Prayer Requests
If you have any prayer requests, for any concerns lying on your heart or to give thanks, please email the office on office@downsbenefice.org.uk
All prayer requests will be made anonymous before being passed on to our Prayer Team.
Prayer for Friday 8th December
Prayer for the Week
Collect Prayer for the week - First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Prayers for the Benefice during Interregnum
Gracious God,
We bring before you the life of the churches in our Benefice.
We ask for your guidance as we look to the future; help us to grow in faith, in fellowship and service.
We praise you for all who have served our churches over the years, who have nurtured and encouraged our faith, who have been part of our continuing life and witness.
You have called us into the body of Christ.
Loving God,
As we journey together through this time of Interregnum, we thank you for your everlasting faithfulness to us.
At this time of uncertainty and change we ask that you will send us your Holy Spirit, to fill us with your vision, energy and faithfulness in prayer.
Holy God,
Guide with your heavenly wisdom the person You have chosen to be our leader in this Benefice,
that the one whom we receive may be a wise and gentle shepherd of your people:
who will be ready to serve us with joy, to build us up in faith, to lead us by example and in loving obedience to your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Prayers for Gaza and Israel
O God of all justice and peace, we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land.
Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land.
Father God,
We cry out to you on behalf of the people seriously affected by the conflict in Gaza and Israel.
Our hearts break at the devastation and suffering that we see, and we know it breaks yours, too.
We ask that you would stretch out your mighty hand to bring an end to this war.
We cry out for people who have been injured or traumatised, who have lost loved ones or their homes.
Please provide everything they need and be their comfort, their hope, their healer, and their safe refuge.
We pray for your peace to reign.
We look to you as our Saviour and the hope of the world.
Amen
A Prayer for Ukraine.
Loving God, we pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them.
We pray for world leaders, for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.
We pray for the world, that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need.
May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world.
Amen.
Prayers for the World
God, our refuge and strength,
bring near the day when wars shall cease
and poverty and pain shall end,
that earth may know the peace of heaven
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy.
Sustain and support the anxious,
be with those who care for the sick,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may find comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For other prayers, which you may find helpful, please click on the link below: