Together We Pray

SUNDAY 17 September 2023, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

Readings: Exod 14:19-31; Rom 14:1-12; Matt 18:21-35 

Let us pray for the church and for the world, giving thanks for God’s goodness. 

Healing God, we pray for our world, in need of comfort and peace. Make us alive and responsive to a neighbour’s needs. We pray for an end to the violence that scars human souls, and the wars that cut lives short: in Ukraine, Congo, Sudan… our maps hold so many places. We pray for the aftermath of storms here in Aotearoa, fires in Hawaii, and regions battling heat or cold. We pray for the injured and those whose task it is to rescue them. Bind the wounds of those who are suffering, gentle God, and the hearts of those aching. Give us grace to love as Christ loved us. “May our only wounds be these: the wound that we cannot avoid because we belong to one another and feel and hear the murmur of the world’s pain; the wound of a sense of compassion for others; the wound of a sense of longing for God, the Source of Life and Love deep within us and far beyond us.” * 

God of love, hear our prayer.  

Merciful God, through your Word you gather us together into the great story of salvation. You rescue your people from darkness and danger, and finally send your Son to share our human nature, and embody your love. To be one with humankind. Be with us, Lord Christ, keep us in the light; and may the Spirit stand with us when we are troubled or afraid. Guard those who seek a new life, free of captivity in all its forms, and guide those seeking refuge to safety. Let us bless those we love and care about, and those we find it hard to love – and so make Christ’s forgiveness the pattern of our lives.  

God of love, hear our prayer.  

We pray for this city, Wellington and its towns and countryside; for faithful ones and folk who may have not come to a church in some time. Perhaps we can be as church for them; as we find one another at a café, day care or work place, and spend the time to listen. May our faith be so welcoming that someone may be drawn to share their story, part of the whole and sacred to God. Watch over us, dear Lord; be with all who are grieving or ill or homeless; gather our children gently. We believe that you know us to the core of our being, and know our name. We pray for this diocese: for +Justin our Bishop, all clergy and leaders, and all who serve Christ in their everyday lives. We think especially of those whose trust in God leads their steps and meets other people with kind eyes and understanding. ‘Owe no one anything, except to love one another’. Amen.  

Sources: NRSV Bible; NZ Prayer Book; *Jim Cotter, Prayer at Night; NEB Starr, original prayers.