Prayers of the People

Sunday August 2, 2015

William Black Memorial United Church (Glen Margaret)

Refrain:  Lord Listen to your Children Praying (Voices United 400)

Refrain:          Lord, listen to your children praying,

                        Lord, send your Spirit in this place;

                        Lord, listen to your children praying,

                        send us love, send us power, send us grace!

Loving Parent, mother and father of all of us,

We approach you today like children,

            thankful for all that you have given us.

We thank you for both the rain and the sunshine this week,

            helping gardens to grow and flourish.

We thank you for the every-day gifts:

            for food to eat

            and for roofs over our heads

            and for safe water to drink

            and for the freedom to gather to worship.

We offer our thanks.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Refrain

Loving Parent, mother and father of all of us,

We approach you today like children,

            railing against the injustice of this world.

We pray for a world where the killing of a lion by a human

provokes a bigger outcry than the starvation of millions of humans caused by other humans.

We pray for a world where the latest celebrity gossip

attracts more attention than the lack of safe water to drink on First Nations reserves in our own country.

We pray for a world where too many politicians

            make decisions based on the next election rather than the effect on people.

We pray for a world where too many people react out of a fear of scarcity

            rather than a trust in God’s abundance.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Refrain

Loving Parent, mother and father of all of us,

We approach you today like children,

            with hearts open to everyone that we meet.

We pray for all who are sick,

all who are hungry,

all who are travelling,

all who are seeking,

all who are questioning,

all who are young,

all who are old,

all who are in-between.

Loving God, hear our prayer.

Refrain

Loving Parent, mother and father to all of us,

We pray all of these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ,

            who taught us to pray, saying:

Our Father, who art in heaven…