A United Methodist Pastor's Theological Reflections

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (nikos) through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 15:57


Monday, May 21, 2018

Pastoral Prayer (May 20) Athens First UMC



[Part of our Pastoral Prayer on Pentecost Sunday included prayers for the people of Santa Fe, Texas impacted by the recent school shooting. We prayed for the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit to blow through our land to overcome violence with peace, hatred with love, and despair with hope. See the full prayer below. Click here for the sermon, “A Spirit-Filled Church.]


Spirit of the living God, thank you for being our church’s batteries and power source. Thank you for Pentecost Sunday and for reminding us of the many ways that we are a Spirit-filled church.

Like a sailboat in need of wind, we are always in need of your Holy Spirit to lead us forward. Sometimes it feels like a strong wind that pushes us forward to help us grow in our faith. Other times, it’s more of a gentle breeze that helps us to renew our faith.

Thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit this past week that gave us just the right words to share with a grieving family, that prompted us to invite a neighbor to church, that strengthened us to make a difficult decision, that calmed us during a very stressful situation. Thank you for your empowering Spirit in our lives and through the life of our church.

On this last Sunday of Sunday School for our children and youth, we give you thanks for all of the teachers who served this past year. Thank you for their commitment, their love for children, and for their creativity. 

As we near the end of the school year, we especially pray for the Santa Fe, Texas community in the aftermath of the school shooting this past Friday. We pray for the mighty wind of your Holy Spirit to blow through our land overcoming violence with peace, hatred with love, and despair with hope.

Spirit of the living God, we don’t necessarily know where you might lead us or how you might prompt us to follow you as we begin a new week. We do know that your Spirit will empower, guide, direct, instruct and comfort us in whatever we might face. 

May the fire of Pentecost burn brightly in each of our lives as we continue to be a Spirit-filled church.

As your Spirit-filled people, we join together in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to say together…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

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