Here’s a
prayer of confession and intercession inspired by the suggested scripture
readings for Proper 27 B (Ordinary 32 B) – the 24th Sunday after
Pentecost. It was written by John Maynard.
Prayer of Intercession: Proper 27 B
Merciful
God of compassion and justice,
have mercy
on us as we confess our sin.
We are not
the stewards Christ calls us to be.
Riches
possess us while others go hungry.
We
mismanage creation with our pollution and strife
to obtain
ever more than we already have.
We abuse
your provision for us by our selfish desires.
Help us
hear again Christ's call to be faithful,
and through
him forgive us as we repent of our sin and turn from it...
Lord,
hear our prayer...
Loving God,
the widow
of Zarephath, with a handful of flour and a drop of oil
fed the
prophet Elijah before her child and herself.
God, teach
us the joy of hospitality
which
welcomes friend and stranger, neighbour and enemy,
and so
finds You feasting among us....
Lord,
hear our prayer.....
God of
Abundance,
the widow
of Jerusalem, with two small coins
offered to
you her love, her worship and all she had.
Teach us
the joy of giving freely,
which counts
nothing as ours by right,
but
willingly shares and so finds you sharing with us....
Lord,
hear our prayer...
God of
Resurrection,
Christ
Jesus, with his whole being
sacrificed
himself for the sake of your love for us.
Teach us
the joy of giving ourselves to you,
so that we
yearn for your presence,
long for
your salvation,
and so find
you living in us.....
Lord,
hear our prayer....
God of
Mercy,
it is ever
your will that we love and work and pray
for those
who are in need of bread and of shelter,
of healing
and of wholeness.
Hear the
prayers we make for those of our world—
those of
our community, and those of our family who are in need.
We lift
before you now in the silence of our hearts
and with
the words of our lips....
.....Lord,
hear our prayer...
Bless we
pray, O God, your church throughout the world
and help it
to fulfil the purpose you have given it.
Especially
we pray for our own congregation….
Guide us
each day
and help us
to give as completely as we have received.
We ask it
in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour,
our brother
and our friend. Amen
~ written
by John Maynard, and posted on Rev. Richard J. Fairchild’s Kir-shalom website. http://www.rockies.net/
