Prayers - 4th October (Feast of St Francis)

Prayers from (to be consistent) what shall be known as 'Placement 7'! One slightly adapted from an adaptation of a Nick Fawcett, the other adapted from one I used in 'Placement 4'. Yes, I believe in recycling... Incidentally I didn't use the refrain in the first prayer as a congregational response but it is obviously suited to that!

Prayer of Adoration, Confession and Lord’s Prayer:

Let us bring our prayers of Adoration and Confession; let us pray:

God of all, we come to proclaim your greatness,
to sing of your might,
to declare your majesty,
and to rejoice in all that you have done
You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

We come to hear again of your great acts across history,
your wonderful deeds amongst your people,
all you have accomplished in Christ.
You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

We come to give you glory for creation,
for the animals that surround us,
the places they live
and the ways in which they bless us
You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

We come to lift up our hearts
to lift up our voices,
and to celebrate again the Gospel.
You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

But as we bring our praise so also we bring our confession.
Confession that too often our praise has been hollow,
our worship has been restricted to Sundays
and to the place we call church.

That when the chance has come to speak for you
we have kept silent,
and when the opportunity has arisen to serve you
we have held back.

That when we have known what we should do
we have failed to do it,
and when we have known what not to do
we have gone ahead and done it.

That we have forgotten you are always ready
to forgive and renew us,
and consequently have burdened ourselves
with feelings of guilt and despair.

You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

Merciful God, forgive us now for failing to practice what we preach,
for denying what we proclaim by the way we live,
for letting you down in so many ways
through our weak and feeble discipleship.
You are a God of love and mercy,
and we praise you.

Help us live in such a way
that our words and actions may be one,
and our faith seen to be real.
And so, may all we say,
all we do, and all we are,
witness to you and the wonder of your love
shown through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever, Amen.

[Readings: Psalm 121; Matthew 11: 25-30]


Prayer of Thanks and Intercession

Glorious and Almighty God,
We give you thanks for your many blessings to us, for our lives, our families and friends, our surroundings – and we ask that, following the Psalmist, our appreciation of the world would remind us that our help comes from you, the Creator.

We bring you now our prayers for others, and for the world. We ask for strength for those in Samoa, American Samoa and Sumatra, in the aftermath of disasters, as they try to rescue, clear up and rebuild. We pray for comfort for those who have lost family, or home, or livelihood.
We remember places around the world at war, or where war has only recently ended; where people are fighting, or being treated badly, or don’t have home or food or healthcare, and we ask for help for peacekeeping forces, and agencies : Christian Aid, TearFund, Red Cross and others as they try to improve life for many people.

We pray for Scotland and for this parish, that your people, your church, including ourselves, will look for chances to bring love instead of hate, faith instead of doubt, hope instead of despair, light instead of darkness and joy instead of sadness.

In particular we pause to remember those known to us, who are ill or infirm, or injured, {....} and we pray for healing for them and encouragement for their families.

We pray for those who have lost loved ones – recently and not so recently {....} – and ask that you will bring comfort to them through your Holy Spirit, and through us.

We pray using words of St Francis: May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love.

Loving God, we offer all our prayers, spoken and silent in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.