Prayers of the People For Lent 1 Year A

 Prayers of the People For Lent 1 Year A

Let us pray for the Church and for the world.

Gracious God, set your Church in the garden of your mercy and the wilderness of your truth. Keep us faithful in our vocation to “till and keep,” to guard what is holy, and to receive wisdom as gift rather than grasping it as control.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Strengthen all who preach, teach, serve, and lead. When we are tempted to perform holiness, to prove ourselves, or to make power our refuge, turn us again to the beloved Son and to the word that sustains life.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Guide the leaders of this world in paths of justice and peace. Deliver them—and us—from the worship of splendor, the illusion that ends justify idolatrous means, and the fear that makes cruelty seem necessary. Let your reign of grace be stronger than the dominion of sin and death.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Be a hiding-place for all who feel overwhelmed by “great waters”: for the anxious, the ashamed, the isolated, and the wounded; for those who carry secret grief; for any whose bodies bear the burden of silence. Give relief, safety, and companions on the way.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Lead us by your Spirit into honest self-examination. Where we have edited your word to suit our desires, restore in us “no guile.” Teach us repentance that is not despair, confession that is not self-hatred, and obedience that is not fear—so that we may live as those who trust you.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Creator God, renew the works of your hands. Make us caretakers, not consumers; guardians, not exploiters. Bless those who farm, fish, build, heal, and labor; and give us a shared will to protect what gives life.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Receive into your mercy all who have died, and bring them into the joy of your presence. Comfort those who mourn with the promise that grace will have the final word.  Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Silence

Celebrant concludes,

O God, whose Son was tempted as we are, yet without sin: when we are hungry for bread that cannot satisfy, when we demand proofs instead of trust, and when we bow to powers that are not you, turn our hearts again. Give us the gladness of forgiveness, the courage of truth, and the steadiness of faithful love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

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