In August there will be no online prayer meeting, but we still produce this guide for use in personal prayers, and in leading intercessions at a service in church. The next prayer meeting will be on Wednesday September 6th, 1 – 1.30 pm.
This month the theme of our prayers for people at work, and the economy, is the local context we each find ourselves in. The unprecedented hot weather in many places this summer, as a symptom of climate change, and the continuing war in Ukraine – both having significant impact on the global economy – is one horizon we always have to be aware of. But the impact of these, and other factors, is always a personal and particular one. This is the more immediate horizon that we can easily overlook. In our churches, how aware are we of the work that is going on around us in our own community? Where are there people and families, often hidden, coping with immense stresses in their own household economy, as they seek to make ends meet? The cost of mortgages and rented property; the pressure on wage packages of high prices; businesses under strain due to cash flow problems or not being able to find trained staff; people off work due to illness and stress; families coping over the summer without the safety net of free school meals.
So this month we focus on the local, our neighbours and ourselves, bringing to the God of Grace and compassion, those most vulnerable in our communities.
Gracious God, your Son Jesus is the Saviour of the world,
but also your love made visible to all people
wherever they are, and whatever they face.
Look with compassion on each person and family under stress economically at this time;
Give hope to the hopeless; support to those too anxious or proud to ask for help;
and to all, for whom a solution seems remote,
the knowledge of your presence, and peace.
Inspire me to see the needs of my neighbour – to listen, to pray, to care.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen
Especially we pray for:
- Those at work in your own community, in local shops, businesses, factories, offices, warehouses, surgeries, public authorities, emergency services, transport and other services, tradespeople and those self-employed [be as specific as you can, making a list of those you know about, and identifying those you may never have been aware of].
- All working from home, away from the support of colleagues.
- Those under the greatest pressure due to rising rents, or anticipating much higher mortgage repayments.
- Parents, without the safety net of free school meals, struggling to feed children on limited income.
- Your neighbours and members of your families in their work.
- Those at work in the holiday sector over the summer holidays, and all who work in education.
- In our cycle of prayer this month for:
- Chaplains in Redditch – Paul Lawlor (team leader), Sarah Leeson, Malcolm Wilkes, Sharon Forrest, Linda McRoy, Lucas Allmark
- FWW Staff: Dick Johnson (Development officer) and Alison Sandham (Communications and Administration officer)