Prayer of Intercession - February 26, 2012

Here’s a prayer of intercession for February 26, 2012 (the first Sunday of Lent), written by the people at World News This Week in Prayer (see below for link).

Prayers of the People: February 26, 2012

Holy God, loving Presence, Gentle Spirit hear us as we pray.

We pray not to change you but to change ourselves  

and align our will more completely with yours.

We pray for an end to war...and a bold prayer it is.

For peace comes when we all take only what we need

and not everything we want.  

Peace comes when we stand wholly for you

and wholly with you,

even when it means going against the culture,

going against the grain and going against what is popular.

And yet.we pray for peace.

and in praying open ourselves to the transforming power

of your love and grace.

We pray for
- the people of Darfur as their endless war claims more lives,
yet there is a glimmer of hope as 49 peacekeepers are freed.

- the people of Syria as war rages

even as peace talks are under way.

- the people of Somalia

as the United Nations votes to increase

the African Union's peace keeping forces

in the face of advancing Ethiopian forces.

We pray for:
- those who are in need;

we know that your holy heart is turned always to the poor and dispossessed.

May our hearts be turned as well

that we might look with compassion and not judgment

on those whose lives spiral out of control

on the down side of bad decisions and bad luck and broken spirits.

- all who struggle with addictions

that they may find the way to recovery and wholeness

- victims of sexual violence

and especially for teens who are trapped in abusive dating relationships,

that they may hear the voices of care around them

and reach for the help they need.

- all who live with unemployment and under-employment

and feel the pain of not being able to support their families

that they may receive compassionate care and sufficient employment.

The world is filled with so much hurt and hate,

we look with disdain on those who are different from us

and judge them out of our fear.
Jesus taught us that perfect love casts out fear

and so we reach for that love that we might know it and share it

and in small ways transform hurt and hate to healing.

Keep us mindful of what it means

to be your hands and feet and voice and heart in the world

and bind us with your grace as seek to live your way and will each day.
AMEN.

— from World in Prayer, a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Lodi, California, USA.  Prayers are written by a team of writers representing different denominations throughout the U.S., Canada and Great Britain.

For more worship resources for the first Sunday of Lent (February 26, 2012), click on Lent 1 B in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.