Sunday 19 November
Together We Pray
SUNDAY, 19 November 2023, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Judg 4:1-7; 1 Thess 5:1-11; Matt 25:14-30
Let us pray for the church and for the world, giving thanks for God’s goodness.
God our creator, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace (nzpb). We pray for the world and its people, whom you have made one with the earth, to tend it and bring forth fruit* lasting generations. We pray for the sorrows of so many, and the anger that assaults communities and whole nations. We pray for the sick and suffering, that their prayers and their lives may rise to you. We pray for an end to war in Israel and Palestine, Ukraine, the Congo; for the protection of children and elderly, women and men caught in crossfire and those who bring aid. For soldiers who do not want to fight. Help us remember the roads Jesus walked, healer and friend, and the sacred routes pilgrims still take all over the earth, seeking you. O God, make us people of peace; in your mercy protect us.
God of love, hear our prayer.
Holy God, your word is light. Help us to take time to encourage one another. We pray for the diocese of Wellington, for our churches and our brothers and sisters in other faiths at this difficult time. We pray for our bishop +Justin and all church leaders, especially those to be ordained in a few weeks. May we serve with love, building up the body of Christ. So we remember those who have no home to go to, and those whose prayers we cannot know unless we meet them. Perhaps we might be an answer to someone’s prayer, dear God, a doorway to healing. Bless those whose task is to help others in recovery, and rekindle hope. May our prayers be more than words, and may the Spirit that moves all around us bring new possibilities to those in need, and fresh change.
God of love, hear our prayer.
Gentle God, you know our hearts before we speak, and our thoughts before we say. Many of us find it hard to believe we are so loved, and noticed by God. Yet let us accept that we are profoundly loved, and need never be afraid. Let us cease to be a cause of suffering to one another. Lead us from death to life, falsehood to truth, despair to hope, fear to trust, hate to love, and war to peace. Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe. (nzpb)
God of love, hear our prayer. Amen.
Sources: NRSV Bible; NZ Prayer Book; *Janet Morley, All Desires Known; Episcopal BCP; NEB Starr.
