​Come, you persecutors
and you persecuted;
come, you travelers on the road.
Come, you who are struggling with blindness
in your eyes
and in your heart,
and you who are sent to bring light
to the darkness.
The Lord is waiting to transform
your life.
Come, and see.

​Death
is all around us.
Storms rage.
Cars crash.
Bombs explode.
Tempers flare.
People die.
We are exhausted
by the pain,
by the questions,
by the stories.
Send your Spirit, O God,
to comfort your people,
to bring hope to the hopeless,
to support those who feel too weak to stand.

Chaos
wreaks havoc in our lives.
Schedules conflict.
Disagreement frustrates.
Fears motivate.
Anger erupts.
Still us, we pray,
and remind us that
you are God.
Quiet our anxieties
and help us to rest
in your reassuring Word.

Doubt
clouds our vision.
Lies confound.
Perspectives confuse.
Actions betray.
Pessimism reigns.
Redeem us, O God,
and restore to us
the hope of salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Help us to believe
where we have not seen
and to see more clearly
the truth that sets us free.

​Your people are hungry, Lord …
Hungry for your Word,
Hungry for mercy,
Hungry for your saving grace.
We are hungry for justice
And for hope, Lord.
We are hungry for compassion
And peace.
We are hungry for leadership
And for kindness.
We are hungry, O God,
For you.
 
Thick darkness covers the earth, Lord …
Darkness born of anger
And of greed
And of selfishness.
Darkness that harbors hatred
And fosters evil
And covers pain.
Shine your light into the darkness, we pray,
And lead us from death into life.

We are not good at waiting, Lord.
We are impatient.
We struggle.
We fall asleep.
Open our eyes to the lessons
That are learned in the waiting.
Open our hearts to welcome your presence
With us.
Teach us to comfort one another
And to right the wrongs we have committed
And to serve our neighbor
While we wait,
That the kingdom work in which you are
Calling us to participate
Gets done
According to your perfect will.

​Come, you witnesses to the truth,
you who have seen the grace of God
up close
and experienced its overwhelming power.
Come, you who have known healing
of body, mind, and spirit
at Jesus' hand,
and you who still seek it.
Come, that you may testify to what you have seen
and heard
and known.
Come and worship.

​When we risk ourselves to follow you,
and find ourselves in uncharted territory,
claiming things in your name
that others are sure belong to them,
grant us courage, Lord,
and give us the words to say
that will reassure
and calm fears
and open a path to you for those
who may not have found it otherwise.

When we lay our lives before you,
uncertain of what that will mean ...
of the danger that lies ahead ...
of the pain that will be endured ...
of the betrayal and the shame,
be present with us,
for you have walked this path before,
and you know what we can hardly imagine.
Grant us strength, we pray,
and grant us courage
to be the disciples you have called us to be.

When we sing your praises
joyfully
and with loud voices,
and those in authority
attempt to silence us,
by demanding us to stop ...
by ridiculing and reprimanding ...
by lording their power over us ...
inspire us to remain
authentic
and to worship you unabashedly,
for even if we were to be silenced,
the stones themselves
would cry out.

Hear our prayers, O God,
for those who do not understand
what it means to go
fearlessly,
to love
radically,
to lead
humbly,
to worship
wholeheartedly.
Fill them with your Spirit,
and let release the demons
that live within them,
that they, too,
can know the unrestrained joy
of life in your grace.

​Hosanna!
Blessed is the one 
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!
Hosanna!