Prayers of the People, P+10C

Oh, Beloved,
Watchtower of the vineyard,
Grape Grower
and Vine,
you have loved your people 
with a great love,
tending us attentively,
and nurturing our growth.
Continue to build the hedge
around your people, we pray,
that we might not be devoured
by ravenous animals
seeking to satisfy their own 
needs.
Shore up the walls that 
protect your most vulnerable children
from being trampled 
by those whose greed
and lust for power
are devastating.
Prune us, we pray,
and hoe around our roots aggressively
to remove the weeds that grow up
in our midst
and choke out your word.
Send refreshing rain
upon those who are wilting from the heat
of fires that blaze out of control
among those who rage,
bent on destruction --
some of them doing so
in your holy name.
Grant us strength to endure
and wait with us until the fruit we produce
is full and rich
that the glory may go to you
in every good thing we produce. 
in Jesus' name we pray.