We all ask others to pray for us
and we promise our prayers in return...
This night I pray for some special people in my life
and I'm sure you're praying for friends and loved ones in yours...
Like you, I pray for people who have many needs
and I take comfort in knowing that the Lord knows those needs
even before we speak them...
Like you, I pray for family and friends,
for neighbors and parishioners
who have asked for my prayers...
And like you, I pray for people I've never met,
for whom others have asked me to pray...
For some we pray for help, hope and healing...
for others we intercede for patience, forgiveness and reconciliation,
for many we ask for guidance, counsel and understanding...
for others we pray for relief, comfort and consolation...
and for all we ask for serenity, harmony and peace...
We pray for the sick and the dying
and for those who care for them, day by day...
We pray for an end to violence in peoples' homes,
in their streets and among nations...
We pray for the victory of justice and a harvest of peace...
We pray for those who serve and protect us, at home and abroad
and we pray for our enemies and for those who persecute us...
We pray for the healing of the abused and betrayed
and for the restoration of trust and confidence in the Church...
I join you in your prayer tonight and I pray for you...
Please join in my prayer tonight and pray for me...
God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference...
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Beautiful, thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post. I prayed for you as I do daily.
ReplyDeleteThe serenity prayer is my most-used prayer! Comes with being a manager -- one needs to be able to disentangle those things, and one needs divine guidance in doing so. Might I also suggest that we all pray for our enemies? Until we love our enemies enough to pray for them, I think we will continue to have enemies. I pray for my enemies daily -- personal ones (not many, hah!, maybe not any) and national ones (Taliban, Al Qaida, etc. -- I have spent most of my life living and working in the land of the enemy, and I have seen the human face behind the anger, hostility, hatred, and, yes, hurt and fear).
ReplyDeleteWishing you a peaceful and prayerful Saturday.
Excellent suggestion, Elizabeth - I've added two more lines to the post - thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your prayers and I lift you up in mine. I certainly cannot explain how but I know that intercessory prayers make all the difference.... Jesus taught us that. And, because God is such a gracious Giver, we, ourselves, benefit from each prayer that we say.
ReplyDeleteAndie
I'm praying for you Concord Pastor-
ReplyDeletebut since I'm having trouble finding God, I'm praying that he please find me-