Sunday 11 May | O Lord Hear Our Prayer

Prayer is not easy, nor does it make sense to many of us,

but for those who are willing to try, here is a place to begin...

(from 'Liturgies for Hope', by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore)

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This morning we gave ourselves over to prayer. Not thinking about prayer or talking about prayer, but simply praying. Prayer is always part of our collective worship, and of course we are encouraged to pray without ceasing as we go about our everyday lives, but sometimes it is good to make it our focus and our priority. 

Prayer sustains us and it sustains our work in the world, which is to share the hope and life we celebrated on Easter Sunday, and to plant the seeds of the kingdom we seek to call our home. It connects us to the God we pray to and the world we pray for, and it can also connect us more deeply to ourselves and to those we pray with.

There was some contemplative prayer, some spoken prayer, some corporate prayer, and some personal prayer. But first, remembering last week’s reflection on Sabbath, we began with the Sabbath blessing used by the Lectio365 daily prayer app.

May this day bring Sabbath rest to our hearts and our homes.  

May God’s image in us be restored, and our imagination in God be re-storied.  

May the gravity of material things be lightened, and the relativity of time slow down.  

May we know grace to embrace our own finite smallness in the arms of God’s infinite greatness.  

May God’s word feed us and His Spirit lead us into the week and into the life to come. Amen.

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PRAYING FOR OURSELVES - EXAMEN

Settle yourself and set aside any distractions.

Look back over the past week, asking the Spirit to guide you to the thoughts that will be most helpful.

What has been joyful and hopeful?

Give thanks for those things. 

What has been difficult or painful?

Seek grace to lay down what you can and strength to carry what you must.

Look ahead now, again asking the Spirit to guide you to those thoughts that will be

most helpful.

What do you want to see more of in the coming week?

What do you want to do differently?

As we end this reflection, commit to returning to those things that feel most important in your own time.

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PRAYING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES - IMAGINATIVE PRAYER WALKING

Think of a community you are part of.

It could be your family, a social group, your work, your neighbourhood...

Imagine the journey you would take to get to them.

Who and what do you see as you go?

Where can you see signs of the presence of God?

Where do you see signs that the presence of God is needed?

Now imagine you have arrived in your community.

Who and what do you see there?

What do you want to thank God for in your community?

What do you want to ask God for in your community?

Now imagine a bird’s eye view of your journey.

There is a thread connecting this place to that place.

What do you want to take from here to there?

What do you want to bring from there to here?

Return in your imagination to this time and this place.

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PRAYING FOR OUR CHURCH - CELEBRATING BAPTISM

This prayer was written by Lynn Green, General Secretary of Baptists Together, and published in the Summer 2025 edition of the Baptists Together magazine

You Lord are the God of hope – we worship you.

You Lord, are the God of love – we delight in you.

You Lord, are the Prince of Peace – we praise your name.

You Lord, are our rock and salvation – we rejoice in you.

Lord, we thank and praise you for all those who have been baptised as believers

in this past year.  

Thank you for all the ways that you are graciously touching and changing lives 

through the work of your Holy Spirt and for the celebration

and encouragement this brings.  

We pray that each one will grow as a disciple, 

deeply rooted in love and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit in the whole of life.

We pray too that the seeds sown in people’s hearts through baptismal services 

would flourish and bring to birth new followers of your Son Jesus Christ.

Lord, we pray that, by your grace, every church in our Union would be able to

open their baptistry and experience the joy of believers baptism in this coming year.  

Where there have been many baptisms recently, we pray for more, Lord.  

Where there have been few or none we pray that 

a fresh and gentle move of your Holy Spirit will surprise us.

Give us all a fresh anointing to be witnesses for you in the places that you have put us – 

through steadfast prayer, through our Christlike words and actions 

and through our invitations to ‘come and see’.

Lord, help us to experience and share the joy of our salvation.

Holy Spirit, by grace draw people to Jesus.

Heavenly Father, may many, many people discover their true home in you.

For your honour and glory, we pray.

Amen

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READING - PSALM 86

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.

When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made    will come and worship before you, Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great and do marvellous deeds; you alone are God.

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths,

from the realm of the dead.

Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me— 

they have no regard for you.

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me;  show your strength in behalf of your servant;

save me, because I serve you  just as my mother did.

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,   

for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

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PRAYER BASED ON PSALM 86

Dear Lord,

we ask that you will

hear and answer our prayers;

protect and save us;

be merciful to us;

give us joy and satisfaction;

teach and guide us;

cleanse our hearts;

and show us your favour.

Amen.

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PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

In the week that marked the eightieth anniversary of VE Day,

we are conscious of our need for God's forgiveness

for all that leads to conflict between people and war between nations.

We are also thankful for those who gave their lives

restraining evil and opposing tyranny,

and those who continue to strive for peace today. 

And so we pray together:

Gracious God,

At this time of commemoration, 

we give thanks for the courage of those who fought for freedom and peace in Europe.

We honour the lives lost, the sacrifices made, and the unity that brought an end to tyranny.

May their legacy inspire us to stand for justice, to seek peace with humility, 

and to share  the freedoms we now enjoy.

Guide us to be peacemakers in our own time, with hearts full of gratitude and hope.

Amen.

As Christian Aid Week begins,

we remember that the charity was founded eighty years ago,

to support refugees in the wake of the Second World War.

We give thanks that their work has continued and expanded,

although we grieve for the poverty and injustice

that make so much of that work necessary.

We join with all those who will celebrate Christian Aid

in the coming week, as we pray:

Lord, you are faithful to your promises.

Through the Spirit you bless us with abounding hope.

When power seeks to silence justice, give us the courage to raise our voice.

When an end to poverty seems far off, renew our faith in your kingdom come on earth.

When our neighbour reaches out, inspire us to respond with overflowing love.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We have already prayed that we might be peacemakers,

and we recognise that there is much peacemaking to be done.

We give thanks that international pressure seems to be

moving Russia towards agreeing a ceasefire with Ukraine,

and we pray that the proposed talks will be fruitful.

We lament the recent fighting between India and Pakistan,

and we pray that it will not ignite tensions between diaspora communities here.

We continue to grieve the situation in the Middle East,

and we pray for an end to the stalemate that has seen Israel

cut off all supplies to Gaza since early March.

We are conscious of other places that make the headlines less often,

and we pray too for he people of Sudan and the persecuted Uighur people in China. We hold the victims of conflict and our hopes of peace before you

in a moment of quiet.

And now let us pray together:

O God, who would fold both heaven and earth in a single peace;

may the design of your great love lighten upon the waste of our wraths and sorrows

to give peace to your church, peace among nations, 

peace in our dwellings and peace in our hearts; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We have made a commitment here to be a community of welcome and acceptance, and yet so many people now find the world to be

a less welcoming and accepting place.

We think this morning of our trans siblings,

as a recent Supreme Court ruling has left many afraid

that simply trying to use a public toilet will mean being outed or excluded,

and there are already reports of gender nonconforming people

facing increased harassment.

Let us pray:

God of all, we take time to honour our transgender siblings. 

We hold those who have suffered discrimination in our hearts.

Grant us the strength to stand in solidarity with the transgender community,

to be advocates in their struggle for acceptance and dignity. 

May we confront prejudice and ignorance with understanding and compassion, 

committing ourselves to justice in their names.

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The service ended with time for personal and creative prayer. We dropped fizzy tablets into water as a way of picturing God accepting our prayers, we placed pebbles on a world map to mark the countries that are particularly on our hearts, and we used scribbles as a way to focus our brains and our bodies on our prayer. Perhaps you might take some time now to pray as you feel led.