Pray for the coming day, and for God’s servants who are bringing good news, healing and hope in the world, especially for ___________________________ (persons you desire to pray for).

Loving God,
You are Lord of the harvest, and Owner of the farm.
Thank you for calling _____________________ to co-labor with You in the field of this world.
Help ___________________ this day to know your voice and guidance, to be led and empowered by your Spirit, and protected from all that is against you and your work in the world. May your kingdom come, and your will be done in their life and in the lives of those they companion into your gracious love and salvation.

In the name of Jesus, Savior, Emmanuel.

Amen.

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for the alienated world in which we live.

Lord Jesus,
You who came among us,
moving into the painful fractures of our cultures
offering the healing invitation of the Kingdom,
walk into the lonely chasms in our world,
our nation, our cities, our households.

Lord,
help me feel the sadness and pain of persons
who are suffering because of terrorism, hate crimes, war, prejudice.
Soften my heart with your sorrow and compassion.

Lord Jesus,
walk among us by your Spirit. I bring to
you this day, for your care, release, and healing:
persons who are victims of violence, of greed, of addictions; ___________________________
prisoners of war, of illness, old age, famine and hunger; _______________________
people who are homeless and suffering, who have lost family, friends, neighbors,
because of storms, earthquakes, floods. ____________________________
People who grieve, Whose hearts weep, Whose bodies suffer. ________________________
Comfort and heal through your goodness and provision, healing and hope, as I pray and wait in Jesus’ name. Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen

Lord Jesus Christ,

You who knew the Spirit of God upon and within you, the anointing of God as you brought good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to those who are oppressed; breathe your Spirit upon ________________________ this day.

Anoint them with God’s love, power, guidance and compassion. May they know your presence and guidance as they co-labor with you to bring good news to _________________________, release from captivity, healing from blindness, and freedom from oppression.

May God’s grace and kind favor be felt and known this day.

In your great name, Amen.
(based on Isaiah 61:1-52 & Luke 4:18-19)

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for persons in places of power and influence.

Almighty God, King of all kings, God of all gods,
I pray for all governments and rulers of this world,
leaders to whom you have lent authority;
grant, dear Lord, that they may use their power according
to your will, not theirs, to protect and care for the poor . . . .;
that they may not wash their hands in the blood of the innocent
and faithful, that an orderly and quiet life may exist among us
in all honor and the fear of God. (see 1Timothy 2:1-3)

-A segment from the prayers prayed by Hans Schlaffer
during eight weeks of imprisonment
before his execution in February, 1528
(Spiritual Life in Anabaptism. Cornelius J. Dyck, Ed. Herald Press, 1995. 197)

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen

Morning by morning God wakens–
wakens my ear
to listen
as those who are taught. Isaiah 50:5

Loving God, Help me to hear your guidance;
To listen –
To recognize your voice.
Awaken my mind and soul to your presence
And living hope.
Help me not to run into busy avoidance.
Bend my heart to stay with Jesus,
Amen

Silence

Be still.
Open your awareness  to God’s presence
Within and all around.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

You are with us, sending out a gentle breeze on the dry ground of our doubts, shining your light in the dark corners of our clay vessels where fear and weakness rob us of faith and peace.
Help us to know your presence in all our struggle. Continue to make us bearers of peace and reconciliation.

*based on a prayer by Brother Roger of Taize. Life from Within. Geoffrey Chapman Mowbray, 1990. 22.

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for your neighbor.

Loving God,
Help me to hear your call
To be with you –
In this wilderness of the Lenten road.
Awaken my mind and soul to your work
And your guidance;
help me not to run into busy avoidance.
Open my eyes to see Jesus.
Amen

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen

O God, You who give abundantly out of your glory,
Give us strength in our inner being.
Holy Spirit, You who indwell us,
Empower us to be strong within.
Lord Jesus Christ, You who carry out the loving purposes of God,
Make your home in our hearts;
Help us to grow in faith and trust,
As you continue to root and ground us in your love.
By your power, help us to grasp—along with all who bear your
Name—how wide and deep and long and high your love is.
Help us to know your love—which is beyond our understanding.
Fill us with all the fullness of God.
Gracious God, you who by your power within us, are able to
do abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine,
to you be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, always, always.
Amen.

*Based on Ephesians 3:16-21

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace,
Where there is hatred, leet me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may no so much seek
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving thhat we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

(Attributed to St. Francis of Assissi, 1181-1226)

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen

Day of Pentecost

This week, as we make our way again towards the upper room in Jerusalem, the lectionary guide takes us aside to a quiet place. Here, we step out of the “automatic drive” which pushes us into the next event, and pause to listen. It is Jesus we hear: his familiar voice helping us across this unfamiliar chasm.

When the Helper comes – whom I will send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth . . . he will testify on my
behalf.
I will send him to you. And . . . When the Spirit of truth comes
He will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on
His own, but will speak whatever he hears . . . he will take
What is mine and declare it to you. (From John 14:26-27; 15:13-14)

This Spirit Helper Jesus is sending will be at work within the world, revealing to people what is really true; helping put wrong beliefs straight about sin, righteousness and judgment. This is part of the work the Holy Spirit is to do. The Spirit is also here to help and companion us: revealing Jesus to us, and helping us know and understand what Jesus said, and what Jesus is still saying.

This is no disinterested and impersonal Spirit. The Spirit who is about to be sent is an integral part of God’s presence and work in and among us, and in the world.

Jesus has offered us guidance, has prepared us as we leave this quiet place and make our way to Jerusalem, the house where the followers of Jesus are gathered for prayer on this day of Pentecost.

As you wait, enter into the Acts 2:1-21 narrative. Be still; listen; look, become aware of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit – to these early followers, and to you.

In what ways do you become aware of the Spirit’s presence and work in your life?
Simon Peter speaks from the prophet Joel who describes some of the ways in which the Holy Spirit signals God’s work and presence:

Like Simon Peter, some men and women will proclaim the Good News of Jesus.
Some will see visions, and others will receive dreams.
All who call on the name of Jesus will experience his help and rescue from
what entraps us in this world.
Some will discover that they speak another language – for the sake of
the kingdom of God, and the ministry of Jesus among us through
the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit indwells us, and is here with us to help, to teach, to companion and counsel, to guide, and to help us remember Jesus.

Prayer before reading:

Lord Jesus Christ,
You come to us
In the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit,
Help me to be aware of how you come,
To be hospitable to your help,
And to your leading in the way of Jesus.

Amen

Season of Pentecost

• 5/21 Monday: John 15:26-27
• 5/22 Tuesday: John 16:4b-15
• 5/23 Wednesday: Psalm 104:24-34,35b
• 5/24 Thursday: Acts 2:1-21
• 5/25 Friday: Romans 8:22-27
• 5/26 Saturday: John 15:26-27
• 5/27 Sunday: Day of Pentecost: John 16:4b-15; Luke 24:50-43

Pray for the coming day. Pray for persons, families, who need the healing and compassionate care of Jesus, especially for ___________________________ .

Dear God and Father, You who mother us with your mercy, and gentle us into peace with your consolation, console us in all our suffering and affliction So that we may be able to console those who suffer with the comfort and care we receive from you.

By your kind Spirit, be present with those who suffer and are crushed. Breathe your comfort and consolation upon the dry ground of their despair. Through your grace and saving love, surround them with your protection, give them healing and restoration.

In the name of Jesus, our Healer and Burden Bearer. Amen.

*Based on 2 Cor.1:3-5

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for the persons whom God has called to minister and give oversight in the church, the body of Christ.

Dear God,
You are at work this day.
Help us, your servants, to pay attention to your presence
And what you are doing. Pry us loose from our own agenda,
tight schedules, strategic outcomes.
Wash the lens of our hearts, to see you –
to wait with you; to listen as you listen
to feel the gentle breeze of your Spirit breathing among persons
who sit in the shadow of death;
to speak as you give words,
to touch with gentleness; we are your hands;
to be hospitable within to your good news, and
happy in its overflow in word, touch, and being.
To see evil as you see–all that blocks, stifles, robs,
and destroys, and yet to stand in trusting hope–
in you, Lord Christ, who died to set us free from
sin’s power to rob us of life, faith, hope, and love.
Help us to love ourselves, and so in turn to love others;
to welcome the pilgrim and neighbor within our own soul,
and so not to be a stranger to ourselves, or to others,
but in offering welcome and shelter to our own hungers
we may learn the way of offering welcome and shelter
to those who are searching, hungry, sick, in prison,
alone, naked, and thirsty: for this where you dwell.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen

Lord Jesus, Shepherd who seeks, By your Spirit, be present in our world today. Companion those who are lost and seeking a way home, Give light in their darkness, especially to _____________________. Give them clarity and guidance in the fog of their restlessness. As they ache for rest in God, lead them home to your loving and merciful Abba who yearns for their return, and waits on the front porch of the kingdom to greet them.
Shepherd me this day to be a patient listener, a hospitable companion, and a guide who helps others discover your presence and work in their lives.
In your great name, Amen

Pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.

Amen.

INTERCESSION

Pray for the coming day, and for God to call persons into the work of co-laboring in the field of God’s harvest.

Walk among us, dear God,
By your Spirit knock at the doors or our soul;
help us to hear your call.
Draw us to your side as you watch the multitude,
contemplating how lost and harrassed people are,
like sheep who have strayed and have no shepherd.
Plant the fertile seed of compassion in the soil of
the soul of your servants. Tend its roots, crush its fruit, that we
may weep and feel the loads the world carries and
cannot lay down. Open our ears to hear your
call to embody and bear your Good News.
In the name of Jesus, who calls us to co-labor with him,
to be yoked in the labor of field and furrow—the earth
of your kingdom.

Amen.

-(adapted from Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder)

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you,
And to bear the cost
Of giving up our false self.
By your Spirit help me
Help me to follow you in all of life,
To walk in the joy and freedom of the resurrection,
Indwelt and led by your Pentecost Spirit.
Amen