Category: Prayer items

This Sunday (27 June), Christians across the country – and further afield – will join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.

“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.

“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.

“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.

“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic (a copy of which will be available to read here soon), states:

“The Gospel of Mark records the story of a woman who reaches out to Jesus and does so from the depth of her suffering. She does so because she ‘had heard about Jesus’ and longed to find healing.

“The Gospel describes how a large crowd was following Jesus ‘and pressed in on him’ and it is from the midst of the crowd that the woman reaches out. In the moment that she does so, Jesus senses ‘that power had gone forth from him’. In response to his question: “Who touched me?”, the woman comes ‘in fear and trembling’ and tells ‘the whole truth’. In response, Jesus affirms that her faith has yielded wholeness and peace. (Mark 5: 21-43)

“In times of suffering, we may find ourselves worn out and uncertain as to the strength of our faith. Whether from the depths of the crowd, or in the loneliness of our isolation, Jesus invites us to reach out and experience the healing and peace of God.”

We pray:

Living God,
Move among us
And invite us to reach out to your presence revealed in Jesus.
When we are fearful,
Calm our fears and bring us safe into your presence.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Move among us
And invite us to reach out to the One who inspires faith.
When we sense our faith ebbs low,
Renew our faith and reassure that your faithfulness abides forever.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Move among us
And invite us to the place of healing.
When we are broken,
Lift us up and remake us in your image.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Move among us
And invite us to the place of peace.
Where peace seems absent,
Fill the place of absence with your abiding presence.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Move among us
And invite us to step out of the crowd.
Where we are hesitant to do so,
Reassure us that you see us and know us and accept us as we are.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

This Sunday (20 June), Christians across the country – and further afield – will join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown, 15 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.

“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.

“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.

“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.

“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic, states:

“‘We’re all in this together!’ When we hear such a statement, it implies that we share together in the difficulty being faced. No one is exempt and we all have to face up to the challenge that confronts us. There are times, of course, when we wonder if this is entirely true.

“Nevertheless, the last months have brought home to us the fact that, in facing up to the challenge of the pandemic, no one is exempt.

“In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples find themselves in a boat one evening with Jesus. They have left the crowds behind and are in a situation in which they might have said: ‘We’re all in this together!’ Except, Jesus is asleep even as a storm arises ‘and the waves beat into the boat’ and the boat seems set to be overwhelmed.

“The disciples are all in this together, but what about Jesus? The disciples ask him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” In response, Jesus rebukes the wind and calls to the sea: “Peace! Be still!” He then asks the disciples: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” It is as if he is asking them: ‘Did you think that I was not in this together with you?’ (4: 35-41)

“The challenges of these last months have left us with many questions. However, we may be sure of this: In all we face, Jesus is with us in the boat in the midst of the storm and we can say: ‘We’re all in this together!’”

We pray:

Lord of the winds and of the sea,
Be with us today
As we turn to You and listen for Your voice.
Whether in the midst of quiet or of storm,
Speak to the depths of who we are.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord of the winds and of the sea,
Be with us today
As we leave behind that which is past
And face the challenges of this day:
Speak Your word to us in this present moment.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord of the winds and of the sea,
Be with us today
As we sense the depth of the challenges we face
And fear that we shall soon be o’erwhlemed:
Speak to us in the still, small voice of calm.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord of the winds and of the sea,
Be with us today
As You have been with us
In all the days that the storm has raged:
Speak the words that calm the storm and cease the rage.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord of the winds and of the sea,
Be with us today
As we hear the words You have spoken
And know the peace of Your presence renewed:
Speak the words that inspire faith and reassure us of Your abiding presence.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

This Sunday (13 June), Christians across the country – and further afield – will join together in prayer and reflection at 7pm in response to the pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown, 15 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, is taking part alongside them.

“We should always be mindful for the wisdom handed down to us from past generations; much of it learned the hard way, from mistakes made and consequences suffered,” Lord Wallace said.

“So, too, we are grateful for the richness that comes to us from living alongside people of other traditions. In our day and generation we must surely allow our minds and hearts to be open so that we can risk getting to know them and learning from them.

“In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich life, as we have done for many months now.

“A pattern has been set for us, lived out in Jesus Christ, made possible by the Spirit. May we follow in His way, and be guided by the one over-riding rule of love in all that we say and do.

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic, states:

“‘Seeing is believing!’ The saying is one that we are all familiar with and it finds expression in music, film and everyday speech. In essence it means: To see is to believe.

“However, the reality of life is that we see so much that it becomes increasingly difficult to say we believe simply on the basis of what is before our eyes. The multiplicity of images and information that are presented to us threaten at times to overload the senses.

“The Apostle Paul offers us a way of seeing things differently. Instead of saying: ‘Seeing is believing!’, it is almost as if he reverses this and says: ‘Believing is seeing!’

“Paul was very conscious of the challenges he faced and of the passing nature of what he saw around him. In facing the reality of this in his daily life, he is confident that he has found a way to live that is not dependent solely on what he sees. Rather, he affirms: ‘we walk by faith, not by sight’. (2 Corinthians 5: 7)

“Paul looks ‘not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen’, and by faith he ‘sees’, beyond the temporary, the way that God has marked out. (2 Corinthians 4: 18) In our daily lives, we seek to see the world through eyes of faith.”

We pray:

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that we might walk by faith
And so live for you
That our lives reflect the glory of God.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us the assurance that, as we walk by faith,
We are not alone
And that we walk in the company of your Son.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us the knowledge
That we walk in the company of your people
And in the community of your Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that we might see
The complexity of this world
Through eyes enlightened by faith.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us to see, by faith,
The image of God
In each life shaped by your hand.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that, at the last,
We will come into your presence
And share in the life everlasting.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.