Pastoral Prayer (May 6) Athens First UMC

[We received eight new members and celebrated a baptism yesterday during worship. The new members are holding gift bags that contain a bicentennial church plate, a United Methodist teddy bear, and a membership certificate. There is a common thread in their responses as to why they decided to join. They all felt welcomed and accepted by our congregation. Let’s continue to be an inclusive church that welcomes all. Click here for the sermon.]

O God, you do offer wonderful words of life. You offer words that offer healing, comfort, guidance, good news, rest, and yes even challenge.

Thank you for how you speak to us through the stories, parables, proverbs, psalms, and letters that we find in the Bible. Help us to hear your word as people would have heard it when it was first written. And help us to hear your word afresh in our day and age.

O God, we confess that we so often interpret your Word through our own perspectives. Help us to be aware of those assumptions and to be willing to dig deeper in our faith. With open minds, we seek to listen to your voice to be the people you have called us to be.

Thank you for those who helped with our finals week study tables here in our church this past week. Thank you for all the good we were able to do yesterday on the sabbath through our Athens First Saturday outreach. Thank you for all our volunteers who will be providing hospitality for our Foothills district worship service this evening. 

We pray your blessings to be with our District Superintendent, the keynote speaker, those who are providing special music, the greeters, the ushers, those preparing refreshments, and all of the churches that will be represented here in our church tonight. May we be a haven of blessing and peace for all who enter here.

We also lift up to you all of those who are in need of healing, guidance, assurance, and comfort. Bless and encourage all who are in need this day.

We pray all of this in the name of the One who taught us to pray together, saying…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”