Prayers of the People

I got the wonderful opportunity to write and say a prayer for my church this Sunday. I was definitely nervous, however, I don't think I totally failed. The type of prayer I wrote is called the prayers of the people. This type of prayer in my church is a chance to say thank you to God for all he has blessed us with, but also to pray for the end of different misfortunes around the world. We will also collect prayer slips that our church members have written. The prayer slips will have anyone or anything needing prayed for written on it. I loved writing the prayers, and reading them in the service wasn't as bad as I feared. So everything went pretty good, and I wanted to post them on my blog. I don't have a good transition into the actual prayers soooo yeahh. Here they are! 

Dear loving and gracious God

Your love for us is shown in every moment of our lives

Let our gratitude for your infinite love be a reminder of our faith and devotion to you

We are very thankful for all you have blessed us with

From our hectically enjoyable lives and our chaotic daily experiences

To our moments of relaxation and peace  

From the food on our plates

To the water we drink

From our comfortable homes that shelter us

To foreign places we get to visit

From the beautiful areas of nature that surround us

To the exciting places and opportunities urban areas have to offer us

From our close and comforting relationships with friends and family

To our special encounters with strangers

From our sacred moments of individual solitude where we can independently pray, connect and grow in our faith with you

To moments right now where we as followers of Christ have congregated to pray, connect, and grow as a family of faith

We are thankful, O’ Lord, for your gracious blessings

Despite all of the wonderful blessings present in life we look at the world and see that pain and misfortune is inevitable

May our joyful blessings, be our source of hope in a world full of pain, and may our prayers reveal our optimistic desire for the hurt present in the world to be healed.

We pray that those who are lost in the world are guided by your ever-present light  

For the people whose hope has been taken by sorrow

We will hope for them when we pray that they regain their joy

For the places, households, and stomachs of the world where hunger is existent

We pray that food will no longer be a stranger

For all the children and adults without a solid education

We pray that they will find the people, resources, and motivation to learn and grow

For those who are treated immorally and unequally because of their gender, sexual preference, race, culture, or religion

We pray that the importance placed on the classifications of human kind will vanish and we all become one people

For the Christians of Iraq forced out of their homes and for those affected by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,

We pray that their faith in you remain strong enough to give them strength, and that their tragedies may end

For all of those effected by the Ebola virus,

We pray that their bodies and spirt be healed

And for those who fear its expansion

We pray their fear be replaced by trust in God

For those sufferers who are unknown to us, we pray and trust that their anguish will end

And for those who we have the blessing of knowing, for the people in our lives, for the sufferers whose suffering we personally witness,

 We pray for (Insert pray slips)

Loving and gracious God, we know despite all the difficult and easy situations present in the world there are blessings from you to be found

Let them be a reminder of your love for us but also may it be our motivation and strength to do our part to heal the hurt of the world

We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us when we pray to say… Our Father…