Pamela Collins led us in this prayer on 2nd Sunday.

We exalt you, O God our King. We bless your name forever and ever.

Every day will we bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

Great are you Lord and greatly to be praised. There is no end to your greatness.

You, almighty God, invite us to ask for what we need and to receive it from you-- to be direct, honest. You invite us to search and find, knock and enter. When we falter, remind us that the resurrection life we have received from you is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting you with the innocence and excitement of children asking “What’s next, Dad?” Your spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who you are, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we can pray and believe.

We can ask and expect that you will act, so that you are glorified.

Remind us, daily, that when we welcome you, you dwell in us, and even though we still experience all the limitations of sin—we now experience life on your terms. That means we can risk believing that you mean what you say when you promise us that you hear us, that you will respond.

Lord, sometimes we doubt your willingness to answer our prayers. Yet if we, with all of our imperfections and mixed motives and downright selfishness—if we know how to love our children, our relatives, our friends—that’s nothing compared to how much you love us and want to give good things to us. We know that you do not even withhold yourself from us.

So, Father, we come to you asking for your powerful act of healing for our world. We ask for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. We ask, Lord, that you avert new infections. We ask that you restore those who are ill.

Father, we pray for our nation. We pray that the unity that your Holy Spirit brings be felt in our country. Lord lead us not into the temptation to divide ourselves into teams of us against them based on our theories about the virus or about the economy or according to our political affiliations, race, ethnicity, gender—or anything that can be manipulated to divide us. Lord, keep us from this insidious evil.

Father we pray for our city and our state and our nation. This epidemic has shown a spotlight on our sins: those forces that drive health disparities, those things we allow that unfairly put people at risk of illness, death, violence, and hardship. Heal our hearts. Lord, give our leaders wisdom and mercy, Give us wisdom and mercy and courage to help build back a healthier and more just society. Heal our economy. All power is yours, dear Lord.

Lord forgive us and keep us forgiving each other. Teach us rely on your grace to do this, help us to choose to live bold resurrection lives in your kingdom. Help us to walk through that open door.

Lord, I pray for our Union family and the concerns on each person’s heart. You know what these are. I pray that each us of would know deeply your tender motherly love.

We bless your holy name. Amen.