatness and your glory. We want to thank you for making yourself known to us.
Father, we truly delight in your Word and we pray that your Word would accomplish in us all that you intend. We pray that we will not frustrate or make empty your Word. And we pray that we will not take your Name in vain. We are always cautious to say “this or that is of the Lord or from the Lord,” but we need to hear your voice. So please help us hear Your voice. For your word says that “My sheep know my voice, and a stranger’s voice, they will not follow”.
Oh Lord, is there a famine of your Word in our hearts and in our relationships? As officials clamour to restart the economy, where is justice for the poor and for those workers closest to the ground? What adjustments have we made to address the vulnerabilities revealed in this pandemic? What idols still need to be released from our hearts and hands? We lift them all up to you, Oh Lord.
Father, we are in a rush to start our economies again. The airwaves and our screens are full of those who would bend us for their own ends. Help us dear Lord Jesus! Our citizenship rests in you and in your Kingdom. For the scripture affirms that You have translated us from the Kingdom of darkness and have made us citizens of the Kingdom of your own dear Son. Somehow Lord — You know how — we need our worship of you to align our affections with what matters most. We pray that you would Grant us the obedience that comes from faith.
Come Lord Jesus. We need to know the truth about us and about you. We need your Spirit to heal and fill us with life. We lift up to you our friends and family who are rocked by loss, feeling stranded in loneliness, or are unsure of what to do next. We set them before you.We pray that you will be a Living Water to them — refreshing them, healing them, and empowering them — for life in your abundant grace.
We lift up to you the peoples of India and Bangladesh suffering from the effects of Cyclone Amphan. Help neighbours care and to meet needs. We cast our eyes around the globe in our common fight against the coronavirus pandemic: so we lift up to you Peru, South Africa, Mexico, the Navajo Nation in the US and indigenous communities in Canada — We pray that you would comfort and heal, protect and make yourself known O Lord.
We seek you and so we pray as Jesus taught 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.
Prepared by Ransford Buah and Craig O’Brien