Prayer of Intercession
Sunday, 17 August, 2008
Roy Chenyi Njuabe

Almighty God, you are wonderful, all-powerful, the God and creator of all things. We exalt you above everything, and we worship you for who you are. We love and adore you. Lord and we thank you for loving us before we were even aware of that you existed. We cannot live without you lord. If you do not intervene in our life nothing good is going to happen. We know you are real lord and we want to spend our life with you.

Lord forgives us of all the wrongs things we did against you and against human. We have falling short of your glory, we have sins against you with our thought, our words and action, but if you say a word we shall be heal. Teach us how to forgive each other as you forgave. Help us to know that we are living by your grace and to surrender our whole life into your Holy Hands. How can we hate human who are made of your image and said we love you. Lord we felt so sorry for our bad deeds. For give us and help us not to fall into sin or cause others to sin.

Lord we have these needs and we know you care about them and will hear our request. Lord we pray for peace and democracy in Myamma as the ordinary People’s lives are in threat under the military regime in the countries.

We pray for human right activist who are fighting for peace and justice in different parts of the world. May your grace sustain them in their peaceful activities? We also pray that government in every part of the world place the needs of their citizens and migrant residents as priority and obligation. And not sacrificed their needs and dignity to serve business interest.

We pray that USA, Russia and Georgia act peacefully and refrain from escalating into a war over southern Ossetia which may lead to another disaster. May you fill the heart of their leaders with love and understanding?

We pray that people of all faiths practice their faiths in a way promoting respect to others rather than scorn and peaceful change over fighting.

We pray for Cameroon and Nigeria that as Nigeria have officially hand over the disputed territory Bakassi Peninsular to Cameroon, there should be no fighting over this region. That people living in this region may have respect for one another.

We pray that the China Olympics be conducted in a way that truly promotes universal and peaceful principles, including dignity and equality of all human beings regardless of nationality, skin color or status. And not incite division and hatred or commercialism and success without integrity. That God may use this moment to touch the heart of the Chinese government to open their doors for religion freedom in China.

We pray for victims of the Mongkok fire accident be comforted and healed and the four who have died rests in peace. May your grace and everlasting love be with them? May you inspire the government take measures so that future similar tragedies not be repeated. Lord, lessen their pains and give them a quick recovery.

We pray for all those who are celebrating their birthdays. Lord may your grace sustain and bless them all through their life. Give them more years full of blessings and love

We pray for all those who are celebrating their wedding anniversaries and all other moment of joy that they may have a happy and peaceful marriage life full with love, understanding and care.

We pray for all who are traveling at this time whether on holiday or business. May you grand them travel mercy. We remember Phyllis and her family, and all other church members who are not here with us today. Lord guide them as we join together to glorify your holy name.

We pray that all who carry out work in our church can love and encourage each other. We should restrain from using words that are not construction and encouraging, but to do what you would have us to do, to reflect the love you have given us in this world. Teach us how to be humble and love each other more and more deeply. Help us to practice how to use the church as a place of worship rather than hatred and jealousy. Teach us not to deceive other with our words but to be honest with our words and plans. Teach us not to use the church as a place to show our power or over right people’s views and concern, but to share ideas and show love for one another as you touch us to do. Build KUC with your ever lasting love.

Teach us to know that a church is not a building but people. We are here because of you and there is grate joy in heaven when a new soul is converted into your kingdom Lord and sadness when we lost a soul. Bind us in unity, love and faith, that we may work together to make KUC a better place of worship. We may all come from different background but we hold a common hope, the hope of eternal life and the hope for salvation. We can not achieved all these goal if we are divided, if we hate one another, if our heart is full of jealousy, if we are self center or fighting for our own interest, if we pretend to be doing good but our heart is full of degrading thought and if we do not try our best to practice what you thought us to do.

Lord it is only you that knows that heart of human. Renew our hearts, thought and actions. Help us to practice trust in one another as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

We pray for those who are sick and suffering from various ailments, we remember Benjamin Bondoc, Kansu Lee, Rev Tan Chi Kiong, and Alice Har. May your healing hands be upon them? Lord heals them completely from their illnesses and gives them strength to do your work.

We pray for the people and churches of the pacific islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Island, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Samoa and the French overseas territories of New Caledonia (Kanaky) and French Polynesia (Tahiti) which are in the ecumenical prayer cycle today.

We give you thanks for your love. Though we do things against your will yet you show us your love. We praise your holy name, worship and adore you now and forever more. In Jesus mighty name we pray.

Amen.

Prayer of Intercession
Sunday, 10 August, 2008
Bruce Van Voorhis

We pray today, Lord, that your peace will replace the violence that dominates our world, that your love will unseat hate, that your compassion will touch our pain. We seem to be a world without direction, without a conscience, without a soul. Armies still invade, a trip to the market results in death, people are physically and mentally tortured, corruption steals the resources needed to lift people out of poverty. It is into this void of brokenness that we ask you Lord to restore the wholeness of our minds, our bodies, our spirits.

Lord, may your peace, love and compassion touch those living in lands of war. We lift up to you especially the peoples of Georgia, Darfur, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iraq. We ask for these conflicts to be resolved through dialogue and mutual respect for all positions, that the innocent lives destroyed by the hostility of war are remembered by those seeking solutions, that the violence will end.

Lord, may your peace, love and compassion touch those living in lands with repressive governments. We lift up to you especially the people of Burma who have just commemorated on Aug. 8 the 20th anniversary of the student-led uprising for democracy and human rights in their country in 1988. To decades of poverty and repression have come the devastation of Cyclone Nargis for millions of people in the country. We ask that your strength, wisdom and guidance will be their companion as they struggle in the days ahead. Bless the people of this imprisoned land, Lord, with the rights they deserve and a democratic political system in which all may participate.

Lord, may your peace, love and compassion touch those living in lands where there is not enough food or where people cannot afford this most essential need of life. We lift up to you especially the people of Ethiopia who are facing a widespread famine that is afflicting in particular the young and the old. We ask that their food needs will soon be met, that they will soon enjoy a full stomach and know hunger no more.

Lord, may your peace, love and compassion touch those living in Aotearoa, or New Zealand, and Australia that are being remembered today around the world as part of the ecumenical calendar of prayer. We lift up to you especially the indigenous peoples of these countries, the Maori and Aborigine peoples, who have lived lives defined by poverty and discrimination as second-class citizens, or worse, although they were the first inhabitants of these lands. May government leaders, politicians and the dominant ethnic groups come to respect them as members of the human family and to recognize their wisdom and spirituality that connects them to the land, water and air—a wisdom and spirituality that may rescue us from the destruction of our modern technological development.

As the world now meets in Beijing to compete at the highest levels of sport, we pray that people around the globe will come to see their oneness instead of their differences at this international sporting festival. Regardless of our nationality, our dress, our language, our religion or our race, help us to see our unity, Lord, that dwells in our common humanity. It is this wisdom that we have lost, Lord, that we ask your help to restore. May the Olympics open our eyes and our hearts.

Among our own Christian family at Kowloon Union Church, we give joy for those celebrating their births or their weddings or other significant dates in their lives. We pray too for those who are ill. We ask for your healing and comforting spirit to touch their lives. We especially remember the youth of our church who have recently received their HKCEE exam results. We celebrate with those full of joy and suffer with those who are disappointed. Regardless of their results, may they still feel our love and respect for them as people of God. Lastly, bless us with discernment, Lord, in an environment of mutual respect as we deliberate on the ordination of our sister Phyllis in the near future.

Now we pray in silence to you Lord the joys and anxieties inside of us (silence). Amen.