Courageous Prayers

 Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name you are our perfect and holy parent, you know what we need and you always do what is best for us Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven help me aim today towards your vision Give us this day our daily bread give us what we need to live faithfully today, you will be here again tomorrow to answer this prayer And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us help me choose forgiveness today, help me be gracious today Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil help us stay faithful and help me focus on you in my choices and behaviors today, and keep us safe, keep my loved ones safe, Lord For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, FOREVER, Amen. forever is in your hands, God, I can live one day at a time because you always take care of everyone and everything you have made.   Release me from my worries and lead me one day at a time, sweet Jesus.  Amen. --Pastor Karen Slusser

 Thank you, Lord, for the extravagant gift of bright sunshine that I awoke to this morning.  Thank you for your word that got me out of bed today: "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."* And thank you for the prayer that I find myself praying in response, "O Lord, may my soul rise up to meet you as the day rises to greet the sun."**  This is the day that you have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Amen.                                                                                                                                                            - Pastor Karen Slusser *Isaiah 60:1 *from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Enuma Okoro

Most Gracious and Attentive God, as we all scramble to find a time and a place to receive a vaccination against COVID-19, give us patience in the frustration and the waiting! We know that patience is part of courage, for courageous people don’t rush foolishly into the fray, nor do they allow the sometimes necessary waiting cause them to lose sharpness of mind and prudence of action. May the patience we receive today, be the roots of courage for tomorrow! In Jesus’ matchless name, Amen!                                                                                             --Pastor Jeff

Wonderful God of courage and truth, you lead us out of the wilderness of our anxieties and uncertainties.   You walk with us through the dark valleys of the shadows of our fears.   Guide us with your staff of bravery into the promised land of trust and grace.   In the name of Jesus Christ.   Amen. - Pastor Chad

 Lord, today is going to be hard.  But you are here, and I trust you, I have faith that your grace is enough and you will see us through. When I feel those twinges and surges of anxiety, pray in me Spirit, transform them into prayers.  Help us through one step at a time, one prayer at a time.  Today is going to be hard but it will also be blessed, for your love guides us. You are faithful, Lord.  You are always faithful.  Amen.  -Pastor Karen Slusser

 [I KNEW I'd do this, sooner or later--I forgot to write our "Courage Prayer" for today, so may this prayer be our nighttime, restful prayer for January 26... Pastor Jeff ] O God of our waking moments, as well as our resting ones, we ask tonight for your blessing of peaceful, rejuvenating rest, as the night comes on. May our slumber clear our "fear cache" and recharge our soul's "power supply" for the challenges ahead tomorrow. May the courage we need be the courage we muster, between the infusion of your grace and the hard work of our own hands. Even as Jesus took time "away" to regain his strength, bless us with the same as we retire for the night. In the name of that same Jesus, who experienced both boldness and fatigue, as do we. Amen.

God of grace and love, teach us to breathe. Our anxiety steals our breath and we are unsure how we can survive. Fill our lungs with your ru'ach (breath, wind, Spirit) that we may breathe once again. Amen. - Pastor Chad

Lord, Ground of all Being, you give us meaning and life, you give us courage to walk in an anxious world. Through the cross, you showed us how the act love can change everything. Teach us to be transformative in all that we are, because, you O Lord, are. Amen. Pastor Chad

 Lord, help me be still and know you are God.  I need your courage whispered into my soul: "Fear not, I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up in the palm of my victorious right hand" "Fear not, I am with her, do not be dismayed, for I am her God.  I will strengthen her, I will help her, I will hold her up in the palm of my victorious right hand." "Fear not, I am with him, do not be dismayed, for I am his God.  I will strengthen him, I will help him, I will hold him up in the palm of my victorious right hand." Lord, keep whispering, keep whispering, because as I face the certain challenges and uncertainties of the days ahead, for me and for my loved ones, I already know what will happen- you will strengthen us, you will help us, you will hold us-- I just need to remember. Lord, help me be still and know you are God.  Amen. --Pastor Karen Slusser,   Isaiah 41:10

Dear Lord Jesus: You faced the unknown and fear in so many ways--people with horrible illnesses seeking healing, the hungry, the homeless, the angry, even those possessed of demons. You often found yourself in the midst of angry crowds or among hostile religious leaders seeking to "test" you. Lord, I seek your help. My courage is waning in the face of a pandemic, the personal challenges it has caused, and the national anxiety it has created and fed. Prompt me regularly to carve out the time in my busy existence to "come away and pray" like you did to both restore your courage and your strength to face the "storm." In your most precious name I pray. Amen.                                                                                                              --Pastor Jeff

Lord of grace and peace, we find ourselves in a place of fear and stress.  Our communal anxiety and depression infect our society like a spiritual and psychological virus.  But we know that you have the remedy, we know that you can bring healing to our distress.  Come to us and be the balm that we need for our society and give us the grace we so desperately crave.  Be like the oxygen we breathe, invading our beings and bring us to wholeness and new life.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen. - Pastor Chad

Lord, give me courage and wisdom to practice justice, kindness and humility. Lord, give all of our elected officials courage and wisdom to practice justice, kindness, and humility.   Holy Spirit, fill us all with courage to work together, to speak the truth to one another in love and to listen to one another with compassion. God our Maker, give us courage to receive your gift of healthy community and persevere in the hard work of assembling it.   With hope in your name, Jesus.  Amen. -Pastor Karen Slusser

Dear Lord Jesus, as another has prayed before, "The ocean is so big and my boat is so small." Today, please help guide me on the great seas of life, and keep me from becoming swamped by the tossing waves. Lord, the same "wind" that fills the sails of my experience oft times threatens to blow me off course, so steady the breeze, and give me courage to sail on, navigating by the "star" of your light, the Light of the World. Oh, and one more thing, Great Captain: remind me today that I am not in the boat alone--that there are others on this voyage, and that our little bits of courage we muster may be joined together to form a boldness and a strength to fix our world and build up one another in Love. In the name of the one who calmed the storms at sea, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.                                                                                 -- Pastor Jeff Sterling

Eternal God, Ground of all Being, we often wonder who we are.  Are we peacekeepers or peacemakers?  Are we people of belief or people of faith?  Do we exist or do we live?  These sometimes dichotomous realities move us from living in anxiety to living in courage, because they lead us from the here and now to the Eternal; they move us from a fractured state to true Shalom (wholeness) and koinonia (community).  Lead us to truth, Lord, like the prophets did, like Jesus did, like Martin Luther King, Jr. did.  Heal us for true obedience to be faithful peacemakers living in the reality of Your Kindom, here and now until we all are one.  Amen. -- Pastor Chad Bogdewic

Most loving and gracious God, hear my prayer today that I might have the courage to ACT: upon those things I know I should do to grow closer to you; upon those things I know will make me more loving; upon those things that may give me patience to wait for your best good instead of grabbing the quick and easy “This will do.” Thank you for Jesus, who walks with me each day, and lovingly reminds me to not worry about tomorrow until it comes, and even then, to turn my concerns about it over to you. In the name of the Lord of Light I pray. Amen.                                                                                 --Pastor Jeff Sterling

God of us all, You have the whole world in Your hands. Strong hands, scarred hands, healing hands. Your hands made us to have hands like Yours, only smaller. We can always use our hands to help somehow, even if it is simply folding them in prayer. But there are things our smaller hands cannot grasp, cannot fix or heal, cannot stop. These things are not too big for You. Give us courage for this day and hope for tomorrow, as we remember You have the whole world in Your hands. In Jesus' name,  Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       --Pastor Karen Slusser

Dear God of Justice, Peace, Grace, and Love: we, your people, pray for strength and courage in the light of threats against our safety and the security of our national "community." We know you created community as a way for your people to "dwell together in unity," but we have fractured it with selfish ideas, claims of personal freedom, and by lashing out violently against those who don't agree with us. Forgive us, we pray, and raise up a "courageous community" whose central aim is to work for a day when all your people will  dwell together in unity, and there will be  peace and justice for all. In the name of the One who sacrificed himself that we might be free, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Amen.                                                                                                                         --Pastor Jeff Sterling

 As we are living in anxious times, let us be in prayer for peace, calm, and courage.