Prayer for Advent 4 C

Shepherd God,

You promised to take care of and feed your flock.

If ever there was a time we needed a Shepherd God it is now.

We need your strength as we feel so weakened by the tragic events of last Friday, by funerals for young children, teachers and a young man.

We are all looking for answers to why and how to stop this from ever happening again. And frankly we don’t know what to do. If we are to believe the media, someone is to blame or something.

Yet as your believers and followers you have taught us not to blame but to forgive and so God help us to forgive.

Lord this tragedy also reminds us to pray for those who have metal illnesses and to not turn our back on them but to assure them proper care and medical treatment.

Lord we are reminded through our scripture today that you did not look down on a young woman long ago who was pregnant out of wedlock but favored her and blessed her.

And you did not shame nor shun and older woman who had been barren for so long, but blessed her and filled her with your joy.

And you have not stopped loving the unloved, favoring the unfavorable, looking for lost, seeing the hidden ones, lifting up the lowly, embracing the poor and fed the hungry and neither should we.

It is through your great mercy that you have done this and it is your mercy that empowers us to give not just at Christmas time but every day.

Lord there are many who need restoring in their bodies, minds and emotions.

There are many who need healing physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually.

There are many homes, marriages, families and children that need to be made whole.

There are countries that are broken and at odds with their own people, that need to be made right.

Lord if there ever was a time when we need a Shepherd God it is now.

Come Lord Jesus come.

cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer for Advent 3C and Newton, Conn.

Lord,

Today we lit the Advent candle of joy reminding us of the joy that the Christ child brought into this world.

And yet today Lord, it is difficult to feel any joy with death of 20 children and 7 adults just days ago in Newton, Connecticut.

We are stunned, silenced, saddened and angered that this tragedy could happen.

We think of our children and want to protect them, keep them safe and draw them close to us.

And we grieve for those who hearts are broken by empty hands, empty beds, and empty spaces in their lives.

We pray for the children and teachers who survived that they may heal from their traumatic memories, fears, grief and loss.

We pray for the First Responders and Policemen that their hearts and minds be healed also.

We pray for the parents, counselors, pastors who will help the children and teachers who survived that they will be good listeners and able to help in the healing process.

We pray for our country where it seems like violence has become too commonplace.

We pray for our world where often children are the ones who suffer most when there is war, hunger, poverty.

We pray for ourselves Lord that you would heal our broken hearts and help us to be healing agents in this broken world.

We pray for the day your son does come again bringing joy for everyone.

Come Lord Jesus come……..

Prayer for Advent 2C

Oh God,

You invite us to take off the attire of pain and sorrow in our lives and to put on new clothes of hope and joy.

You dress us in your beauty and your glory.

You give us all this through the arrival of your son Jesus.

You give us new garments of mercy and justice.

Oh Lord, we all need these in our lives.

And we are reminded as we put on our new clothes that

There are many in this world that just need a good pair of shoes, a coat to keep them warm and outfits for their everyday wear.  

Lord, we are reminded that it is you we clothe when we clothe the needy.

 

Lord,

You have blessed us with your favor

By saving us, cleansing and refining us through your love.

You raised up your son to be the savior for the world and to show your mercy to all.

And Lord we all need your mercy and love.

And it reminds us that there are many in this world who have not been shown love and don’t know how to give love to others.

And yet that is what you son came to do was to show your love to all.

 

Lord,

You have given us a light in our world a light brighter than any Christmas tree light that is a beacon for all.

It fills our darkness, It guides and leads us

Along the rocky paths of life, through tense and troubled times to bring us to a time of peace.

And Lord we know that in many places in our world there is no peace and what little peace there seems to be is fragile.

There are homes where peace has no meaning.

There are friends of ours and sometimes ourselves who search for that peace within that only you can give.

Lord, your sent your son to be the Prince of Peace to bring a peace that the world cannot give.

Come Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace come.

Amen

Prayer for Advent 1C

God of our future, our present and our past,

Your son told us that he would come again and so we wait.

But God we are most impatient because we live in time of instant gratification.

We are like a child who wants what we want and we want it now.

And so God we have a hard time waiting for his promised return.

And yet we wait not knowing when, uncertain of the day and time.

 

Lord we live in perilous times when it would a good time for your son’s return.

We are waiting for the government to work together to fix things

before we fall off this fiscal cliff we as a nation are facing.

We are waiting for this recession to end so people will be working again; will once again be able to afford adequate housing, food to feed themselves and their children,  and other necessities of life.

We keep waiting for this long war in Afghanistan to be over

because we have lost so many of our young people over there.

We wait for there to be a cure for cancer, aids, m.s.,

and all the other chronic and life threatening diseases.

 

Lord we celebrate your first coming into the world having hope that you will come again.

In the meantime Lord, we pray for one another and our needs.

We give thanks for one another and for the blessings you send our way.

We try to show the world your love through our service, our action and our words.

We care for one another and those who have no one to care for them.

Lord we await your return with anticipation, of your promise fulfilled.

And in the meantime we look for your presence in our lives every day;

As you keep showing us glimpses of your kingdom.  Amen