Opening Prayer

Invitation to Trust

When dangers invade our sense of safety and we wonder if our Redeemer cares, we hear the invitation:
Be at peace. Be calm.

When we face job loss and financial downturns, and our sense of security is shaky, we hear the invitation:
Be at peace. Be calm.

When our congregations experience distress, conflict, and loss of significant leadership, we hear the invitation:
Be at peace. Be calm.

When controversial issues and rigidity of spirit threaten to tear at the very fabric of the faith community, we hear the invitation:
Be at peace. Be calm.

When our lives feel chaotic and desolate because of illness or sorrow, we hear the invitation:
Be at peace. Be calm

Help us to know, O God, that the one who calmed the dangerous sea is present with us, cares for us, and can calm the stormy waters of our lives.
Help us to trust more fully and more deeply in you.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who invites us to be at peace.
Amen.
—Connie R. Burkholder, Monitor Church of the Brethren, McPherson, Kansas, USA. Used by permission.

Prayer

You who are weary
Sleeples
Tired
Depressed
Discouraged

Do not be afraid!

You who are fed up
Hopeless
Visionless
Fearful
Tearful

Do not be afraid!

God is present in your suffering.
God will calm the winds and waves of your soul!
—“Prayer” by Junius Dotson reprinted from The Africana Worship Book Year B, eds. Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2007 by Discipleship Resources. Used by permission.

Intercession

Intercessions in time of crisis

God of mercy, God of comfort, we come before you in this time of difficulty, mindful of human frailty and need, confused and struggling to find meaning in the face of suffering.

We are grateful that even as we share in the joy of Christ Jesus, we can also share abundantly in comfort in the midst of suffering.

For victims of fire or flood, storm or earthquake, famine or disease, For those whom disaster has left homeless, injured, or bereaved, For refugees and those separated from loved ones, (The liturgist may add specific petitions relating to the immediate crisis.) For all who are in danger, trouble, or anguish,

We ask the presence and strength of your Spirit.

Give all who suffer the love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We know that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because your love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Be the support of all who give their strength, their skill, and their stamina in a ministry of mercy.

Open our hearts in generosity that we may be partners in their commitment to bring relief.

Where tempers flare and a partisan spirit provokes new hostility, raise up people who have patience and restraint.

Where indifference allows crisis to deepen and suffering to go without relief, awaken deliverers who have zeal and strength.

We pray for those who are engaged in making important decisions in this time, for those who report on these events, and for those who shape public opinion.

Give them the courage to speak out and the restraint to listen, that together we may discern the truth and hold aloft its light.

Take away the temptation to trust in human power and military solutions, and give us the courage to be your servants to the community of nations.

Direct all governments in the way of peace and justice, that your will may be known and done among the nations. Deliver us from the sins which lead to war and conict, and strengthen within us the will to establish righteousness and justice on the earth.

We pray for those who are suffering and can make no sense of tragedy.

Help them to turn to the One who embraces us in our lives - even Jesus Christ, who lived and suffered among us.

There is no one who is righteous, not even one, for we have all turned away from you. Make us aware of our common need of a Savior, and remove from our hearts the pride, ambition, and greed that would lead us to enslave and demean other people.

Have mercy on your whole creation. Hasten the day when the kingdom of the world shall become your Kingdom, and by grace make us worthy to stand before you. Amen.
—Reprinted from 1995 Moravian Book of Worship with the permission of the Interprovincial Board of Communication, Moravian Church in America. © 1995 IBOC. www.moravian.org.

A prayer for storm survivors. 

The words in regular print are spoken by one voice. The words in bold print are spoken by all.

Jesus, we see you calming stormsstorm tossed seas and stormy lives.
Extend your power and grace again, especially upon these most recent storm victims.
Speak peace and healing over bodies and spirits broken by the chaos.
Jesus, speak peace.
Silence

Speak peace and hope over families and communities devastated by sudden loss.
Jesus, speak peace.
Silence

Speak peace and unity over diverse groups of people so they would come together
for greater provision, just distribution, and effective rebuilding.
Jesus, speak peace.
Silence

Speak peace and protection over rescue workers as they reach out to those who are suffering.
Jesus, speak peace.
Silence

You are the Prince of Peace. You are the Resurrection and the Life.
You are strong to save. Our hope and trust are in you. Amen.
—Rev Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia is a United Methodist minister in the United States. This prayer was posted to her blog on Christian practices, Revlisad.com.