Hello and welcome to Methods,
An online experiment in guided prayer and meditation brought to you by The Restoration Project.
Each experience will focus on a different prayer practice or method,
But we hope to provide you with opportunities to praise,
To wonder,
To give thanks and confess,
And to contemplate the depths of God's mercy and goodness and mystery.
To aid in this process,
We invite you to silence your notifications and find a comfortable place to sit and reflect on God's presence.
Episode 5 In his important work titled,
Prayer,
Finding the Heart's True Home,
Richard Foster writes,
If we truly love people,
We will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them.
And this will lead us to prayer.
Intercession is a way of loving others,
And in the ongoing work of the Kingdom of God,
Nothing is more important than intercessory prayer.
Unless we are diligent in this practice,
However,
The time that we spend praying for others can feel unfocused,
As though we are meandering in our thoughts without purpose.
It can also feel privileged at times,
Where only certain people receive our prayers.
This is not necessarily willful.
Our mind is simply not drawn to all people who need intercession.
For these reasons,
The Church has benefited from prayer guides that focus our attention and call to mind many people in offices that we might otherwise forget.
Some communities refer to these as prayers for the people.
The following is a slightly adapted prayer guide for the people found in the Worship Source Book.
Our time in this episode will be consumed by our prayerful engagement with this guide.
As you hear the prompts,
Please begin to pray for those individuals,
Communities,
Institutions,
And offices that are mentioned.
In so doing,
Let us bring the needs of the Church,
The world,
And all in need to God's loving care.
God of heaven and earth,
Through Jesus Christ,
You promise to hear us when we pray to you in His name.
Confident in your love and mercy,
We offer our prayer.
Empower the Church throughout the world in its life and witness.
Break down the barriers that divide your Church so that,
Being united in your truth and love,
The Church may confess your name,
Share one baptism,
Sit together at one table,
And serve you in one common ministry.
Divide the rulers of all nations,
Move them to set aside their fear,
Greed,
And vain ambition,
And bow to your sovereign rule.
Inspire these rulers to strive for peace and justice,
That all your children may dwell secure,
Free of war and injustice.
Hear the cries of the world's hungry and suffering,
And hear our cries on their behalf.
Give us,
Who consume most of the earth's resources,
The will to reorder our lives,
That all may have their rightful share of food,
Medical care,
And shelter,
And so have the necessities of a life of dignity.
Cemetery music Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Guide those who make and administer our laws to build a society based on trust and respect.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Erase prejudices that oppress.
Free us from crime and violence.
Guard our youth from the perils of drugs and materialism.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Give all citizens a new vision of a life of harmony.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Strengthen our community of faith in its work and worship.
Fill our hearts with your self-giving love,
That our voices may speak your praise,
And our lives may conform to the image of your son.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Look with compassion on all who suffer.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Support with your love those with incurable and stigmatized diseases.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Support with your love those who have been unjustly imprisoned.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Support with your love those who have been denied dignity,
Those who live without hope.
Support with your love those who have been denied dignity,
Those who live without hope.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Support with your love those who are homeless or abandoned.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Support them Lord,
But also as you have moved toward us in love,
So lead us to be present with all of these in their suffering.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Sustain those among us who need your healing touch.
Make the sick whole.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Give hope to the dying.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Comfort those who mourn.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Uphold all who suffer in body or mind,
Not only those we know and love,
But also those known only to you,
That they may know the peace and joy of your supporting care.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
Renew our nation in the ways of justice and peace.
O God,
In your loving purpose,
Answer our prayers and fulfill our hopes,
In all things for which we pray.
Give us the will to seek to bring them about,
For the sake of Jesus Christ,
In whose name we pray.
Amen.
We will end our time of prayer and meditation with a time-honored profession of faith known as the Apostles' Creed.
May this declaration serve to reorient our lives and empower us with the knowledge that we stand together in the blessed and unified community of the saints.
We believe in God,
The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ,
His only Son,
Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified dead and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Holy Catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thank you for participating in Methods.
Sources used in this episode included Prayer,
Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J.
Foster and the Worship Sourcebook.
If you are a pastor or worship pastor and you would like to incorporate more liturgical readings into your weekly order of service,
The Worship Sourcebook is an invaluable resource.
Thanks for listening.
