Prayer for Others: God's Provision

Here’s a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession inspired by the ways in which God cared for the Israelites while in the wilderness.

Prayer for Others

God,

like the Israelites in the wilderness,

we too have known Your love,

and experienced Your care and provision.

You invite us to extend that love to the world around us—

to care for others as deeply as we care for ourselves.

And so we bring the needs of our world before You now.

In Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the many who do not have enough:

  enough food to eat, or shelter to keep warm;

  enough employment, or money to pay their bills;

  enough medicine or medical care.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We also pray for those who have more than enough,

  but who still struggle to find meaning and purpose in life;

  who indulge in dangerous or self-serving activities

      to dull their pain or loneliness.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

God, Your grace reaches out to all of us.

You call us to live as citizens of heaven,

working together with one heart and mind.

Strengthen us to live in a manner worthy

of the Good News we have received,

offering our lives in service of Your kingdom,

where the last are first, and the first are last,

and there is grace enough for all.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, Amen.

~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship

Offering Prayer: Matthew 14:13-21

This offering prayer was inspired by Matthew 14:13-21, the account of how Jesus uses five small loaves and two fish to feed a vast crowd of hungry people.  

Offering Prayer

(inspired by Matthew 14:13-21)

Merciful God,

the gifts we bring are so small in comparison to the vast needs in our world—

nowhere near enough to save the thousands dying of starvation all around the world,

or even to meet the needs of the hungry and homeless in our city.

Yet we have brought what we can.

As You once multiplied the five small loaves and two fish,

multiply these gifts as well,

so that, once again, the hungry may receive all they need, and more.

Amen.

~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship

Prayer: Enough for All

Here’s a prayer for the offering inspired by the story of the loaves and fishes in Matthew 14:15-21 (or Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-15). It comes from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand website.

Offering Prayer

(inspired by Matthew 14:15-21)

On my own
what I have to give
doesn't amount to much
in the light of all you have given to me
and in the face of so much need.

Put together as a congregation,
what we offer you here in love
becomes more,
not simply added together,
but somehow multiplied in its usefulness.

We ask you to bless our gifts
and with the addition of your blessing,
just as it was with the loaves and fishes,
there is enough for all.

Amen

~ from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand website. http://www.presbyterian.org.nz/

Offering Prayer: Mark 4: 26-34

Here’s a prayer of dedication based on Mark 4:26-34.  It was written by Katherine Hawker.

Prayer of Dedication

(inspired by Mark 4:26-34)

May the offerings brought this day be used as seeds,

planted faithfully and nurtured lovingly

so that God’s way may be realized anew in this world.

Grant us the humility we need to plant and then tend your precious garden.  Amen.

~ written by Katherine Hawker, and posted on Liturgy Outside. http://liturgyoutside.net/

Prayer: Mark 10: 24-25

Here’s a prayer of confession and dedication from Jan Berry’s collection of prayers, Bread of Tomorrow. It came to mind when working through the gospel reading for Proper 23B:

“But Jesus said to them again,

‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’” Mark 10:24-25

Prayer of Confession and Dedication:

Spoiled Children

God, You heap your love upon us

like a parent providing for a family’s needs,

embracing a child with tenderness.

Forgive us

when, like spoiled children,

we treat Your generosity as our right,

or hug it possessively to ourselves.

Give us enough trust to live secure in Your love

and to share it freely with others

in open-handed confidence

that Your grace will never run out.  Amen.

~ Copyright © Jan Berry, England, in Bread of Tomorrow: Prayer for the Church Year, ed. Janet Morley (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1992), p. 147. Used by permission.

Prayer: Bringing our Treasures

Here’s a prayer inspired by Mark 10:17-27. It was written by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl, and posted on bjhlog (see link below).

Prayer

(inspired by Jesus’ words in Mark 10:17-27

and Matthew 6:19-21; 13:44-46)

O God,

Jesus taught that where our treasure is,

there will our hearts be also.

In this hour, we come bringing our treasures—

all that we have and all that we are.

We come seeking your treasure—

treasure that does not fade, decay, or disappoint.

Share with us the treasure of heaven,

that we may boldly share it with others. Amen.

~ written by Rev. Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl, PC(USA) pastor and liturgical scholar. Posted on bjhlog.

https://bjhlog.wordpress.com/2020/02/19/nl-mark-1017-31-the-rich-young-man-march-1-2020/

Prayer for the Offering: Jeremiah 31

Here’s an offering prayer I wrote for World Food Day (October 16). It’s part of a larger worship resource I put together for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. (See link below.)

Prayer for the Offering

(inspired by Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Generous God,

through your Son, Jesus Christ,

you have shown us what it means to love.

And you call us to follow Your example—

to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

Continue to write your law of love on our hearts.

Give us an unwavering passion for justice,

and a tenacious faith that will not rest

until the hungry are fed,

the oppressed find relief,

and the outsider finds a welcome. Amen.

~ Christine Longhurst, in Hunger for Justice: World Food Day 2016, posted on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank website. http://foodgrainsbank.ca/product/world-food-day-2016-hunger-for-justice/

Offering Prayer: The Air We Breathe

Here’s an offering prayer from Carol Penner’s Leading in Worship website.

Prayer of Dedication

We have the means to give,
we have the reason to give,
and there are many waiting for us to give.
Yet often, our hands hold back,
and we hoard what we have for ourselves.

God of grace,
help us live and give in your kingdom of love,
where there are no enemies,
only brothers and sisters,
and kindness is the air we breathe.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

~ written by Carol Penner, and posted on Leading in Worship.  http://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/