Silence and Centering
“Be still, and know that I am God; – Psalm 46:10
Confession:
Gracious and Almighty God, You are the One who keeps promises. In Your providence, we can place all our trust. Yet we confess we often do not trust You. We worry. We argue. We complain. We do things our way, not Your way. We profess faith in You, then we live like atheists. Forgive us, O Lord, in Your great mercy. Renew our hearts and our minds. Give us the faith to trust You in all things, and the courage to step forward in that faith. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PAUSE FOR 2 MINUTES OF SILENCE
Prayer: Brief silence
All is vanity, O Lord, without the grace and succor of Your Word and Spirit. Guard our hearts against pride and arrogance and a life rich in things but poor in spirit. Grant to us wise hearts, that we may love rightly all that You have made and use them all for Your purpose and glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Baptized into Christ’s death and raised with Christ to new life, O Lord, we plead for Your grace and Spirit to set our minds on the things above, that we may live out our lives fulfilling our earthly vocation in the joy of Your gift of everlasting life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Guard Your Church, O Lord, the people of Your own possession, and give to her honorable and noble men for the Office of the Holy Ministry and gracious and devoted men and women commissioned for the teaching arts and works of charity within Your Church. Make us rich in the treasure of Your grace that will never disappoint us, that we may give generously toward those in need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Bless our nation, O Lord, and all the nations of the earth, that we may have good and wise leaders who will seek Your will and walk in the ways of Your law. Defend us from war and terror, pestilence and bloodshed, poverty and want, and inspire us to work for the common good. Give us justice, that the guilty may be punished and the way of virtue rewarded. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Put to death, O Lord, all that is evil within us, that we may not practice immorality or idolatry nor give into the temptation of anger, malice, vulgarity or deceit. Help us to put off the old self and to live as the new people You have made us to be by our Baptism into Christ Jesus, that Christ may be all in all. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Answer all doubt and fear, O Lord, with confidence in Your Word and Sacraments, that by these Means of Grace we may be kept in holiness and guarded from temptation and despair until the day when You bring all things to their perfect fulfillment and we are delivered over to everlasting life in Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Give comfort, O Lord, to all in any need: to the sick and suffering, those who mourn, the aged and the infirm, and the dying. Especially do we pray to You on behalf of [_____________ and] all whom we name in our hearts. [Brief silence] Carry them through their afflictions by Your grace, and bring them to everlasting life when all troubles and trials shall cease and we shall know perfectly Your healing, joy and peace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Until the Day of Judgment, O Lord, keep us from falling away from the truth and exchanging the hope for glory for the treasure that fades. Give us courage and peace so that we may be sustained in disappointment, encouraged in time of need, and endure in time of persecution, that when our Savior comes, we may be found holy and blameless and ready to receive Him. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
By this blessed communion, O Lord, feed our spirits and our bodies upon the life-giving food of Christ’s flesh and blood, and bring us to full strength and maturity in Christ. Preserve us in the unity of faith and the sacred deposit of the apostles and prophets, that we may bequeath to those who come after us the faith undefiled and the truth untainted by error. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
These and all things good and needful, O Lord, we pray You to grant us for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, whose good name and saving works we plead before You, O almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, both now and forevermore. Amen.
Click Link Below for Bible Teaching Message
PAUSE FOR 2 MINUTES OF SILENCE
The Our Father (slowly pray this)
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen.
