Prayers for The Third Sunday of Easter/26 April 2020

We pray…

Our hearts have burned in us, O Lord, as Your Word has been read and preached. Keep our faith from growing cold and grant us grace, that we may not waver in faith or succumb to temptation. Give to us and to our children receptive hearts, that we may hear and, hearing, believe and, believing, be steadfast in this faith and hope all our days. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

You have cleansed us, O Lord, with water and the Word in Baptism, and You have marked us as Your own people. Give to us grace, that we may live out this faith in holy lives, lifting up Your name in word and works for as long as we live. Guide us, that we may purify our souls by living in obedience to Your Word and in brotherly love for one another. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Bless Your Church, O Lord, that she may welcome the stranger in Christ’s name and manifest the unity of the faith in the bonds of love. Bless each of us as we live out our baptismal vocation of worship, witness, prayer and service. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Guard our nation, O Lord, that we may enjoy peace and security in the face of threat and danger. Bless our president; the Congress of the United States; our governor; and all state and local officials, that they may fulfill their offices faithfully. Bless our first responders, those who use their medical skills to combat COVID 19 virus and who comfort those who have fallen prey to it. Preserve and protect the members of our armed forces, and teach the nations the ways of peace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Deliver us from all our afflictions, and grant us strength to bear all our burdens, O Lord. Hear us in particular for Glenn; Marc; Michelle; Ann; Rebecca; Rachel; Kristine; Ian & Jessica Garcia; Don; the unemployed and those whom we name in our hearts. According to Your gracious will, heal the sick, relieve those who suffer, comfort the grieving and give peace to the dying. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Stay with us, O Lord, and be our strength in weakness and our hope in time of despair. Keep us so we may be found faithful when Christ comes again in His glory to bring to fulfillment all things, once and forevermore. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Accept, O Lord, this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving we bring for all Your goodness and generosity. And with our song of praise, accept our tithes and offerings, that Your Church may have the resources to proclaim Your Gospel and care for the poor and those in need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

These and whatever other things we need, O Lord, we pray You to grant us in the name of and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose death has made full atonement for our sin and whose resurrection has granted to us the promise of our own joyful resurrection to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.