Here’s a prayer of intercession for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7 B). It was written by Rev. Richard Fairchild, and posted on his Kir-shalom website.
Prayers of the People
(inspired by 1 Samuel 17:32-49)
Our faith in your power and your providence, O God, is strengthened today in our reflection upon the experience of David in his encounter with the giant Goliath. You remind us that there is nothing in all creation that is more powerful than your word in all its two-edged glory. By it Jesus calmed the storm; by it he healed and made people whole—and by it we too are sustained from day to day and from minute to minute. Help us, O God, to cling to your living word—and to root ourselves in it—that we may be a people who overcome all the trials and tribulations that come upon us.
Lord hear our prayer....
We are reminded today, O God, of how the strong can be defeated by the weak, of how the exalted and the mighty can be overcome by those who are humble and lowly—and we thank you for this. We pray, O God, for all those today who are oppressed, as Israel was oppressed in Egypt, we pray for those who must contend with forces greater than they—grant them faith and in faith, grant them courage; act for them, and in them, to bring about their liberation.
Lord hear our prayer....
We pray today, O God for all those who live in fear and insecurity—for those who need encouragement, for those who need our help and the help of their neighbours and their communities if they are to know life in its fullness.
Lord, hear our prayer...
We ask it through Jesus Christ our Lord—saying together the prayer he taught us: Our Father….
— written by Rev. Richard Fairchild, and posted on Kir-shalom. http://www.rockies.net/
