General Prayer Pentecost 11c Proper 13

Gracious heavenly Father, we know that You are good and Your steadfast love endures forever and so we come to You in the name of Jesus, asking that You would grant us Your blessing:

                                                  

We give You thanks and praise for Your faithfulness to all generations.  Help us to serve You with gladness and fill us with joy in all that we do.  Especially do we ask Your blessing upon Reinhard, Keith, and T.J. as they celebrate birthdays.  Bless them in body and soul all their days. 

Set before us at all times what is truly meaningful and lasting so that we order our lives according to Your will.  Give the necessities of life to those who stand in need of any material blessing and lead us to be generous and share the gifts You have given us.  Comfort those who mourn; befriend those who are lonely; heal those who are ill.  Especially do we pray for Sylvia as she awaits test results.

Thank You for the gift of our Baptism where we have died and been raised with Christ.  Let this spiritual reality transform our life each day so that we would seek those things that are above until that day we stand with Christ in his glory.

Help us to put away all sin of thought, word, and deed and daily put on the new person that we are in Christ Jesus.  Restore and renew in us each day Your image.

Grant that we would always hear and read Your Word as Your will for us and not as a tool to get our way or manipulate others.  By the working of Your Holy Spirit bless Your Word in this place so that it bears abundant fruit in the lives of Your people.

Forgive us of our sins and especially the sin of covetousness.  Give us contentment with that which You have given us and gladness as we look upon the blessings given to others.  Help us to remember that our life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions.  Make us faithful stewards of Your gifts to us so that it would never be said of us that we have laid up treasure for ourselves and have not been rich towards You.

Watch over and order our earthly journey so that the end of our life does not catch us unaware and unprepared to stand before Your judgment.  When our soul passes into Your hands grant that we would be found to have a true and living faith in Your Son Jesus.

Until that day be with us and bless us in Jesus’ name.  Amen.