Prayers of the People: Lent 5A

Here’s a pastoral prayer for Lent 5A, from the Kir-shalom website.

Prayer of Intercession for Lent 5A

We thank you, loving God,
for the vulnerable yet wonderful gift of life.
To be alive and to know it is a unspeakable honour. 
We thank you, that from start to finish our life is precious in your sight. 
May we always praise you for it... 
Lord, hear our prayer...

We thank you, loving God,
that our movement towards death and decay
is not the final sentence in our life story.  
We thank you that by your faithfulness we are born to a new and living hope
in a future where love will never be terminated and life will never end.  
May we always trust in you...
Lord, hear our prayer...

We thank you, loving God,
for the Spirit that is able to cloth dead bones with new flesh
and give to them the breath of life. 
We praise too for Jesus who, by his own death,
has conquered death for us all
and who, by his resurrection and offers the gift of eternal glory to all. 
May we accept your gift and walk in obedience to your living word... 
Lord, hear our prayer...

We thank, loving God,
that those who believe in Christ Jesus
have already passed from death to life,
and are even now fed with the bread of heaven.
We praise you for the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sin,
and the life everlasting.  
May we ever proclaim the hope we have to those who despair
and live so that your light shines in the darkness of our world...
Lord, hear our prayer...

Loving God, 
whose Spirit gave breath to the valley of dry bones,
whose touch healed the lame and whose word raised the dead,
hear our prayers today for those who are afflicted by sorrow and illness,
by injustice and by despair,
or by fear and weakness.
Breath into their hearts, touch their bodies, speak their names,
and bring new life to them.
We especially pray today for... (bidding prayer).
Lord, hear our prayer...

We ask all this in the name of Christ Jesus,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, both now and forevermore.  Amen

~ from Rev. Richard J. Fairchild’s Kir-shalom website.  http://www.spirit-net.ca/