Login / Signup

Free Access

Wilderness God...

Intercession
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

The local community

Those who suffer

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Wilderness God, I'm so geared towards success that I always try to sweep my failures under the carpet. I push those painful memories of hurt and rejection as far away from me as I can, and set about enjoying life. Yet you expect me to revisit those desolate places, to deliberately seek out the dark places of my inner being. How can I face the pain of that?

Wilderness God, help me to understand that it's only when I've allowed you to peel away the layers of comfortable self-deception, that you can find me. And help me to realise that the pain is nothing compared to both the amazing and everlasting experience of resurrection that it heralds, and to the incredible freedom that it brings.

Wilderness God, you expect me to deliberately seek out the dark places of my inner being. Help me to understand that it's only when I've allowed you to peel away the layers of comfortable self-deception, that you can find me. And help me to realise the amazing and everlasting experience of resurrection and the incredible freedom that that brings.

Wilderness God, we thank you for the Retreat Movement within your worldwide Church and for all who are able to experience something of the wilderness through a retreat. We pray particularly today for those churches situated within bustling city areas, where it is difficult to find moments of solitude and quiet. Give all Christians the courage to face silence alone with you, that they might also experience the overwhelming joy of your presence.

With Christians world-wide we pray especially today for your Church in Nigeria with Archbishop Joseph Adetiloye and your Church in Sheffield (UK) with Bishop Jack Nicholls.

Wilderness God, we thank you for all who are able to experience something of the wilderness through a retreat. Give all Christians the courage to face silence alone with you, that they might also experience the overwhelming joy of your presence. With Christians world-wide we pray especially today for your Church in Nigeria with Archbishop Joseph Adetiloye and your Church in Sheffield (UK) with Bishop Jack Nicholls.

Wilderness God, we hold in your loving and understanding presence all those who live in constant fear of death, especially those who live in war zones or areas targeted by terrorists. Give them a sure faith and the certainty of your strong and everlasting arms around them. At this approaching season of peace and goodwill to all, we pray for those with hearts full of hatred and thoughts of revenge, that they may learn the freedom and release of forgiveness. We pray especially today for...

Wilderness God, we hold in your loving and understanding presence all those who live in constant fear of death, and we pray for those with hearts full of hatred and thoughts of revenge. We pray especially today for...

Wilderness God, in our community we pray today for any who are forced into the wilderness because they are shunned by most people. We pray for any who are different, and for all who are lonely or isolated. We remember especially those who are vulnerable, particularly the elderly who live alone. May they be safe in their homes and look forward to Christmas love and cheer. In our own community we pray especially today for ...

Wilderness God, we pray for any who are forced into the wilderness because they are shunned by most people and for all who are lonely or isolated. We remember especially those who are vulnerable, particularly the elderly who live alone. In our own community we pray especially today for ...

Wilderness God, as we continue in this Advent season of darkness, we pray for those who are constantly in darkness because they are sick. We ask you to touch all whose quality of life is poor because of illness, and we bring them into your presence as we name them before you ...

Wilderness God, we ask you to touch all whose quality of life is poor because of illness, and we bring them into your presence as we name them before you ...

Wilderness God, we pray for those who know they have a limited time left to live on this earth. Give them the reassurance that there is life after death and that they will enjoy it with you. May they be able to use aright the time that is left to them, learning to love you more with each passing moment. We pray too for all those who have suffered a death of family or close friends recently, and we name them before you ... And we remember all for whom this time of year brings not the excitement of anticipation, but the dread of re-awakened pain because it commemorates the anniversary of the death of a loved one.

Wilderness God, we pray for those who know they have a limited time left to live on this earth. May they love you more with each passing moment. We pray too for all those who have suffered a death of family or close friends recently, and we name them before you ... And we remember all for whom this time of year commemorates the anniversary of the death of a loved one.

We ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, master of the wilderness experience.

Merciful Father,

Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)
Proper 27 | OT 32 | Pentecost 25
32 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
21 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 28 | OT 33 | Pentecost 26
30 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
29 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Christ the King
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
34 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
30 – Commentary / Exegesis
2 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Signup for FREE!
(No credit card needed.)

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: An x-ray showing the human heart. I have attached a public domain image you may use if you like.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For November 10, 2024:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved.
(v. 2)

While staying in a motel recently, I was wakened several times during the night by someone sawing wood in the adjoining room. At first I thought the sound was coming from outside. But when I peered out the window over the dumpster there was nothing but a weary raccoon on his way home after working the late shift.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Bill Thomas
Mark Ellingsen
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
Mark Ellingsen
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
The First Lesson is drawn from a short story set in the period of Judges (1:1), underscoring the loyalty and fidelity that binds families together. The date of the work is uncertain, a date prior to the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century BC indicates its purpose may be to establish David’s ancestry. A post-exilic date might indicate the author’s efforts to counter the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah which considered intermarriage wrong.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
A 91-year old man recently appeared in court, charged with causing death by careless driving. He was driving behind a lorry on a fairly narrow road, when to the horror of other motorists, he pulled out to overtake the lorry. The other motorists were horrified because they had all seen a motorcyclist coming in the opposite direction. The motorcyclist flashed his lights in warning and the lorry driver pulled as far to the left as he could, in the hope that the elderly motorist who was driving at 40 mph, would either speed up and get past or would take other evasive action. But it was too late.

SermonStudio

James Evans
It is not possible in a single sermon -- or even a psalm -- to answer the question, "What is the meaning of life?" That is one of those complicated and complex questions that require a lifetime of reflection, prayer, study, and some trial and error. However, it is possible to ask and answer a different question that may be just as important. The writer of Psalm 127 seems to be trying to answer such a question: "How do we find a life that is really worth living?"

Schuyler Rhodes
There is a well-worn axiom that warns against mixing religion and politics. It was probably devised in an attempt to help smooth the rough places in some of those long holiday dinners with seldom-seen relatives. Keep the conversation polite, vague, and unchallenging. That way, all parties can stay through the dessert course and get home in one piece. In truth, there is wisdom in such an unwritten law. However, a serious people of faith must contend with the time after dinner when the relatives have dispersed and it's back to business as usual.
Stephen M. Crotts
And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living."
-- Mark 12:41-44 (RSV)
Lee Ann Dunlap
Several years have now passed since the television series Survivor first debuted to become a summer ratings sensation. The concept was simple: place a group of individuals with diverse backgrounds, skills, and personalities into close proximity with a common purpose, namely survival on a deserted island, and let the audience watch as their relationships develop, or fall apart.

Mary S. Lautensleger
Fried green tomatoes were the house specialty at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Alabama during the 1930s. Evelyn is suffering through the growing pains of a midlife crisis when she and her husband come across the quaint Depression-era ghost of a town called Whistle Stop. Their destination is a nearby retirement home where Evelyn quite by chance meets octogenarian Ninny Threadgoode.

John R. Brokhoff
Robert W. Stackel
On August 20, 1977, there was launched an 1819 pound space craft, Voyager 2, at Cape Canaveral. At 61,148 miles per hour it was directed toward the planet Neptune. In 1989 it arrived, only twenty-one miles from its destination. From 2.8 billion miles from earth it sent back pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Since it completed its mission, it was turned toward outer space, where it will float through the Milky Way forever and ever.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL