Prayers of the People, P5C

​Open our eyes, Lord,
and help us to see
the places where we fall short
of the measure you have laid down for us.
Quiet our anxieties, Lord,
and help us to hear one another
rather than jump to our own fear-based conclusions,
and season our conversations with mercy
and with grace.
Strengthen us to stand
firm in the face of opposition
when we are responding to your will,
that we may not fail you
or those whose voices need to be heard
because the voices of the oppressor
are louder.
Open our ears, Lord,
and help us to hear
your words of warning
and your call to repentance.
Teach us what it means
to live according to your rule of love,
that your children everywhere
may know the companionship of Christ
embodied by your people,
empowered by the Spirit,
emboldened in our words
and in our deeds.