Prayers for Sunday, February 5, 2017

Prayers written and led by Laura Moore

Dearest Heavenly Father,

We gather together today to praise and worship You.  We pray that You will work in each one of us and help us to imitate You.  We are Your children and You are our Father.  Help us to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us so much that He gave His life so that we could be saved. Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Help us to shine bright to this world that is so full of darkness.  Bless the many ministries that are in place spreading Your light.  We pray for Your blessings upon Crossing Cambodia, The Sending Place, God’s Hidden Treasures, Capstone Ministries and the many others that seek to reach the lost and broken across this planet. 

Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Dearest Father, help us to reflect Your light to our nation.  Lord, we are so divided.  Help us, Your people, to stand apart from others by our actions.  Help us to speak in order to build others up, so that our words will benefit those who listen.  We pray for Your blessings, Your truth and Your justice to flow upon our government leaders, from the very least to the very greatest.  Heal our country. Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Help the Church, we at St. Andrews and the many other believers who live in Stockton and the surrounding cities to shine bright in our community.  Please bless the ministries that we have here at St. Andrews that work at spreading Your light and love to others:  The Good Shepherd Family, Mops, New Life, LWML, Sunday School, H2H and the high school youth.  Continue to fill our volunteers and staff with wisdom, patience and love so that they can continue to serve You. Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Open our eyes to those who are struggling in our neighborhoods, our schools, our places of work and business.  Help us to be kind and compassionate to others, whether we feel that they deserve it or not.  Lord please be with those who are struggling in our church community.  Those who are struggling emotionally, those who are struggling with addiction, those who are healing.  Please be with those that we name in our hearts…

Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Thank You Father for those who selflessly give in order to help the homeless in our city.  We pray that You will renew and strengthen those who work and volunteer at St. Mary’s dining hall, the Gospel Center Rescue Mission, the homeless shelter and the many other agencies that serve the homeless.

Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray that You will help us to spread Your light in our homes.  Fill our hearts with thankfulness.  Lord it is so easy to take those we love for granted- help us to not let the sun go down while we are angry.  Help us to forgive each other, just as You forgive us.

Lord in Your Mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, help us to reflect the glory of Your son, each and every day, everywhere that we go.

And all God’s people agree and say….Amen.

Prayers from Sunday, December 18th

The following prayers were written and led by Valerie Andersen for Sunday, December 18th

Creator God, you reign in strength.  The earth demonstrates your glory and mighty power.  We praise and thank you for the world you have given us.  We take hope and courage, O God of creation, in your steadfast love for the world. It is your living creation and we are its stewards.  Help us to use the natural resources your hands have provided in ways that respect and glorify you.  May we live in ways that love your world.  We are grateful for the recent rain and ask for more.

 

As your children we pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

Redeemer God, you gave yourself, in the form of the Son, as a sacrifice.  Thank you for saving and redeeming the world the same way you created it - through goodness, blessing, and love.  You became flesh and lived among us, near and immediate, participating in the human struggle for light and salvation.  You know our weaknesses.  Help us to walk in our darkness.  Help us to discover hope in the midst of difficult times.  We pray for those struggling - financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually.  You are with them.  Lighten their path.

As your children we pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

Merciful God, your Holy Spirit lives in our every act of compassion and justice.  Thank you for the blessing of being your hands and feet.  It is an awesome responsibility.  The world is filled with enmity and divisiveness, the work of the evil one.  May your Holy Spirit shine so brightly in and through us, dispersing the shadows of violence and hatred.  Help us share your peace and salvation; keep us alert and ready to sing your story in and through our words and actions with love and justice. 

As your children we pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

Shepherd God, you protect us.  We thank and praise you for your ceaseless care.  Remind us to stop… To be still…  To linger… To reflect…on the world, ourselves - all God's creation; to reflect on Jesus - human and divine, our Immanuel:  God with us.  The rest in music, the silence between notes, is as much a part of the music as the notes themselves.  That's when musicians breathe.  May we all take time to breathe. To see the Baby.  To be renewed.  To rejoice.

As your children we pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

"Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night, though dark the winter and cheerless.  The rising sun shall crown you with light.  Be strong and loving and fearless.

Love be our song and love our prayer and love our endless story.

May God fill every day we share and bring us at last into glory.”

As your children we pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Prayers from Sunday, September 25th

Written and led by Bruce Kleinert

Dear Father, grant that all we do each minute of each day may show our gratitude for You great love as shown in the life and sacrifice of Your dear son, Jesus.

 Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Jesus, there’s a lot of people in our culture telling us what to believe and what to trust in. You’re the One we believe, trust, and place our hope in. Give us the perseverance to remain steadfast in our faith.

 Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, our daily life gets hectic and busy with so many activities. We often don’t spend enough time with You. We ask that we may set aside our priorities and place You first in everything we do.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Holy Spirit, the world would have us question Your Word and the stories You have shared there.  We ask that the truth of Your Word and the witness of those believers who are persecuted for their love for You remained faithful until death. May we always remember and believe that we are saved by Christ’s sacrifice.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty and merciful Father, we pray for those who are sick and in need of healing. We ask you to be with Terry Heald, Linda Davis, Connie Rill, Gloria Kleinert, and Aurella Swanson. Lord, we also bring other special friends, family, and neighbors to you at this time… Remove their hurt, pain, worry, doubt, fear, and anxiety and replace it with strength for their bodies, joy in their spirits, and trust in Your promises. Help them to feel Your loving embrace. 

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, there are many of our friends who don’t know you. Use us to share our personal story about our love of You with them so that Your Holy Spirit can work in their hearts to help them grow in their love and trust in You.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

For these prayers and those on our hearts, we lift up and give blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might to out God forever and ever! Amen.

Prayers from Sunday, September 18th

Below are our prayers from this past Sunday for both worship services:


Written and led by Sandy Thompson at 8:15am

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for another day of life on Earth, another beautiful sunrise to enjoy, the wonderful sounds of nature, and the gift of another morning to spend with beloved Christian friends and family. Father, we thank you for our families, for our children and we pray for their safety; and for the guidance of Your steadfast love. We know that You love us, You created us in Your image. Father, we need the strength of Your love to keep us strong in the world today. Help us Father, with the struggles that we face today, help us as we go through them, and carry us if we are too weak to move. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father in Heaven, as we focus on Luke, and the unjust manager that cheated his master, being dishonest, his only goal was the joy and security of this life, but the goal of Christians is the joy and security or eternal life. As Christians, we long for the welcoming arms of the only God of our salvation.  Thank you Father for our many blessings, help us to be mindful of those who need help, and to use everything which You have given us to help those in need. Father, we know that as Christians, the earthly things that we have and are seeking can help us focus our attention on eternal life. By sharing, living wisely and faithfully, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, and to be forgiven is our only hope of Heaven. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, in this time of prayer we are so grateful for Your love and the knowledge that we can plant seeds that may grow and mature. We pray for opportunities to show how much You mean to us. Give us the right words and discretion to know what to say and how to say it.  Gracious Heavenly Father, we ask that You keep Your hand on the men and women defending our Country in whatever capacity they serve. Be with all of them as they go on their assignments. Thank you for their courage, thank you for their skills that they need in every moment, so they can come back safely to their families. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, we ask for Your forgiveness; for the many ways in which we sin, for our hypocrisy, intolerance, unforgiveness, ungratefulness, disbelief, disobedience, and so many more. Lord, we ask Your forgiveness for all our sins with Your most precious blood. We are human and are at Your mercy. Help us to forgive others so we may be set free. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for Your spirit to guide our leaders, in the churches, in our States, in our Nation. Give them the tools they need to lead and govern with strong integrity and character. Help them with Your loving kindness and wisdom, we appreciate all they do for us and for their dedication of their untiring service. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, thank you for those that go on Missions; for their giving spirit of their time and sharing the joy of Your salvation. We thank them and know they need help and Your armor as they spread the word of god so unselfishly. We honor them and love them. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, we prayerfully ask for Your healing of people in this church, friends and family here that we know and love. Many different illnesses and challenges, Father but we know that by Your almighty and merciful power, You can move mountains. Thy will be done, Lord, these are Your servants and we ask for Your mercy to restore strength and healing to their bodies with renewed health and joy to their spirit so they may continue to serve You now and forevermore. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Love, we ask that you watch over young people starting school, from kindergarten up to high school and college. Keep the strong in Your word and help them to be strong against the barrage of temptations that can harm and tear at their souls. Be with them in their struggles that they may face with wisdom and the knowledge that you are their stronghold. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, we thank you for our lives, our jobs, our retirement, our children, and their families. All we have is what You have provided for us and for all of it, we are grateful, help us to use it wisely, to the glory of Your Holy Name. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Written and led by Karl Winter at 10:45am

Please join me in prayer. 
Heavenly Father,

We join you today in thanksgiving and prayer with gratitude in our hearts. We thank you for another day to spread your love and give up our lives to you. Due to your mercy, we have many blessings that have brought us together today. First, O Loving God, we thank you for the community here at St. Andrew’s that supports each other in harmony and unity. Your work is unmistakable in the leaders and teachers here who pledge themselves to the progress and inspiration of this church. Your courtesy has led us to become a people of repentance and almsgiving. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Creator, we thank you for restoring our hands and giving our lives meaning. Through your benevolence, our faith betters our world and our world betters our faith. Our energy is devoted to you because you have blessed us with a desire for your love and the ability to spread it on Earth. Your love regenerates, resuscitates, and revive us physically and spiritually. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Great Deliverer, we thank you for making us your disciples. By sending us to forgive and bless others, you give us the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as a purpose in our lives. We thank you for our many blessings: friends and family, city and country, material and metaphysical, strength and weakness, success and challenge... You are the source of everything good in our lives. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Gracious Leader, we offer you our many petitions with trust and humility. We pray first for the many ministers and leaders of this church and this nation, each with their unique goals and purposes. We pray that you, the Perfect Instructor, will counsel and embolden the leaders of this church to carry out their duties with dignity, drawing the congregation into one association of dedicated believers. We ask that you bless the upcoming election, allowing each candidate and voter to

observe the values and morals of Jesus Christ as they make positive decisions for our nation. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Forgiving Healer, you do not distance yourself from the pain of your people but in Jesus you bear that pain with all who suffer from sickness, loneliness, oppression, and injustice. With your cleansing love bring healing and strength to those physically and mentally ill, especially those close to our congregation who need soothing and comforting. Look with compassion and revival upon the addicted, homeless, and any who have strayed from your path. Lift them up in body, mind, and spirit, so they may rejoice once again. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty Lord, we pray that you project us from the evil forces in our world today. Please restore the hearts and minds of the corrupt ones that seek to destroy your influence in the world. Please be with the people of nations across the world who deal with an increasing terror threat. Help us to be strong, honest, and just in order to promote peace amongst all of humanity. We are sinful and shameful, and you are righteous and pure, and we need your blessing to lead a daily life that reflects your love. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, help us to be pure and temperate in all enjoyment, gracious and courteous towards all, and honest and true in all of our dealings, so that the mind of Jesus Christ may be formed in us and all may know that we are his disciples. You have sent us to bless others as your disciples, so help us to be forgiving in our daily vocations. Lord, we humbly trust in your great power, faithfully believing that you will observe our requests and petitions. Into your hands we present all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
And all God’s people agreed and said, Amen. 

Prayers for Sunday, Sept. 4th

Prayers written by Valerie Andersen; Led by Terry Clark and Valerie Andersen

God of Light, the first and most important decision of discipleship was Your’s:  You came as body and as Word.  We praise your for your Son, our Savior.  We praise you for the Holy Spirit, who intercedes and who comforts us.  Thank you for your goodness.

In the midst of our lives, when chaos threatens to overwhelm and conquer us, Word of the Lord come to us.  In the midst of our questions, doubts, and fears, Word of the Lord come to us.

Take away the obstacles that prevent us from placing ourselves entirely in Your hands.  May our ears hear and our hearts listen to your words of challenge, comfort, and discipline.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Creation, You have given us free will; yet our worldly thoughts and desires bring evil and destruction.  May we choose to surrender to You, consciously giving ourselves over to your will for us.

Open our eyes to see ourselves as clay.  Form our hearts.  Transform our minds.  Conform our will to yours.   We are in your hands.  May our lives evidence your handiwork.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Truth, move in our lives so that our faith in you will make us bold to speak and to act in love for those with little or no voice - the unborn; children - old and young; the emotionally, mentally, and physically ill; those left out, left behind, and left alone.  May we advocate in your name and intercede in both prayer and practice.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Grace, we pray especially for:

Special Intercessions

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Salvation, Your journey took you to the cross.  Placing our needs before yours, you endured worldly Death for our sakes, counting our salvation as worth the cost.  The cost of discipleship with us was your life.  Help us to pay the cost of our discipleship with you by the sacrifice of our own worldly lives.

Open our eyes to those things we hold more dear than You.  What idols do we hold close to our hearts that keep us from seeking you and your will first?

Give us courage.  Give us strength.  Give us faith to pay the cost of following you.  Discipleship is not an afterthought.  It is a way of life.  In the face of competing loyalties, help us to make you our primary allegiance.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

May we count the cost of following you and accept it.  Loosen our grip on that which will not satisfy.  Then we may receive our compensation - a life led by, beside and wrapped in You.

And all God’s people said,

AMEN.

Prayers from Sunday, August 21st

Prayers written and lead by Rachelle Moreno

Let's bow our heads and come to our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, first and foremost, we give you thanks for loving us unconditionally.  We give thanks for the grace you give us that we can extend to those in our lives.  We thank you that you forgive us even though we do not obey and trust you with our whole heart.  We thank you for those hearts who hear your calling to support those who have lost their homes in the Louisiana floods - give them courage to restart and the means to do so.Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, please help repair what we have broken in our relationships when we just completely mess up and do not live out your word in our lives.  Teach us and help us to undo the damage we cause due to our sins and because of our disobedience to you.  We thank you especially for the Holy Spirit that lives in our hearts to help guide and lead us to opportunities to share your love with others - that they may see.  Let us give glory to you by strengthening us to act immediately and work diligently, seeing ALL people as if we were looking through your eyes Father, and seeing the pain that lingers in each and every person.  Let your power wok in their lives.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who point us in the right direction in our lives; those such as our pastors, teachers, and leaders who tirelessly teach the many ministries here at St. Andrews that help us all grow in faith.  Thank you for those who serve our community.  We pray for our veterans, firefighters, and offers - those who serve to protect us and keep us safe.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for our rulers, those who govern our country.  We pray that our candidates that are put in office are ones that have Christian values and morals to help bring a much needed change to our world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, we continue to pray for the hour between services that allows us to be in your word more through study time.  We pray for our Good Shepherd ministry, New Life Ministry, H2H and High School Youth.  We pray for our mission teams training this winter to go spread the good news in Ghana, Thailand and Hong Kong.  We pray for Tao and Tia as they minister to the Hmong Community.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who have life-threatening health battles, and those affected by violence in our community.  We pray for the homeless, those battling addictions, those in violent relationships, and those suffering Mental Health issues.  Protect them all.  We pray that we may be a light in this dark world and extend love and mercy to them even when they may be out of our comfort zone.  We pray for members of our congregation - especially those on our hearts at this time.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, we know there is power in prayer so we thank you for allowing us to bring all these prayers and petitions before you today.  We ask diligently that you go to battle for us against the forces of evil that attack our hearts and minds.  We humbly ask in your Son's precious name, and all God's people said, Amen.

Prayers for Sunday, August 28th

Written and led by Bruce Kleinert

Heavenly Father, 
Good morning.  We give you thanks for Your unconditional love that nourish, supports, and feeds us each day.  We praise you for the gift of You son, who died for our sins.  We thank You for the presence of the Holy Spirit, who guides, leads, comforts and motivates us; for Your Church throughout the world and those who are persecuted and willing to die for it.  We thank you for the means of grace in baptism and communion, for the lives of all your faithful children everywhere, and for the assurance in the life to come.  Help us to live each day in the promises of your Word.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Thank you Jesus that you care for us.  Lord, there are many people in need.  Bless the work of those who bring water to the thirsty, and relief to those who are hurting.  We ask for you to provide for the needs of those hit by fire, wind, rain, and floods.  We ask for you to be with those who have other concerns and problems in their lives.  We ask that you give wisdom and strength to our doctors and nurses who bring healing.  Give comfort and peace to family members of those who are ill.  Lord we bring before you those whom we name in our hearts.  Give them the assurance of your presence, the comfort form all fears, and the hope in the life to come.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, help us to remember that you put us here on earth at this time and in this place for the purpose of loving you and loving others.  When we feel overwhelmed, tired or discouraged, give us the perseverance to be faithful and true to you.  Help us to reflect your love and your forgiveness to each person we meet.  Give us the strength to be genuine and to detest what is evil.  Help us to love and serve like your Son who loved and served us.  Help us to build up one another, always caring, always encouraging, and always helping each other to be the unique person you created them to be.  Help us to rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep and live in harmony with one another.  Give us the humility of your Son Jesus Christ as we serve and love others.  
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The power of prayer lies in the Savior who promises to hear our prayers and to work in every circumstance for the good of those who belong to him. T o him we pray and give the glory in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.