Prayer by Gil Harvie

Lord God, our Heavenly Father, we worship you.

You have created us, and we are sustained, by your power.

We know that we can only faintly glimpse your power and glory, but you sent Jesus to show us your true nature.

You are loving, caring, and forgiving, and you take pity on us. Even when we repeatedly fail you in many ways, you are always ready to accept those who seek your forgiveness

Your goodness and love is so great, that our praise and thanks can never be enough.

Loving God, you know our weaknesses, and you know that we continually get things wrong.

We have done things that we should not have done, and sometimes we have failed to do the things that we should have done.

We have said things that we should not have said, and sometimes we have been silent when we should have spoken-out.

We confess also that sometimes we have let our fear of what others may think prevent us from doing what we know to be right.

Lord, forgive us for the times when we have tried to do things in our own way, and have failed to put our trust in you.

Help us to remember that we can bring our problems to you, because you are always ready to listen to our prayers, and we can trust you to give us the guidance and comfort that we need.

Give us the wisdom to know what we ought to do, and give us the strength and courage to do it.

We thank you for all that you have given us, and not only for the material things, but also for all of the people that you have put into our lives; our families and friends, and all the other people on whom we depend.

Sometimes we have to depend upon the kindness of our neighbours, but many of the people on whom we rely are unknown to us, we do not know their names, but the skills and knowledge that you have given them provide us with food, shelter, and many other things.

Bless all those people on whom we rely, and let them know that they are valuable members of the community who are loved by you. May we also be ready to do our part to help and support others, and to be good neighbours.

In this world there will always be troubles, no-one can avoid them, and we can easily become frightened, sad, lonely, or depressed.

When we do not ask for your help we can feel that things are hopeless, we don’t know what to do, and we don’t know how we can keep going.

Compassionate God, we know that there are many people who are struggling, and who are finding life difficult.

In a moment of silence we bring to you those known to us who are finding life particularly tough, and who are struggling or suffering for any reason.

SILENCE

Lord, we ask that you will send your Spirit to strengthen and comfort all those in need.

Now let us join together in the prayer that Jesus taught his followers:

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 debts as we forgive our debtors