Pastoral Prayer for Evening Service October 27, 2019, based on Psalm 65 and BCP 1979

  Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,

and to you shall vows be performed.

O you who hear prayer,

to you shall all flesh come.

When iniquities prevail against me,

you atone for our transgressions.

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,

to dwell in your courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

the holiness of your temple!

O Lord, it is hard to say that we will be satisfied with you, and with you alone, when there is so much suffering and loss going on around us. We think especially of those in California, facing power outages, losing homes, losing lives from the devastation of all these fires. We think of our friends at Ridge Presbyterian who lost their church and all their homes last year. Lord, bring real relief to these situations, and Lord, we do ask, restore their lives and encourage them during these hard times.

  By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,

O God of our salvation,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas;

the one who by his strength established the mountains,

being girded with might;

who stills the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

the tumult of the peoples,

so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.

You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

We praise you for all the ways you are at work in our lives. We praise you for the good things you give us, the comforts you give us, the blessings you give us. We thank you most of all that you’ve given us the promise of heaven, eternal comfort as we rest with our king on and in the New Heavens and New Earth. Until that day, we do ask for your continued blessings, that we may use those very comforts and material blessings to bless others. Show us who we need to show hospitality to, welcome to, and bless with material things this week.

  You visit the earth and water it;

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide their grain,

for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy,

the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy. 

We pray that as we enjoy candy and parties this week, we would be ever mindful of those who don’t even have enough food to eat. Both in this country and all over the world, poverty and hunger afflict those made your image. Oh God, provide for the poor, the meek, the persecuted, the hungry, the cold, the homeless, this very night and this week. Give us safety this week, but more importantly, give us a chance to witness for your name in all that we do, telling the world how good you have been to us and sharing that goodness with others.

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.