Prayer for the World September 18, 2024

Longing for Oneness in the Human Family

Introduction

In the Gospel passage that we heard proclaimed last Sunday, Jesus rebuked Peter with the words, “Get behind me, Satan.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”  Pretty strong words!  How can we, in our humanity, learn to think more and more as God does?  Only by God’s grace and in faith we know, all things are possible with God.

Song:  There is a Longing 

https://youtu.be/gP9BBz6fRkk?si=SjoLQYrESklG6bZP 

Chorus:  There is a longing in our hearts, o Lord for you to reveal yourself to usThere is a longing in our hearts for love we only find in you, our God   (2X)

There is a longing in our hearts, o Lord for you to reveal yourself to usThere is a longing in our hearts for love we only find in you, our God

1.   For justice, for freedom, for mercy, hear our prayerIn sorrow, in grief, be near, hear our prayer, o GodI

       Chorus:

2.   For wisdom, for courage, for comfort, hear our prayerIn weakness, in fear, be near, hear our prayer, o God

Chorus:

For Reflection

Jesus, the Son of God, is the revelation of God and the ways of God.  This revelation comes to us in Jesus’ teaching and his example in the Gospels.

…God takes great pains to teach us those divine ways that we can understand.  The law and the prophets were given to Israel to teach the ways of God.  Jesus came not only to teach us to think like God but—most importantly—by his grace to make it possible to act like God.  As Paul told the Corinthians, the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to “have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16) 

Quote from “Give Us This Day”

And so we pray__

Prayer

Lord God, as the election approaches,

we seek to better understand the issues and concerns

that confront our city/state/country,

and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful

citizens in our community.

We ask for eyes that are free from blindness

so that we might see each other as brothers and

sisters, one and equal in dignity,

especially those who are victims of abuse and

violence, deceit and poverty.

We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children

unborn and those abandoned,

Men and women oppressed because of race or creed,

religion or gender.We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing

the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your

Kingdom

Silent Reflection and Prayer

Compassion grows with the inner recognition that your neighbor shares your humanity with you.  This partnership cuts through all walls which might have kept you separate.  Across all barriers of land and language, wealth and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, we are one, created from the same dust, subject to the same laws, and destined for the same end.  With this compassion you can say, “In the face of the oppressed I recognize my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hands…”  

Fr. Henri Nouwen, With Open Hands

Intercessions

Loving God, give us the peace for which we long, especially in Sudan, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, we pray:

Loving God, give us the courage to speak our truth with compassion and the sincere desire to hear the truth of the other, we pray:

Loving God, give us the vision for which we long, to truly see all people as your children, as our brothers and sisters united in one human family, with the same needs and aspirations, we pray:

Silent Reflection and Prayer

Song:  There is a Longing in Our Hearts