AUG. 17, 2020
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis
During these difficult days, the United Methodist Foundation of New England
is sharing a daily prayer based on
the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions.
Today’s prayer
Psalm 124:8 – Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. Almighty and everlasting God, eternal guide and source of all true inspiration:
As we make our way in a troubled world, we pray for renewed dedication to what is true, what is good, what is holy.
We pray for clarity of purpose, strength of will, soundness of judgment, so that we may persevere even though the future be unknown and the end of our journey be a mystery. For that, we depend upon your divine grace.
We give thanks for the joys of life, even in the midst of this pandemic – the radiance of flowers in a lush garden, the elegant beauty of a Bach cantata, the sparkle of sunshine on an ocean wave, the innocent delight of a young child, hearty laughter with family and friends.
We pray for renewed faith in the ultimate wisdom and justice and mercy that you have revealed throughout the ages. We pray for hope that transcends daily disappointments and even occasional despair, and keeps our minds and hearts focused on the deeper meaning of our existence. May our faith be nurtured and sustained like the fragile flower that it is – at times gloriously in bloom and able to withstand the harshest winds, at other times lost under a snowbank waiting to emerge from hiding.
We pray to be what you would have us be. Strengthen our determination to turn away from envy, hate, greed, selfishness, and prejudice. Renew our dedication to be responsible stewards of all that we possess and of the natural world around us.
We pray for all who are in need. Be with those who are ill and those who care for them and suffer with them; those who are mourning the death of loved ones, those who are anxious and troubled and uncertain; those who despair of again feeling the warmth and joy of happiness. Comfort them, let them glimpse your power and truth, let them feel the transcendent fullness of your peace.
We pray for justice where tyranny, oppression and bigotry leave their ugly scars. We pray for peace where there is suffering and bloodshed. Keep us ever mindful of the need for peace and justice. May we be neither blinded to the enormity of the world’s problems nor paralyzed by them. Enlarge our imaginations to encompass new possibilities for a better world.
Oh God, we renew before you our commitment to be followers of Christ, and it is in his name that we pray. Amen. By John Regier, Board Chair of the United Methodist Foundation of New England, and member of Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, Cambridge, MA
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