Here’s a
pastoral prayer inspired by Luke 13: 31-35, where Jesus weeps over
Jerusalem. It was written by Richard J.
Fairchild.
Pastoral Prayer
(inspired by Luke 13:31-35)
Lord God,
in your holy word today we heard that you ask us to come to you—and that
more—you seek us out like hen seeks out her chicks; that you offer us the
protection and the safety of your strong wings. Help us O God to stop each day
and to listen for your call; to pause and allow you to overtake us; to wait and
to have your warmth and your wisdom overwhelm us:
Lord, hear our prayer.
Father and
Mother of us all, you have given us many images of what you are like in the law
and the prophets and through the ministry of Christ Jesus our Lord. You have been compared to hen seeking out her
chicks, to a rock which cannot be moved, to a mother suckling her child, to a
wind which cannot be control and a fire which cannot be quenched, to a woman seeking
out a lost coin, to a king who invites everyone to his wedding feast, to an
eagle who stirs up her wings and shields the young in her nest, and in each of
these images we learn more about you. Grant us, O Lord, a personal image of
your presence— an image which will sustain us we seek to love you with all our
heart and soul mind and strength and as we seek to love one another as Jesus
loves us:
Lord, hear our prayer.
Loving God,
we stop here today to think not only of ourselves and our needs. We pause not just to have our cups filled by
your love, we stop as well on behalf of others.
We hold before you those whose cups are filled with bitterness and
anger, those who have lost their way and who worship success and the idols of
our world, we name them before you and ask that you give them new hearts—hearts
that are filled with goodness and with faith.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lift too we
pray, O God, the burdens that are upon us for those around us: here in our
church, our community, and our world. We
name these burdens and we hold these people before you now in the silence of
our hearts and with the words of our lips....
(bidding prayer)
Lord, hear our prayer.
We thank
you, God…in the name of Jesus. Amen
~ from
Richard J. Fairchild’s Kir-shalom website.
http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/c-le01sm.php
