Pastoral Prayer - 11 May 2014 PM (Mother's Day)


Strengthener of the weak; fortifier of the faithful, rescuer of the wayward, restorer of the repentant; we lift up our hearts and eyes and voices proclaiming that your steadfast love is good and endures forever. It is you who does great wonders, so that by your most holy, wise and powerful preserving you govern all your creatures and all our actions; we delight in you that your steadfast love is good and endures forever. It is you who delivers your people from their enemies, elevating them from their low estate in due time, drawing them from the miry bog and setting their feet on a rock; we rejoice that your steadfast love is good and endures forever!

 O LORD Most High, you are to be feared for you are the great king over all the earth; bring all peoples of every nation and land to clap their hands, to shout to God with loud songs of joy; bring the princes of the peoples to gather as the people of the God of Abraham, for you reign over the nations, you sit on your holy throne (Psalm 47)!  O Lord, hear our prayer.

 We pray on behalf of your Church world-over; this congregation; Allen Chapel AME Church; Avery Chapel AME; Collins Community AME Church, First AME Church; as well as our Chaplains – Maj. Mike Keifman; Capt. Chris Bryan; LTC John Routzahn; Civilian Chaplain Chris Jennings; LTC Tom McCort; Capt. Bryan Weaver; and Maj. John Lim. Give us the grace and strength to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have called us, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4.1-3). O Lord, hear our prayer.
Take note, Father, of the anxiousness of the parents and graduates as they launch out into new vistas; the pain and distress of those struggling with disease or darkness of heart; the uneasiness or discouragement of those looking into an uncertain future; the frustration and fear of those fraught with marital and family sweats and strains;…May your hand be on them to guide them, your right hand uphold them, your peace to fill them and guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Thank you, Holy God, for the godly mothers of this church and in our lives, some still living and some already gone from our sight, who have exhibited your own tenderness, compassion, nurturing care; thank you for those mothers who gave so much not only in having children, but in raising them to adulthood. We pray for those mothers who have left deep scars that you would bring about repentance on their part, and healing to those they hurt. We pray for the mothers of this church; may they continue to encourage, lead and love their children in the various seasons of life, showing them – as it were – the face of God. And we pray for those who have long desired to be mothers but can’t; make them rich in the joy of the Lord, satisfied with you, and to continue to share the love you have worked in them. O Lord, hear our prayer.


Finally, we bring to you those on our hearts who continue to look away from you, those who have turned their back to you, those who deny either your existence or your importance, and those who are seriously wavering, …; bring them to see their perilous situation, and to cry out to your Son Jesus, for you have promised that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10.13). O Lord, hear our prayer.

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