Worship Prayers for July 24

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  O God, you promise to give your Spirit to those who ask.  Teach us to pray, and to trust your hospitality for our daily bread.  Overwhelm us with your

Word, so that we may be hospitable, and let us give good gifts those who are in need.  Help us to live by the hope of your promises, seek to follow your way, and rely on the gift of your Spirit.  Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Christ taught us to say:

         “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Christ has said to us:

         “Pray for the kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Christ is calling us today:

         Pray for God’s will to be done in us, by serving one another.

Christ is calling us in this moment to worship:

         We join our hearts, serving God by serving one another, lifting up our hearts in prayer.

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Gracious God, you are more ready to hear than we are to speak.  You are more ready to forgive than we are to confess.  You invite us to open our hearts to you in prayer.  You invite us into a relationship of honesty and compassion, of truth and love.  Again and again you draw near, but we turn away.  Forgive us, O God. Lord, teach us to pray.  Lead us to seek you. In your light, may we see our shadows.  In your truth, may we know our lies.  Help us to discover grace and receive your mercy.