This week, we will be praying two prayers together. These prayers are meant to be prayed in sequence, one with the other for one another. My encouragement is to pause only momentarily between the two, taking a deep breath and remembering that what you are speaking to God on behalf of others, is also being spoken for you.
Let us pray two prayers in one, these words adapted from Ernest T. Campbell.
PRAYER I
Father, with desires that we cannot fully identify, much less describe; with fears too personal to voice; harboring hostilities of which we are ashamed; and weighted with a sense of guilt for having done so little with so much; we make bold now to pray for ourselves:
teach us what it means to live in you,
to rest in you,
to hope in you;
let your presence fill those homes where death has come and sickness is near;
let your wisdom fall like a gentle rain on the parched souls of
all who are confused and searching;
let your warming, healing light kindle trust in those who are
anxious or in any way afflicted;
let your joy overcome the dolefulness of those who have
forgotten how to laugh.
Shape your grace around our inmost needs, O Father. Do not give us over to ourselves. Strive with us yet a little longer, for we love you and desire to serve you fully.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYER II
We thank you, Father, that praise is therapy, and gratitude the medicine of the soul. At least for the time it takes to pray, we set our minds on your mercies and give up feeling sorry for ourselves. You have blessed us with the gift of life:
surrounded us with friends;
trusted us with responsibility;
endowed us with conscience;
provided us with all things needful for life and godliness;
and set your love upon us.
Here within this quiet moment, we remember those whose sacrifices have and are securing the good that we enjoy:
parents, teachers, and health care workers
artists, inventors, and those in all kinds of service industries
scholars, city workers, and prophets old and new.
Chiefly we remember Jesus Christ:
his selfless life;
his voluntary death;
his victorious resurrection;
and his continuing power to save.
Our praises rise to you, form whom our blessings come.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.