A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 4/11

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We all ask others to pray for us
   and we promise to pray
       for those who ask the same of us...

So, I'll be praying today for folks who've asked me
   to lift their names to the Lord
       - and I'm sure you'll be doing the same...

We'll be praying for many people, for many reasons,
   and we take comfort in knowing
       that the Lord knows our every need
           - even before we speak...

Like you, I'll pray for family and friends
   and for neighbors and fellow parishioners
       who've asked for my prayers...

And like you, I'll pray for people I've never met,

those for whom others have asked me to pray...

For some we'll pray
   for help, for hope and for healing...

For others we'll intercede
   for patience, forgiveness and reconciliation...

For many we'll plead
   for guidance, counsel and understanding...

For still others we'll ask
   for relief, comfort and consolation...

And for all we'll pray
   serenity, harmony and peace...

We'll pray for all whose lives are upended
   by natural and man-made disasters:
for those whose lives have been devastated
   by hurricanes, earthquakes and fires;
and for those who've been victims
   of a sniper's deadly aim...

We'll pray for the healing of the sick,
   for the consolation of the dying
       and for those who care for them, day by day...

We'll pray for those who need work
   and we'll pray for those who need rest...

We'll pray for those who are burdened
   with anxiety, worry and fear...

We'll pray for those in prison,
   for freedom in their minds and hearts...

We'll pray for children waiting to be born
   and we'll pray for the mothers who carry them;
we'll pray for children awaiting adoption
   and for the families who'll soon receive them...

We'll pray for an end to violence
   in our homes, in our streets
       in our world...

We'll pray for people
   whose lives, homes and churches
       are threatened by death and destruction...

We'll pray for the healing of the abused and betrayed,
   and for the recovery of the addicted...

We'll pray for the Church and for her leadership,
   for her people and their mission...

We'll pray for the victory of justice
   and we'll pray for a harvest of peace...

We'll pray for counsel and wisdom
   in the work and decisions of those who govern...

We'll pray for reconciliation and unity
   in our deeply divided nation...

We'll pray for all who serve and protect us,
   especially those who stand in harm's way
       at home and around the world...

And just as Jesus taught us to do,
   we'll pray for our enemies
       and for those who persecute us...

We'll pray for the many needs
   of so very many people
       with confidence that God does hear
           our every prayer...

And we'll pray in thanksgiving for those today
   who'll find peace and healing,
       mercy and pardon,
           contentment and serenity,
               happiness and joy...