We pray today for children in our communities
who live without either of their parents:
children whose parents have died,
children who have been abandoned,
children taken away from their parents because of abuse or neglect,
and children who have run away from home.
You care for these little ones God,
We pray this day
that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We pray this day for our new government
that it will help us live in peace with each other.
Give our politicians keen hearing to hear the cries of the poor.
Give our politicians sharp vision to see the long-term effect of policies.
Give our politicians plain speech to speak the truth.
Give our politicians clean hands to withstand corruption.
Give our politicians honest hearts that are eager to right injustice.
We ask all this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
God, our Great Teacher:
At the beginning of this new school year, hear our prayer for teachers!
Give teachers compassion to treat each student with dignity and respect,
remembering that every child has a story to tell.
Give teachers wisdom to be role models,
remembering that children learn more from who we are than what we say.
Give teachers your love that reaches out to children on the margins,
remembering that we see Jesus in the face of the poor, the challenged, the rejected.
Give teachers strength to carry heavy loads with patience and good-humour,
Thank you God for warm sunny weather,
for blue skies
and blue lakes.
Thank you God for big trees to climb
for city streets to explore
for cool shady places to hide in
for parks with slides and swings.
Thank you God for swimming pools and diving boards
for baseball diamonds
and soccer fields.
We pray today for a blessing on parents;
two parents in one home,
two parents in two homes,
single parents,
extended family caregivers,
foster parents,
and all who are in a parental role.
Give patience when love wears thin.
Give tenderness even in the face of anger.
Give clarity in the face of difficult decisions.
Day is ending.
Shadows lengthen
and night falls.
Draw me close to you, God.
Pillow me on your love.
Blanket me with your peace.
Keep me safe in the darkness.
Shut nightmares out
and protect me from anxiety’s cold grip.
Meet me in my dreams tonight
and in tomorrow’s gift of a new day.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
Jesus, you open us
to new life, new hope, new possibilities.
You conquer the way we
close up, close down, and close in.
Jesus, lover of us all,
open our hearts to feel your compassion
for people we would rather walk by;
open our ears to hear the cries of the suffering
deep inside where we cannot fail to be moved;
open our understanding to new ways of living
Perfect love casts our fear
and so today we pray for your spirit of love on our world.
Cast out the shooting of bullets into people’s bodies.
Cast out the explosion of bombs in crowded places.
Cast out the desperation that leads people to terrorist acts.
Cast out the making of walls that divide and imprison us.
Cast out the prejudice against people of a certain race or culture.
Cast out the political structures that perpetuate violence.
Cast out the hatred that produces fear.
Send down the courage to reach out in peace.
Send down the resolution to not return evil for evil.
Thank you God for sexual attraction,
for the pull of thoughts and emotions and bodies.
Thank you that we are creatures
who feel for each other and with each other.
Give us wisdom in this give and take,
to give our best with kindness,
to take what’s given graciously.
Preserve us from dangers of intimacy,
from giving ourselves too hastily,
from taking without reverence.
In the flesh and blood of our relationships
may integrity and fidelity kiss.
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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