Help me to Pray

INTRODUCTION

The journey of the year takes us through the seasons and also through the great Christian festivals. These prayers might be found appropriate to the changing seasons.

 A Prayer for the New Year:  Almighty God, our Loving Father, at the beginning of a New Year, thank you for all those things in the past year that have enriched my experience; thank you for sharing in my joys and consoling me in sorrow.  As this New year begins, bless those known to me who are sick, elderly, or infirm, as well as any who are despondent or sad or are deprived of those things which bring comfort to our lives; for your love's sake. Amen.

A Summer Prayer for Children on Holiday from School: Loving Father, I pray for all the children of this town who are on holiday from school, and for the young people who are on holiday from College and University. May they be refreshed and strengthened in all that they do this summer; may they be kept from harm and danger; and may they return to school, College, and University keen to advance their education. And for those who have come to the end of their formal studies, please grant them a happy transition into responsible adult life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A Prayer for those away from Home: Living God, hear my prayer for friends and neighbours while they are away on holiday. May they be blessed with safe and comfortable travel, and enjoy their recreation. May they also return home refreshed to face the winter when it comes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for the Unemployed and the Aged: Loving Father, hear my prayer for all those who will be unable to afford a holiday this summer, although they have plenty of time at their disposal; especially those who are unemployed and those who are pensioners. I pray for the young people who are unemployed, especially for any who have little prospect of meaningful or lasting employment. Grant, gracious God, to all these, and to others in need, the moral courage they need to cope with their situation and the pressures they face without becoming pessimistic or cynical. May none of them commit criminal offenses through poverty or boredom. Hear my prayer, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Advent:  Gracious Father, as Christmas approaches, hear my prayer for all those for whom this Festive Season will not be a time of great rejoicing: those who are unemployed; those who are poor; those who are unwell; those who are recently bereaved and who this year will for the first time experience Christmas without the companionship of one they have loved; those who are cut off for whatever reason from friends and relatives; and all who feel abandoned. Grant, Lord God, that I do not contribute this Christmas to the misery of others. And to those who have been remembered in prayer, grant the knowledge of your peace, your joy, and your friendship; for your love's sake I ask it. Amen.

Christmas:  Loving Father, help me to realise the great risk you took in sending Jesus into the world as a weak and vulnerable baby. As I reflect upon his birth, help me to see more clearly into the meaning of his life and my own.

Help me in these last moments of preparing for Christmas, so that I may receive his coming with joy and worship him with a true and hearty thankfulness. Amen.

Living God, on this Christmas Day, help me truly to celebrate the birth of Jesus and all that it means.

So often the world is a cold and loveless place, warfare and famine have exacted a dreadful toll of human suffering, and the meaning of life is cheapened by so much meaningless brutality.

The birth of Jesus proclaims your promise to help those who need you. Help me, Lord God, to become more like the one whose birth is celebrated today; that I should be loving as he is loving, and so help to make the world a better place in which all may live agreeably and peacefully. For your love's sake I ask this. Amen.

A Winter Prayer:  Loving father, throughout these winter months, please watch over the elderly people in our community. Let all have sufficient food, clothing, and fuel to keep them comfortable, and sufficient activity and companionship to keep them from wearying. And if any should be endangered by the ravages of winter, may there always be caring people available to alleviate their distress; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For those who live alone:  Lord Jesus Christ, be with all who live alone throughout the winter. Be with those who fear loneliness, and those who through ill-health are unable to get about as they might. Help me to be attentive to the needs of those who live singly in our community. Amen.

Most gracious and loving God, attend to the special needs of all those who live singly, whether by vocation or by circumstance. May their homes reflect the values of your kingdom, may their spirits rejoice in the companionship of friends and the peace and consolation of your Son Jesus Christ, and may their living be strengthened by your abiding presence.

For the local community:  Most gracious and loving God, may your peace be upon every home, and your love inspire the common life of every family. Be with every parent, and all those who have at any time the care of children, that they might in all their relationships with every child express a tenderness and concern which is a true reflection of your love. Be with all children, that they might have the opportunity to grow up and develop in a caring and stable environment, and so grow up into the adult world ready and willing to take a responsible place in society. Most gracious and loving God, may your peace be upon every home and your love inspire every human relationship.

For parents and children:  Most gracious and loving God, may your peace be upon every home, and your love inspire the common life of every family. Be with every parent, and all those who have at any time the care of children, that they might in all their relationships with every child express a tenderness and concern which is a true reflection of your love. Be with all children, that they might have the opportunity to grow up and develop in a caring and stable environment, and so grow up into the adult world ready and willing to take a responsible place in society. Most gracious and loving God, may your peace be upon every home and your love inspire every human relationship.

For our Churches and Congregations:  Living God, I pray for my own church and congregation and for the other churches and congregations within our Parish Grouping. Help us all, ministers, elders and people, to live lives that honour you and to serve you as we ought. May our worship help us to see you more clearly and, in love for you and our fellow Christians, inspire us to a willing and consistent discipleship. Strengthen us in our faith and bless our fellowship, service and mission, for your glory’s sake. Amen.

For homes and families:  Lord God, the loving and eternal Father of all, King of Creation, hear my prayer for all the homes and families that make up this community. Strengthen the bonds of our family life, and renew the quality of love and respect that the members of our various homes have one for the other. Bless all the children who live within our community, so that they might grow up, loving purity and truth, upholding justice, and caring for those in need; in Jesus' name, hear my prayer. Amen.

For Elderly People:  Gracious God, hear my prayer for all those who are elderly, both in this community and throughout the land. May none feel unwanted or useless, or that they no longer have a contribution to make to our common life. May your peace rest upon those who suffer poor health and declining mobility; grant that they might each rest secure in your comforting presence. Be with those who still retain good health and vigour, that they might find the proper channels for their energies. And be especially with those who have lost the companionship of the one who has been with them throughout much of their lives, and who consequently feel great loneliness and grief, that their grief might be healed and their loneliness transcended through the comfort and peace which you alone can give; for your love's sake, hear my prayer. Amen.

Other Prayers

For farmers:  Lord, hear my prayer for those farmers whose livelihood is threatened and whose labour is brought to nothing by the continuing spread of foot and mouth disease; grant them courage together with your comfort and peace and do not let any give in to despair.  I also pray for those who must labour to contain the outbreak, grant them speedy success in their undertaking, so that the spread of the disease might be quickly checked and the farming community at large released from the fear that the continuing threat of the disease entails; for your love’s sake I ask it.

For Community Leaders: Hear my prayer for all who are involved in local government, that they may take a deep interest in the health and welfare of those for whom they have responsibility, that they and all local and community leaders might do their to encourage a true and caring community spirit, so that none are neglected, and all are given the chance to live well. And for myself, that with all others I might fulfil my responsibilities as a Christian citizen, to do my utmost for my friends and neighbours in the community where I live; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers following bereavement: Father of all love and mercy, be with A.... B.... and his\her family at this time of loss. In their sadness grant them your comfort and peace. Guard them in every lonely moments, and lead them gently to the happy recognition that the life and company which has been lost to them in this world is not lost to your sight, for it is precious to you; and your sight and your love extend where no mortal eye can see.

Father of all mercy, God of comfort and peace. Hear my prayer this morning/evening all those who mourn the loss of one they have loved. In your mercy, comfort their sorrows, and grant them knowledge that you care for them in their time of need: through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For young people, newly married: Lord God, Father of creation, hear my prayer for all the young people who have been married in St. Peter's recently. Help them in all the life they have entered into together, guard their love for each other, and grant them great affection in all their married life. At the same time, I would also ask that you will bless everyone who has been married in this last week; hear my prayer, in Jesus' name. Amen.

A Prayer for the Work of Amnesty International: Loving Father, God of Mercy and Peace, strengthen the work of Amnesty International, and of all who work for the release of political prisoners, and those who are imprisoned on account of their faith. Keep them vigilant, that they might discover acts of injustice wherever they are committed; and diligent that by every legal means they might achieve the release of those wrongly imprisoned; and give all of us ears to hear and consciences stirred to action for the sake of all who are persecuted. Amen.

A Prayer for Inner-City Areas: Loving Father, be with those who live in inner-city areas, who have spent too many years facing too much deprivation. In your mercy look upon all those who are saddened, or angry, or on the point of breaking, through contact with social injustice. I pray for community leaders, and for all who work to build up community and good will in appalling conditions. I pray too for those whose patience sometimes seems to snap, causing them to erupt in terrible violence. O God, bring hope and healing to the hopeless and the bruised and the oppressed of the inner-city areas throughout this and every land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.