A Congregational Prayer for Use During Lent
Jesus, we come to you in prayer during our Lenten journey, perhaps feeling a little weary, a little discouraged, a little tired. We have been through much, and we bring before you our difficulties and our pleasures, for you are a God who can sympathize with our weakness. Hebrews 5 says,
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered, and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
—Hebrews 5:7–9, NRSV
Jesus, suffering servant, you came as the only obedient one and in your suffering, death, and resurrection have offered us safety, peace, and security forever. How greatly we praise you for this mystery!
Jesus, we ask you to bear witness to us in our difficulties and celebrations this week. We ask you to hear our prayers and let our cries come to you:
[prayers for joys and needs]
Jesus, we thank you for hearing the prayers of your people. May your Spirit be at work to seek out those who are hurting and comfort them. May your Spirit be at work to lead us out of the wilderness of sin and into your loving arms. And may your Spirit be at work to remind us that you, Jesus, are our Lord and Savior, now and forevermore.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.
Good Friday Prayers of the People
[A congregational prayer for a joint Good Friday Service with other churches. Can be adapted for use in a single congregation.]
Father,
We gather together to remember this most sacred and somber day: the day that your son, Jesus Christ, descended to death on our behalf. We gather together as followers of Christ from different congregations to collectively remember your death.
What a gift it is to worship in community and to receive the good news passed down through generations in our individual churches! We ponder this evidence of your faithfulness: that we are brought together here, on Good Friday, in this time in history, worshiping alongside one another and remembering your sacrifice. We thank you for the Christians who have gone before us and led us to you.
Jesus, we remember that you are the suffering servant, the God who is acquainted with our grief, the God who intimately knows what pain is like. And so, Jesus, we empathize with your pain even as you empathize and nourish us in our pain. We remember those in our congregations who are experiencing suffering, and we ask you to remember them and to comfort them.
We pray for those who
- are suffering with chronic pain
- have family members or friends who have recently died, are estranged, or who have difficult relationships with their children
- have experienced physical or emotional trauma and are recovering from their injuries
- are living with chronic or terminal diseases, and where hope for a cure feels elusive
- are overwhelmed by their work or other responsibilities
- cannot afford daily needs like food, shelter, or transportation
- feel alone or isolated in our fast-paced world.
Jesus, not only do you know our pain and comfort us in our dark places, but you also lead us by your Spirit to endure our pain and to live each day nourished and sustained by you. You equip us by your Spirit to embody the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When bearing this fruit feels nonsensical or impossible, your Spirit leads us to do the impossible, because you, Jesus, have already accomplished the impossible. As you hung on the cross, brutalized in front of a watching crowd, you looked out with compassion and prayed to God, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” How astonishing and jarring to consider that even as you were dying, you were guided by the Spirit to love your enemies.
Father, we ask you to do the impossible for us.
Make us people who show the love of Christ to ourselves and to others when
- we are insulted for how we look
- our spouses ignore us and we feel rejected
- our classmates taunt or bully us
- we are cut off in traffic or in line at the grocery store
- we are treated unjustly
- we realize our trauma is not going away
- we resent our boss or coworkers
- conflict with people close to us feels neverending
- our hope for reconciliation dies.
Jesus, even as we reflect tonight on your dying, we long for your resurrection. We hunger for hope. We hunger for your help. May you sustain us in our dark days and hours. May we not only know that you are present, but may we feel your presence in whatever we face this coming week.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.