Prayers in difficult times
A prayer reflection
It's difficult to live with uncertainty.
However bad a situation,
knowing what you have to face
means that you can start coming to terms with it,
facing your fears,
planning your strategy.
When the 'big picture' is too big or too blurred
and indistinct,
it's easier to focus on small details,
to try to control what you can.
The world has changed,
how does that affect our living in the meantime?
How do I need to change?
How do I want to change?
Is it possible to live each day as a new opportunity,
while knowing that it feels the same as yesterday?
I need your help, God,
to listen for you in the clamour of voices calling for my attention,
to focus on you in the midst of competing priorities,
to trust you in this time of uncertainty.
Amen.
When life is difficult
When life is difficult,
I believe in me (hand on heart),
because I believe in you (point upwards),
and you believe in me
(hands across chest, as in a hug).
When I am faced with a challenge,
I believe in me (hand on heart),
because I believe in you (point upwards),
and you believe in me
(hands across chest, as in a hug).
When I struggle to do the right thing,
I believe in me (hand on heart),
because I believe in you (point upwards),
and you believe in me
(hands across chest, as in a hug).
When I feel down,
I believe in me (hand on heart),
because I believe in you (point upwards),
and you believe in me
(hands across chest, as in a hug).
Jesus, when we receive you and believe in your name
Jesus, when we receive you and believe in your name,
You give us power to become children of God.
When we are lonely,
help us to remember
We are the children of God.
When we are scared,
help us to remember
We are the children of God.
When we are hurting,
help us to remember
We are the children of God.
When we are sad,
help us to remember
We are the children of God.
Fill us with the power of your love,
Now and always.
Amen.
All around the world
Lord Jesus, all around the world
your followers are facing difficult times.
Please protect them from harm
and help them build their faith in you.
Amen.
I still have many things to say
‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now’ (John 16.12).
Jesus knows just how much we can bear, and looks ahead to the Spirit coming to help us.
Think about things in your life that you are finding it difficult to cope with, and ask God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – to be with you as you journey onward.
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Prayers of hope
God of wind and dove and fire
God of wind and dove and fire,
speak freedom, peace and change
over lands divided by war and by creed.
Speak refreshment, assurance and warmth
over lives afflicted by exhaustion and illness.
Speak integrity, humility and challenge
over churches crippled by fear and finances.
Speak calm, gentleness and comfort
over lives broken by grief and loss.
Speak power, anointing and healing over
each one of us,
that there may be new beginnings,
and a catalyst for change.
Amen.
Spirit of fire, warm us with your
everlasting love
Spirit of fire, warm us with your everlasting love.
Spirit of wind, blow away hurtful words that
damage relationships.
Spirit of earthquake, carry away our fears.
Spirit of breeze, restore our peace with your
calming breath.
Spirit of the living God, speak to us in words
we can understand.
Amen.
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again
Christ has died.
Here, where hope seems overturned,
and God's purposes prevented,
here we meet with you, the Lord who gave up heaven
to take on human life.
Here we meet a saviour who knows risk,
and pain, and loss.
Here we meet the Christ who died for us,
and knows us in all our hurts and fears.
Christ is risen.
Lord, now we celebrate and sing of your wonderful awakening from death,
and give praise to God for the hope and promise
of everlasting life.
Here we meet the Christ who has broken the power of death,
and opened to our sight the splendour of God's plan.
Here we meet the Lord of hope and joy
who invites us to share his life.
Christ will come again.
Lord, we do not know the hour, but we do know that you have come to us already.
Here we meet the Lord whose work is not complete,
who lives with hope that all shall be brought in,
who calls us to hear his voice and follow him.
Here we place our trust in the God who reveals his unfolding purposes through his son, our saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
God of hope
God of hope,
where things seem to be one big tangle of pain and unhappiness,
intervene with your saving love;
where people are in conflict or locked in a stalemate,
release them from the cycle of war;
where your name is outlawed and your children are forced to hide,
break through their darkness and be God-revealed to them;
where despair takes centre stage and depression and anxiety
sharpen their claws,
fill those situations with unexpected peace and joy.
God of hope,
God-with-us,
God of all time and of every place:
may the earth be filled with the knowledge of you,
and may your light flow over the world like a covering,
bringing protection from the darkness
and from the evil that often frightens and wounds us.
Amen.
God of hope and consolation
God of hope and consolation,
when death comes to someone I love, may I be brave –
brave enough to cry,
brave enough to reach out for comfort,
brave enough to talk about the one I miss so much.
And may I be strong enough to ask for help,
strong enough to be there for others when they are
grieving too.
I ask this in the name of your risen Son, Jesus.
Amen.
God of hope
God of hope,
heal me and restore me,
that I might know your resurrection power in my life.
Amen.
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