Pete's Ordination prayers for the world

Creator God,

We lift to you our prayers for the world.

We thank you for those places in our world where peace, unity, love, generosity, abundance and purpose abound, signs of your Kingdom bursting through,

And we lift to you tonight the many places where these things are sorely needed and longed for

We pray for those places where lasting peace seems a far off dream. Places where conflict is brewing, or where it rages on, or where it seems to have finished but nothing will ever be the same and there is so much to rebuild. 

We think too of Christchurch and Sri Lanka, places where the human tendency to think in terms of us and them has recently led to violence and grief upon grief. Bring your healing, loving God. Help us to learn how to live together. Help us to see the humanity in each other. Bring your peace.

As the Federal election in our own country fast approaches we pray for genuine leadership. We pray for integrity and justice, for wise stewardship and for decisions based on your values.

And we thank you with great rejoicing for the rain! And we pray for those places where there’s not enough safe drinking water, where there’s not enough rain for the crops.

Refresh the earth with gentle rain, provider God, and help us to steward our resources well.

And Lord, who walked amongst us, we pray for our community, for the people who live in the streets around this church. Whether or not they know it, you see and know each one and love them. You know the ones who are doing well and the ones who are struggling.

You know the broken, the overlooked and the disengaged. You know their every need.

Merciful God, the lifter of heads, may your presence be known in our wider community. May the peace, unity, love, generosity, abundance and purpose that comes from you abound in us and around us and through us, your church,

and may it pour lavishly into the world around about us.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.