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Listen to or read a short service of Prayer for Tuesday 16 June 2020, the Tuesday after the First Sunday of Trinity.
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Praise
God of truth,
help us to keep your law of love
and to walk in ways of wisdom,
that we may find true life
in Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen.
Psalm 51.1-9
Have mercy on me, O God,
in your great goodness;
according to the abundance of your compassion
blot out my offences.
Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
So that you are justified in your sentence
and righteous in your judgement.
I have been wicked even from my birth,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
Behold, you desire truth deep within me
and shall make me understand wisdom
in the depths of my heart.
Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean;
wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear of joy and gladness,
that the bones you have broken may rejoice.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
Matthew 5.43-48
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayers
Let us pray as the children of one heavenly Father.
Fill the Church with the love that does not come from agreement and fellowship alone but reaches out to embrace those who are hostile and scornful. Let no task seem too heavy, no forgiving gesture too costly, because all is done in the strength of God who pardons and saves to the uttermost and has made us his messengers here on earth.
Correct in mercy the errors which divide people into friends and enemies. Heal all divisions which set nations, races, religions in opposition to one another. Cleanse the world of all the darkness which seeks revenge and claims that it is justice.
May the love that is in our homes never become narrow and excluding, but let it reach out to all who can be drawn into our care. Make the life of this community a token that we are all children of one Father, and bless its members who patiently serve those who are in need.
Have mercy on those who suffer because of faults that have not been forgiven, and those who do not know how to forgive but are caught up in a cycle of retaliation. Give peace and a fresh start to those who are weighed down by guilt, because they have failed in love and generosity and do not know how to make amends.
Pardon in their last hour those who die unreconciled and still bearing a load of anger. May they too be numbered with your children whose deaths were peaceful and all be blessed together in everlasting life.
Christ give us grace to offer our prayers in love for all people.
Eternal God and Father,
you create and redeem us by the power of your love:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Conclusion
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.