Treasured Prayers for Treasured People

By Jenothy Irvine Rather and Andrew D. Kinsey

As the church breathes it prays, and as the church prays it breathes. The church cannot live without praying, and the world cannot live without the churchs prayer. Prayer is the intake of the life-giving breath of the Spirit and the exhale of the hearts cry of salvation for the church and the world. Prayer may be the most significant and transformative act that the church can minister. By it one heart can change the world, and the world can change one heart The Power of Prayer.

As we pray, we pray as one people, one body. There is power in agreement for where two or more are gathered together in Gods name there Christ is in the midst. This book of prayers offers a liturgical space and strategy for the local church to come together and make supplication to change the world. It is a book that provides guidance and assurance throughout the year, a resource for both laity and clergy and is a reminder that prayer is the treasure of the Christian life. I invite you to open your heart as you open this book and Heaven will open as you pray for Gods Kingdom to come into the world in every place great and small. Amen.

Rev. Peter J. Bellini Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Practice of Missiology in the Vera Blinn Chair and Director of Non-Degree Programs, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491835944

Jenothy Irvine Rather

Andrew D. Kinsey, an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, serves as the senior pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, Indiana. He has also served churches in Terre Haute, Brownsburg, and Vincennes, and currently serves as the Wesleyan Theologian on the Leadership Table of the Indiana Conference. He holds a B.A. in Pre-Theology from University of Evansville, a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry from Perkins School of Theology. In 2011 he was awarded the Pastor-Preacher-Scholar Award from the Wesleyan Theological Society. Jenothy Irvine Rather, an ordained American Baptist pastor, serves as associate pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, where she has oversight of children, youth, women, prayer, and adult ministries. She is also a trained Stephen Leader Minister. Jenothy holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. She has served as youth director and associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Terre Haute. In 1997 she was awarded the Franklin Lorenzo Streeter Award for Excellence in Biblical Interpretation. Jenothy’s pastoral prayers have prompted deeper awareness of the importance of prayer in the life of worship.

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© 2013 Andrew D. Kinsey and Jenothy Irvine Rather. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/18/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3589-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3594-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920748

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Advent

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Promise in a New Year

Epiphany: Baptismal Renewal

Epiphany

Ash Wednesday

Lent

Holy Week: Palm Sunday

Passion Sunday

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Holy Saturday

Easter

Ascension

Pentecost

Ordinary Time: Memorial Day/Veterans Day

Ordinary Time: Independence Day

Ordinary Time: Back to School

Ordinary Time: Creation

Ordinary Time: Thanksgiving

All Saints Day

Ordinary Time: Harvest

Christ the King

About the Authors

The treasure of the Christian life is prayer.

The arrangement of scripture along with the prayer for the particular season of the year makes this volume appealing. Persons will find the language of prayer to have the personal feel of the one praying. These prayers could be used by individuals to complement their own personal devotional time, or printed in a church worship bulletin for congregational unison praying  . . . a treasure!

—Rev. Bill Griffith, Hospice Chaplain and American Baptist Pastor, Columbus, Indiana

"What a wonderful idea! Prayers from the hearts of pastors… We have so many forms of prayer, but the Pastor’s Prayer on Sunday morning is perhaps the most neglected, even as it should be the most meaningful. Standing before the throne of God with the people of God, these prayers reflect the pastors’ love of and need for Jesus Christ as well as their heart for their people. The prayers can and should be an ongoing and meaningful part of any individual’s prayer life."

—Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Moreau, Servants’ Feast Christian Ministry

A splendid resource to help with the prayer life of the church! Both clergy and laity will benefit.

—Andrew Walker, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Education, King’s College, London

Here is a book of heartfelt prayers that can help sojourners connect more deeply with the God whose meaning is love.

—Elaine A. Heath, McCreless Professor of Evangelism, Perkins School of Theology

Pastors praying in church. What could be more commonplace? Yet the very ‘commonplace’ nature of this weekly occurrence masks the profound nature of the task—bringing the prayers of the people before God, and (hopefully? prayerfully?) becoming a vehicle of God’s movement among the people. This little book reflects a year-long journey of that process and is a wonderfully meaningful resource for those seeking to deepen their experience of prayer and the movement of the Holy Spirit among God’s people.

—Dr. Kimberly D. Reisman, Next Step Evangelism Ministries, Lafayette, Indiana

To the people of

Grace United Methodist Church,

whose love and support

encourages us

week after week

to

treasure the life of prayer

on the journey

Preface

Week after week we stand before God’s people, leading them in prayer. More often than not we invite them to pray with us and to take time to ponder and receive God’s eternal love.

We call this time in worship the Pastoral Prayer, the time during which we seek to pray not only for ourselves but also for those who are searching with us the mind of God. No easy task, to be sure.

But it is easy to take this time for granted and rush through it to the sermon or anthem. After all, is anyone listening? Is anyone really praying? Hearts are restless, and minds are prone to wander. Better hurry to get to the amen!

After receiving requests from people at Grace United Methodist Church to share our prayers, we decided to compile the following collection of prayers so that others in the church, both laity and clergy, could utilize them in their personal devotion time or as part of the regular rhythm of worship throughout the year. Though the prayers do not follow the lectionary, they do follow the Christian year as well as address major days such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and more. In the local church, the engagement of gospel with the culture takes on many different shapes, always with the thought that God will have the final word.

The present volume of prayers is our first attempt to offer in written form what we verbally pray week in and week out with