Lord,
Bless the young for in their irreverence they force us to reexamine our faith and they drive us closer to You;
In their display of wit and cunning, they make us appreciate our difficult experiences, our mistakes, Your understanding of our frailty, and our hard-earned wisdom;
In their spendthrift ways, we learn to value more, not the money we earn but the relationships we are sacrificing to be able to provide for our family, and we realize more the need to preserve the love we are ironically losing in our effort to show our love;
And bless, O Lord, the young for they remind us that we were young once and yet we managed to be where we are today.

Prayer for Epiphany

Dear Jesus, as You led the Three Kings to You by the light of a star, please draw us ever closer to You by the light of Faith. Help us to desire You as ardently as they did. Give us the grace to overcome all the obstacles that keep us far from You. May we, like them, have something to give You when we appear before You. Amen

Let the lord our God favor us and give us success.
Blessing on all who reverence and trust the Lord..on all who obey him! thier reward shall be prosperity and happiness. Commit your work to the Lord,then it will succeed.
Do the good things that result from being saved,obeying God with deep reverence,shrinking back from all that might displease him. For God is at work within you,helping you do what he wants.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and Godour father,who has loved us and help you in every good thing you say and do. AMEN

Prayer for Our Enemies

We pray to you, O God,
the lover of all,
for those whom we have named our enemies.
Deliver us from the hardness of heart
that keeps us locked in confrontation.
Deliver us from the hatred
that binds us in old ways.
Grant unto all people the blessing of your love.
And grant unto us
such transformation of our lives
that we may make peace with our enemies,
and that together we might make this world
a safer place for all.
Amen.

- Vienna Cobb Anderson

In Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

God of our forebears and our God, who has summoned women and men throughout the ages to be thy witnesses and sometimes martyrs for thee, we bow before thee this day in remembrance and thanksgiving for the life and legacy of thy servant, witness and martyr, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We thank thee for his time among us, for his words and for his deeds, and for the quality of his living witness which eases the pain of recalling the brevity of his years. We rejoice in his example of obedient faith and the scenes and stations of his life which inform and enrich our own faith journeys. And we beseech thee this day for the strength, steadfastness and courage not only to remember but also to obey.

- Dr. Randolph Nugent

Let Me See Release From My Addiction

O Lord, with each new day, help me to be strong and continue to trust you.
Bring into my eyes and heart
an honesty that sees my true situation
and finds support in your goodness and guidance.
Let me see release from my addiction
and a renewed joy in living from this day forward.

- Maureen Pratt