Prayers: 12 July 2025
Prayers inspired by Matariki, original prayers; Psalm 65:(1-7),8-13; Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
[We gather]
E te Atua
Titiro mai ki tēnei ao
i tēnei wā o Matariki
Puanga! Matariki!
Tangi mai ki a rātou mā
Kua wehe atu ki te pō
Puanga! Matariki!
Nau mai te hauhake e,
Koropiko atu rā
Tātou e ora tonu
ki te Atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa.
O God
Look upon your creation
At this time of Matariki
Puanga! Matariki!
Weep for those who have departed this life
Puanga! Matariki!
We, the living, welcome this harvest time
We worship you forever, O God
Creator of all things.
[We pray for the Church]
Lord; You are the God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
Your Gospel sows Your good seed throughout the world;
May your Church nurture and grow those seeds;
May your Church delight in the harvest of good fruit.
Protecting them from corruption and distortion.
May Your Church tend Your people,
and love those who could become Your people
Into the path of love and truth.
May all who look to Your Church
See Christ at work in the world,
know Your enduring love among all peoples;
and hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit;
driving us to take up Your gift of grace.
[Bidding and response]
You are the Sower of the good seed,
May we bear good fruit in Your harvest
[We pray for the world]
Christ our Saviour
You know what it is to be human,
You know our suffering and our foolishness.
Jesus, our friend and brother;
Look kindly upon our world as we struggle and strive with each other.
Until You return,
Grant to those who are peacemakers around the world,
to those who are wise, without selfishness,
the opportunities to do Your Father’s will, on earth as in Heaven;
We also lift to You all those who suffer,
In the wake of earthquake, storm and war.
And we cry out, “When will justice come?”
Hear our cry unto You for the dark places of the world.
Foster in us Your saving grace and hope.
You are the Sower of the good seed,
May we bear good fruit in Your harvest
[We pray for our communities and for our own needs.]
Wairua Tapu
Be present with us, in our communities, our families, and in our homes
Strengthen us as we struggle
with our needs,
our health, our hopes,
our unrealised dreams.
Lead us to shelter,
Whisper to us in our chaos;
bind us together in love within our communities.
Help us to reject the call of envy, dissension and strife,
Called instead, by your Spirit to grace, truth & joy:
For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Āmine, āe, āmine.
You are the Sower of the good seed,
May we bear good fruit in Your harvest
