“Prayers of the people” that I wrote for last Sunday’s service – words I share so that I might remember them for the times I wait for companionship, direction, or no one.

We pray for all those who wait for your companionship as they are stuck on their path.  For the lonely, the tired, the ones in need of reassurance and rest, draw near to them.  For those who face barricades, who are turned away, whose poverty and desperation scares the comfortable, remember them.   Name them as yours, and therefore as ours.  Comfort them.  Grant them courage to cling to the promise that you are the One who rescues the stuck. 

Let your light of hope shine forth in the darkness that we may find our way home.

We pray for all those who wait for your direction as they stand at the divide.  The road splits and decisions must be made. The signs point conflicting directions.  For those that worry about taking wrong turns and the traps that await them, for those that worry about taking the right one and the risks that come with it, guide them.  Reach out your hand so that they might find the next step.  Reassure them that as long as you are there with them, there is no wrong way, only home, where there will be courage enough when we need it.

Let your light of hope shine forth in the darkness that we may find our way home.

We pray for all those who wait for no one.  Confident in their plans and unwilling, unable to listen to others, they plot their own course.  They keep an eye on their destination and their spirits, their dedication is unwavering.  When the roots cause them to stumble, when surprise turns throw them into confusion, and when the destination is discovered to be merely illusion, surround them.  Hold them.  Comfort them as they surrender their independence and accept dependence on your hope

Let your light of hope shine forth in the darkness that we may find our way home.