give us the light of reconciliation

April 19, 2022April 18, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Lord, God our Father,

through Jesus Christ, your Son,

in the power of your Holy Spirit,

give light to our eyes, that we may see your light,

the brightly shining light of reconciliation!

For this is the greatest sickness,

when one cannot see the light, even during the day.

Free us from this sickness,

us and all Christians who celebrate Easter either well or poorly,

the entire human community, both near and far,

who are again and again being confused and endangered anew!

Bless what comes to pass in this church and in other churches

and communities that are now still separated from us,

that it may be a testimony to your name, your kingdom, and your will!

Reign also over all the various concerns of the government authorities,

administrations, and courts here and all over the world!

Strengthen the teachers in consideration of their high task

for the growing generation;

the people who write newspapers,

conscious of their grave responsibility for public opinion that they influence;

the doctors and nurses,

for genuine attentiveness to the needs of those who are in their care!

Substitute your comfort, your counsel, and your help

for all that would accuse the many lonely, poor, sick and confused among us!

And let your mercy be apparent and powerful to all who are here in this house,

along with their families!

We place ourselves and all that we lack and that the world requires

in your hands.

Our hope is on you. We trust in you.

You have never let your people be put to shame,

whenever they earnestly called on you.

What you have begun,

you will surely finish. Amen.

Karl Barth, 1886 – 1968, Swiss Reformed theologian

Fifty Prayers

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2 Corinthians 5:16-19

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.

Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,

we regard him thus no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

not counting their trespasses against them,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

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my merciful Redeemer

October 19, 2021October 18, 2021 / Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

O Lord, I am you clay. You are my potter and skilled master. Because you pronounce me a sinner, I accept your word. I sincerely acknowledge and confess the godless condition which shows itself in my flesh and my entire nature. I do so that you may be glorified and I humiliated. As with all others, I am sin and death; you are life and righteousness. Together with all people I am the worst evil; you are and remain the highest good. I acknowledge and confess all this. I am led to this confession not by my reason, which would rather cover up and disguise this godless condition, but through your law and promises, I want your honor to stay and increase.

Lord, I am your sin; you are my righteousness. Therefore I am glad and have victory without fear. For my sin cannot outweigh or overpower your righteousness. Neither will your righteousness permit me to be or remain a sinner. Your Spirit, O Lord, must make and keep me alive. Blessed are you, O faithful God, my merciful Redeemer. In you alone do I trust. Amen.

Martin Luther, 1483 – 1546, German Reformer

Luther‘s Prayers

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Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

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blessings of home

September 21, 2021September 20, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

O God, bless those who have no homes.
Bless those who have to live away from home
in lodgings and boarding-houses and hotels.
Bless those who have been left alone,
and who are solitary now.
Bless those who are searching or waiting for a house.
Specially bless young couples who have to live in furnished rooms,
or with relatives, and who have never had the chance
to be alone together and to have a home of their own.
Bless those who keep house for other people,
and who have no house of their own.
Bless old people who are coming to the end in some institution
which is very comfortable but which is still not home.
Help us who have the blessing of a good home
to keep an open heart and an open door
to those less fortunate than ourselves.
This we ask for your love’s sake. Amen.

from the Audenshaw prayers, UK

A Procession of Prayers

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1 Peter 4:8-10

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

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to you I commit my trust

August 12, 2021August 11, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Loving and tender providence of my God,

into your hands I commend my spirit;

to you I abandon my hopes and fears,

my desires and repugnancies,

my temporal and eternal prospects.

To you I commit the wants of my perishable body;

to you I commit the more precious interests

of my immortal soul

for whose lot I have nothing to fear

as long as I do not leave your care.

Though my faults are many,

my misery great,

my spiritual poverty extreme,

my hope in you surpasses all.

It is superior to my weakness,

greater than my difficulties

stronger than death.

Though temptations should assail me,

I will hope in you;

though I break my resolutions,

I will look to you confidently

for grace to keep them at last.

Though you should ask me to die,

even then I will trust in you,

for you are my Father, my God,

the support of my salvation.

You are my kind, compassionate and indulgent parent,

and I am your devoted son,

who casts myself into your arms and begs your blessing.

I put my trust in you,

and so trusting, shall not be confounded. Amen.

St. Claude de la Colombière, 1641-1682, French Jesuit priest and ascetic

Hearts on Fire Praying with Jesuits

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Psalm 56:3-4

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

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bless the vaccines

May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the countless ways you show us your love.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

and giving people (those we call brilliant) a spec of your brilliance

to create vaccines that ‘help our bodies develop immunity to the virus’.

We ask you to bless the vaccines to our bodies,

for those who are already fully vaccinated

and for those who will be getting them.

We pray we will not be adversely affected – long and short term,

and, if it is in our best interests,

to only experience mild or no symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

Thank you for all the volunteers and medical community

that are tasked with administering the vaccines.

We confess our FAITH IS IN YOU and not the vaccine.

So, we also pray for those who do not feel led to get one,

that you would also give them immunity and keep them healthy.

We trust in You and your Word!

We pray this prayer in the lovely name of Jesus!
Amen!

Paula Cianci, family friend

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Psalm 91:3-6

Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

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