Shared during Sunday Worship on May 19, 2024.
Lord, on this day of Pentecost, we remember the power of the Spirit’s presence amongst people of different nations and languages. Though they came from different experiences they were united as one. We pray now that our world might find that same unity through the gift of Your love seen most clearly in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Help us to be witnesses to His grace to those who find themselves in the midst of isolation, violence, loneliness, and estrangement. May this part of the body of Christ be Your presence to these people that they might know that Your love has the power to heal all that ails us. May we show them the kind of love You have for them. We pray now for those who are struggling…
Even as our hearts are open for those who are difficult times we also turn to the world and we find many corners of it are mired in age-old conflicts for which there seems to be no end in sight. We ask for Your strong intervention that people might beat their swords into plowshares and their spears in a pruning hooks. It is only through the Prince of Peace that we can ultimately find peace in our hearts which in turn gives us the power to offer it to others. We asked that You bring peace and justice to the Sudan, Ukraine, the Middle East, Haiti, and Armenia. We pray know for war-torn parts of the world in which civilians suffer the most.
Lord, You tell us not only to weep with those who weep but to rejoice with those who rejoice. We are grateful on this day for the birthday of Your church! We reap the blessings of this gift every Sunday when we come together as the people of God singing glorious hymns to the Hope You offer us. May this lead us to live lives filled with hope because we have the trust in Your power to overcome all things. We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ the one who was, who is, and who is to come, amen..