Prayers - Sunday 20 September 2026
Original prayers, Te Hui Amorangi o te Manawa o te Wheke Kete Īnoi pp 12, 13;, Psalm 145:1-8; Jonah 3:10-4:11; Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16
Calling to prayer
He karanga ki te īnoi -
Maranga e te kaimoe!
Maranga mai i te mate!
We are called to pray -
Wake up, sleeper!
Rise from the dead!
Titiro ki a Ihu
Kua hikina ake;
Hikina ake ki runga
Hei whakaora i te ao
Look upon Jesus
Lifted up,
Lifted high
To save the world.
Let us pray for the the world
E te Atua, loving God
We give you thanks for our world,
Its beauty, its power and fragility.
Grant us the wisdom, the creativity and the energy
To labour well, in love,
Remembering always our proper place
within Your creation.
May we sing of your wondrous works.
We pray for Your peace for the places of human darkness;
Places where greed and lies
Seek to swallow up what is good in Your world.
Your will be done, loving God through our human work.
Bidding: E te Atua, hear our prayer
and let our cry come unto you.
Let us pray for the Church.
E te Ariki [Lord Jesus],
Help us to be Your body in this place;
Help us choose to love outwards
Not just those we already love.
Help us to be Your church in deed and in love with true humility.
We pray for our church communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand,
We pray especially for our decision-makers:
our vestries, our ordained and lay leaders, our committees, our boards.
Be always at the centre of our decisions, e te Atua.
We pray for your spirit to guide our ministries.
We pray also for Your spirit to move in those who seek you out,
And in those who don’t know You at all,
but have heard a whisper of Hope.
Bidding: E te Atua, hear our prayer
and let our cry come unto you.
Let us pray for our communities.
E te Wairua Tapu [Holy Spirit]
We thank you for our communities;
Move in us that our communities, where-ever they are,
might be sources of strength and care for us all.
Help us to labour with and for each other,
And when we feel tempted to self-righteous anger,
may we remember God’s question to Jonah:
“Do you do well to be angry?”
Let us be drawn instead to compassion and love.
Holy Spirit, grant us blessings of renewal across our country;
Renewal of faith;
Renewal of trust;
Renewal of care.
These prayers we lift to you,
In the name of Jesus, our saviour.
Bidding: E te Atua, hear our prayer
and let our cry come unto you.
Amen.
