Prayers

Prayer

Dear Father, grower of spiritual fruit,
Let the fruit of the Spirit blossom, mature, and ripen in my life:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these.
Let me possess them!

Since I belong to Christ,
I have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Let me live by the Spirit.
Let me walk by the Spirit!
Let me show no self-conceit,
give no provocation,
have no envy toward anyone else.
Let me live in, through, and for Christ Jesus,
as he lives in, through, and for me and his whole church.

In the name of Jesus I ask you to perfect us,
whatever that may take,
and give us the grace to endure your renovation process.

Amen.

~ posted on the Heartlight website. http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/praying_paul/pwp.pl?190

Prayer

O Bounteous Spirit,
I ask you to bring forth in my life your fruits:

the fruit of love,
so I may love you above all things and all others for your sake;

the fruit of joy,
that I may find my delight in your service;

the fruit of peace,
that I may be pardoned through your mercy and may rest in your love;

the fruit of longsuffering
so that I may bear, with patience, all afflictions;

the fruit of gentleness,
that I may subdue all anger and take calmly and sweetly
all trials and provocations;

the fruit of meekness,
that I may forgive freely all who have hurt me
and endure with patience all burdens that are laid upon me;

the fruit of temperance
that I may restrain all my desires
and bring them into the subjection of your holy will.

Amen.

~ posted on Spread Jesus website. http://www.spreadjesus.org/prayer-for-the-fruits-of-the-spirit.html#.UbeKq-fVCSo

Prayer of Intercession

Lord our God,
we Your people come to You this day
fully aware that we need your presence and your help in our lives,
yet aware as well that we often fail to stop and to turn to you for that help.
We get caught up in the troubles and the turmoil of daily living—
we become busy with the goals that we have set for ourselves
and those that come to us from our work and our families and our friends.
We strive to be loving,
we seek joy and peace,
we desire to be gentle and patient and kind,
to show goodness, and to have self-control—
and yet these things all too often elude us.
Help us, Lord, to root ourselves more deeply in you;
to seek your will for our lives;
to stop and to listen for your voice when we are troubled;
to fully rely on you  when we strive to do what is right;
to remember you and trust in you when we are assaulted;
to meditate on your goodness and your gracious will when we begin each day—
so that like trees by a stream which send down their roots to the water,
we may produce by your power the fruit of your Spirit.
Lord, hear our prayer.

Gracious God,
we remember the concerns and prayers
that have been lifted up this past week
by members of this congregation and our community—
concerns and prayers that we now pray for with them:

For all those who are lonely, fearful or in pain;
for those who struggling with addictions and dependencies
that cripple their living and harm the world about them...
Lord, hear our prayer...

We pray too, O Lord,
for those who come fresh to our minds and hearts this day:
perhaps a family member we have prayed for over many weeks or years,
or a friend who is struggling to find meaning in his life,
an acquaintance who needs healing,
a stranger who needs the comfort of your Spirit as they grieve.
Lord, hear now your people as they pray
and name those names, those concerns, before you.
Lord, hear our prayer...

Thank you, Lord, for being our God and making us your people.
Thank you for growing in us and for helping us to grow.
Thank you for the ministry you entrust to us.
May your will be done in us and by us,
both now and forevermore.

Amen.

~ from the Kir-shalom website. http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/c-or13su.php