Here’s a responsive prayer inspired by Isaiah
58. It comes from the Housing Justice website.
The authors write: “Below
is a scripturally-based prayer for seeking the fulfilment of God’s promise and
the Church’s calling to be renewers (and rebuilders) of the world around us
(refer especially to Isaiah 58 and Matthew 5:13-16). The prayer may be used
with or without the congregational responses shown in italics.”
(inspired by Isaiah
58)
Lord,
we pray that you would renew our selfhood as the People of God – we are not to
be the remains of a goal-less club, but rather, the Bride of Christ, the King
who is over all things.
Father
God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.
Help
us to show the world the true personality of your Church: by faithfulness to
the Master; by love for him and his creations; by participating in his work of
giving flavour to the world, in his humility.
Father
God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.
We
ask you to give us the privilege, through your grace, of regaining our role as
renewers of our world, as the people who heal our society, who improve our
surroundings, who improve circumstances.
Father
God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.
Let your kingdom come.
Give
us the power to obey your will for our lives, for each other, and for others,
in acceptance that understanding comes by a spirit of obedience to you, and
that the source of life is your light.
Father
God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.
Let your kingdom come.
Let
us learn to make neighbours and how to love them. Let us expect great things
from you. Let us always learn; let us persevere through the process of
extending and inheriting God’s kingdom; let us be called ‘repairers of the
breach’ and ‘restorers of streets to be lived in.’
Father
God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.
Let your kingdom come.
~
taken from The Trampled Vineyard: Worship
resources on housing and homelessness edited by Christine Allen and Barbara
d'Arcy and published by CHAS and UNLEASH in 1992. This title is now out of
print. Posted on Housing Justice. http://www.housingjustice.org.uk/pages/prayers.html#sthash.BnWj53WL.dpuf
