Prayer

Empowering love,

You do not consider your authority and power something to be grasped and held on to. To the contrary, you are ready to yield it and share it with all who believe and follow your way. In accord with your promise, help us live each day in humble expectation, believing that we will see your good works magnified in our own place and time, for the life of the world. We ask this in the same spirit with which you first came to us: not expecting to be served but to serve and to give our lives for the good of others. Amen.

Prayer

Beautiful one,

In the diversity of beings and creatures and things, we are given to see your goodness displayed and refracted in so many ways. Open our eyes today, to see the beauty around us and especially the beauty of those neighbors and family and colleagues we are prone to overlook, perhaps because of familiarity and history and sometimes pain. Refresh our vision. Reset out perception. Help us see beauty and to reflect it to others. Amen.

Prayer

God of our history,

Cinco de Mayo is an important opportunity for us to show respect and admiration for Mexican culture, history, tradition, and customs. Let the celebration of this special day take shape as we learn more about its origin and history, as we support Mexican-owned businesses in our communities as well as the arts and museums, and as we continue to advocate for immigration and employment policies respectful of human dignity and the rights of all workers. With gratitude for the specific contributions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to our collective history and culture, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

God over all,

Beneath our differences of faith and belief lies a fundamental conviction: you have made us for yourself, such that we all have a natural desire to seek you. Yes, our hearts are restless until they rest in you. In our country today, we have many reasons to be especially restless, anxious, and troubled in spirit. On this National Day of Prayer, may we all be willing to pause and to turn our hearts towards yours. May we seek your face together, for refreshment and vision, for the health and well-being of our nation, for the sake of the world entire. As one people, united in a common bond of humanity, we will pray. Amen.

For The National Day of Prayer reflection video click HERE

Prayer

Creative spirit,

Give us the courage to welcome new ideas, as well as the wisdom to evaluate their promise. Let us avoid being resistant to change while embracing a spirit of openness, giving you freedom to lead us in the way of your spirit, which blows where it will. For the sake of the many and diverse needs that call us to action today, help us learn the best way to unite our compassion with a willingness to innovate and forge a path forward, so we can continue to bring good help to the patients and families and communities we serve. With gratitude for how you’ve brought us this far. Amen.

Prayer

Gracious provider,

The world we inhabit is charged with meaning, with sense, and with order. Yet in the freedom you gave us, we have not always acted in ways that respect and align with these forces. We grieve for these mistakes and, as a ministry, are committed to finding new ways to wholeness, health and well-being for all of your creatures. Inspire us in this good work and empower us to be more effective advocates for the voice of creation. Amen.

Prayer

God of today,

Empower us to live each day in joy. May we cultivate gratitude for this present moment, wasting not a breath on the days we can’t change and looking ahead only in hope, for the new things you have promised to do through us. As those who are called to awareness and attention, to serve and to love those neighbors you send us today, here, and now, we pray. Amen.