Time for prayers

Most merciful God,

who, by the death and resurrection of your son Jesus Christ,

delivered and saved the world:

grant that, by faith in him who suffered on the cross,

we may triumph in the power of his victory:

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, now and for ever.

Amen

A prayer of Remembrance

Father of all, remember your holy promise

and look with love on all your people, living and departed.

On this day we especially ask that you would hold forever

all who have suffered during wars, those who returned scarred by warfare,

those who waited anxiously at home,

and those who returned wounded and disillusioned;

those who mourned, and those communities that were diminished and suffered loss.

Remember too those who acted with kindly compassion,

those who bravely risked their own lives for their comrades,

and those who, in the aftermath of war, worked tirelessly for a more peaceful world.

And, as you remember them, remember us O Lord; grant us peace in our time

and a longing for the day when people of every language, race and nation, 

will be brought into the unity of Christ's kingdom.

This we ask in the name of the same Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Weekly prayers:-

This gives us the opportunity of praying for our local communities and our churches. As a United Benefice our churches provide time for prayer and worship with traditional and modern services.   In doing this it is our hope that more families will join us on Sundays to worship a Great Big God who loves us all.  Check out 'Our Churches' and click on your chosen church in the white box or view 'Services' to see the different services provided. Or click on 'Sitemap' below and browse through the selection for more information.

Since prayer is engaging in a conversation with God, the expectation, is that the parties involved will not be talking at the same time so each party can be heard clearly.  This means that there should be a time of listening and a time of response.  We come to God with our request, expecting Him to answer us.  He does. of course. respond but maybe not as we might expect or want.   His response might be 'yes', 'wait' or 'no'.   Any of the three is an answer to our prayer(s) and will be appropriate to our situation.   This is because God knows what is good for us and when we should have what we are asking for.

Prayer shows a reliance and faith in God.   It also shows that we have a relationship with Him.

If you are struggling with prayer and do not know how and what to pray for, there is no better way to begin than with the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples, 'The Lord's Prayer. 

Our Father,

who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day,

our daily bread 

and forgive us our tresspasses

as we forgive those who tresspass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil;

for thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever,  Amen. 

The Diocese of Hereford invites us to share in a Year of Faith 2024 by accessing their website (at the foot of 'Contacts and Links' page) for opportunities of joining others for a selection of talks across the diocese.   Please note that you can also view the Prayer Diary website; www.hereford.anglican.org under the section Resources & Information.

The 'Follow' Prayer:-

God, who in Jesus, calls us -

open our hearts and minds to your invitation.

God of the pilgrim way - be our companion day by day.

God of the still small voice - teach us to pray.

Grant in our calling, our following, our pilgrimage,

we may see your kingdom of truth and peace -

and delight to bring others to your love.

We make this prayer through Jesus, the Lord.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills - from where will my help come?                                   My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.                                 He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber.                 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.                                                  The LORD is your keeper, the LORD is your shade at your right hand.                      The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night.                                       The LORD will keep you from all evil, he will keep your life.                                       The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and for evermore.

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

One night I dreamed a dream.  I was walking along the beach with my Lord.   Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.  When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.  There was only one set of footprints.

I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life.

This bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it, "Lord, you told me when I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way.  But I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.  I do not understand why, when I needed you most, you would leave me".

The Lord whispered, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I will never leave you.  During your times of trials and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you".

THE CROSS......

A symbol of my faith that strengthens me each day;

as I, by God's grace, walk the narrow way.

You see God's own Son, He gave His life for me; 

and took my debt of sin to a place called Calvary.

I owe Him my life and all I'll ever be;

all He asks is that I'll let Him live through me.

So I run the race empowered by his grace;

and give Him all the glory as I look into His face.

JESUS IS LORD!

Dear God......

So far today I've done okay.   I haven't gossiped or lost my temper.  I haven't been grumpy, nasty or selfish.   But, in a few minutes, I'm going to get out of bed, and that's when I'm going to need all the help I can get!