Prayers of the Church, 10.4.09

You, O Lord are our light and salvation. Whom shall we fear? You, Father, are the stronghold of our lives. Of whom should we be afraid? Our souls praise you and are not silent. O Lord our God, we will give thanks to you forever.

Wondrous God, you shower us with blessing upon blessing. In your kindness, you invite us to your table, the King’s table. You bid us to partake with you, we who are sinners, we who are so unclean, we who are as worthy as dead dogs. You are not ashamed because we are your children. You love us and have promised us that we may always eat at your table.

Glory be to God.

During times like this, during moments of lucidity, we understand what an awesome gift you have given us, to join around the table of the Lord, as a community of believers, as your beloved children.

Yet, so very often, instead of realizing your gifts, instead of realizing what it means to be a child of the King, we focus on what is wrong in our lives, on what we’re missing, on what we don’t have. Instead of praising your name for our salvation through Jesus Christ, instead of shouting to the rooftops of your great goodness, instead of proclaiming the Gospel to all the earth, we blame you for our circumstance. We ask each other why you, O Lord, let bad things happen to us, why you have forsaken us.

Thank you for your forgiving our stupidity and self-centeredness, Father. Thank you for not giving up on us. Thank you for the gift of Jesus, whose death, burial and resurrection we celebrate each week…around your table.

Bless our enemies, Lord. Help us forgive their trespasses, as you have forgiven ours.

In the silence, Father, allow us a few moments of clarity in which to understand your great gifts and to fathom your wonderful grace. Hear us as we lay our burdens at your feet and as we whisper our joys of thanksgiving to you.


As we gather in communities around the world to celebrate and commemorate the heritage of our Christian movement today, we ask your grace and blessings on our communion partner, the North Turramurra Church of Christ in Sydney, Australia. Let us be connected with one another and with the other churches in our movement as we seek to glorify you this day.

We now ask your special care and blessings for Don and Peggy Orth, as well as Michelle Ramsaran, as they work to serve your children in Guatemala through their dental ministry. Keep them safe and allow your light to shine through them.

Now we pray together as Jesus, our Savior, taught us to pray: