Prayer by Dennis & Lynda Shaw, written, recorded…
Prayer by Dennis & Lynda Shaw*
Written for May 29the CapChurch Family Table Gathering
Let us pray for our world
LORD JESUS, you are the light of the world and we see your light in many ways in our world: we see the kindness of strangers to others after catastrophic events; the selfless housing of refugees who need sanctuary; the feeding of those less fortunate; the generosity that funds NGO’s such as Hope for the Nations, the Harvest Project, World Vision and Food for the Hungry( to name only a few).
We see you in the efforts by groups such as Arocha, to regreen our world, and to bring healing to our world for the benefit of future generations.
Lord, we pray against the violence in our world. We pray against that violence directed towards minorities, and marginalized people; we continue to pray for Ukraine.
Lord, our hearts break as we pray for the families in the USA who lost children in another mass shooting this week. We pray for the politicians who can make meaningful change to this culture, that they would share one heart for change, your heart, Lord Jesus.
LORD IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Lord, we pray for your help to curb the ongoing pandemic and new viruses, that are appearing.
And Lord, we pray for your mercy for all those effected by flooding around the world, from Brazil to Bangladesh, India to France, and many African countries. We pray for food and resources to be provided for the many victims.
LORD IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world, and we pray for your return now more than ever.
Dear Jesus,
I imagine while you were on earth, you were delighted when people came to hear you speak, knowing that your words were from heaven – the very words of God…. “bread from heaven” and nourishment beyond food. As we gather, we thank you for being in our midst and as we pray collectively, may we experience that same certainty that you are with us as they did so many years ago –now through the Holy Spirit.
We thank you for taking care of CapChurch this past year with the creative and new ways we connected during the pandemic and transition phase. With changes afoot once again, please remind us that we are grounded and rooted in you first and that our gatherings, micro-churches, service groups and other ministries connected with CapChurch come out of the faith and strength you give each of us. Please keep us excited, hopeful, trusting, and mature as we embrace and experience change. May this season make us nimble and even more attune to what you are doing in us and through us. We love that we can serve you by simply living, loving and being faithful to you. If there are greater things ahead, let us hear this clearly knowing with certainty that these are the “words of heaven.” We also pray that the North Shore Churches be blessed in every way as they continue to embrace and love the people in our community. We thank you for the diversity in the broader church and may we learn and be blessed by it.
Lord, we have many things to celebrate amongst us. We have a new baby in our midst which reminds us of the miracle of life. We are excited for the graduates, their accomplishments, their endings of one chapter and beginnings of a new one, their reminder of life’s journey with a future ahead to seek and pursue. We are grateful for the possibility of adventures and travel to far flung places and with others once again, even to Uganda to celebrate the graduation in Nashisa. Hooray – we are made for celebrations and are grateful to be gathering and entering these milestones and life changing events together!
Lord, we are saddened for the people in our midst who are ill and we ask that you provide healing and comfort to each one as needed. Every story in the bible showed how you brought people from illness to wellness ….from anguish to shalom. Each story was different as it is here in our midst. It mattered to you
then and it still matters to you now. We are astonished with how you work out the details; it shows us that you are with us. May we wait patiently and keep asking you to bring about the miraculous healing that many are needing. We accept that miracles come through you directly, through medical help and from the love and support of family and friends.
I would like to end our prayer with a section of the poem named “Six Recognitions of the Lord” by Mary Oliver, which is also a prayer to follow Jesus no matter what state we find ourselves in:
“Oh feed me this day, Holy Spirit,
with the fragrance of the fields
and the freshness of the oceans which you have made,
and help me to hear and to hold
in all dearness those exacting and wonderful
words of our Lord Christ Jesus, saying:
Follow me. “
In Christ’s precious name we pray,
Amen.
*Thank you Lynda & Dennis for recording this for the rest of our community and those who want to pray it again with you.
