Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 18 October, 2015

Eunice Chan

Let us pray.

Loving God, we come to you with longing and hopeful expectation as we pray for the world, the church, and all those in need.

Through your Son Jesus, you have made us one with you, granting us power to live in ways pleasing to you.  You sustain all who wait on your Word.  In gratitude for all that we have received, we pray that you would continue to promise strength and console, justice and peace for the deprived and oppressed.

Send your Holy Spirit among us and bring the light of your Word to instruct and inspire.

We especially remember the poor today, Lord, as we commemorated yesterday the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  Lord, we are grateful that we woke up today in warmth with clean sheets beneath us.  We are grateful for the clean water that flows from the tap, and the food on the breakfast table that brings us energy to start the day.  Yet the ordinary in our lives is an abundance for 1.3 billion people in the world who are living in extreme poverty.  Lord, we come before you today to remember all of those who are hungry and homeless, jobless and destitute.  We pray that they may soon find food and shelter, work and hope, joy and peace.

We remember Hong Kong as the grassroots struggle to pay for basic necessities such as housing and food.  Lord, may you grant us wisdom, strength and courage for concerted efforts to address the gap between rich and poor, old and young, locals and non-locals.  May there be extensive participation of civil society in decision-making to ensure a just distribution of wealth and provide for the well-being of all members of our society.  May we seek to know and serve you by helping those in need. 

We pray for the troubled regions around the world. We remember Sudan, where war and violence have displaced more than 2.2 million people.  Bring comfort and recovery to those who experienced loss of lives, injuries and damage to homes, livelihood and nature.  We also continue to pray with hope as the European Union seeks ways to ease the burden on the refugees and on the host countries.

Lord, we just learned that violence happened again in Singkil Aceh of Indonesia.  Two churches were burnt, one person died, and thousands of people left their homes to find safe places.  Lord, may the Indonesian Government wake up to the call to secure religious freedom for all citizens and protect people from any kinds of intimidation.  May you bring food and shelter for the Singkil refugees.

In this ecumenical prayer cycle, we pray for the churches in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as they continue to work for your glory. 

We pray for our church, for all those who contribute to the life and work of KUC. We pray for all those on our prayer lists, and those whose names are kept in our hearts.  We especially remember Dr Helen Tan, Little Samuel, our church secretary Heddy, Revd Kwok Nai-wang, Evelyn Carpio and her family.  Lord, we know that you know them all, and you know all their needs even before we ask.  Still, we pray for their healing and recovery from pain, brokenness, sorrow, and burdens.   

We pray all this in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Please join me now in praying the Lord's Prayer.  You may do so in your own language.

Our Father in Heaven

Hallowed be Your Name

Your Kingdom come

You will be done on earth as in Heaven

Give us today our daily bread

Forgive us our sins

As we forgive those who sin against us

Save us from the time of trial

And deliver us from evil

For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are Yours

Now and forever. Amen

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 11 October, 2015

Kim Chi Fo

Heavenly Father, You have made all of us your priests and intercessors.

As we are about to commemorate World Poverty Day, we ask that You constantly bring the billions of people who struggle in poverty into our vision. As we pray for the mitigation of worldwide economic inequality, Father, let us ourselves contribute to this mitigation. Give us the courage and resolution to dissociate ourselves from unjust politico-economic structures which are responsible for propagating such inequality. Fill us with the abundance that arises from communion with You, and cause us to see that You are the God who sides with the poor so that we would willingly become poorer than we now are and share with those who are in need.

We intercede for the Israeli and Palestinian people. We ask Your Spirit to call them into reconciliation, first with You, Father, then with themselves and then with each other so that their perennial feud would be brought to a lasting end. We pray also for the ongoing events in Syria. Father, may your Spirit help us as we don’t know what to pray for. Let us see, Father, that You are the sovereign Lord who is in control. Let us therefore continue to ask for an end to violence in these lands. We ask also that You would recompense them for their homes and loved ones and lives lost in wars. Likewise, we ask You to provide relief to those who are destitute and homeless because of inclement weather. O Father, may You heal their bodies and souls.

We remember our sisters and brothers in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, who are under various forms of persecution. As we are one in Christ, in baptism, in faith and in body, we ask that we may also be one in suffering. O Father, we ask You to stop these persecutions; but if You do not stop them, may your Spirit strengthen the faith of the churches so that the persecuted Christians remain faithful to Christ. May the blood of martyrs become the seeds of Christians.

We pray also for those listening on the radio. May Your Word take root in their hearts and bear fruit for Your glory. May the fellowship of the Spirit be with them just as Your Spirit is with us. May You guide them and strengthen them so that they would rejoice even in times of trouble as they discover that Father You are God and You are good.

We pray for Kowloon Union Church as we formulate various plans for the future and as we formulate the budget plan for the coming year. Grant wisdom and humility to those who are in office. Let each of us see our own gifts, and let us willingly contribute to the priesthood of the church. May You Yourself work through Kowloon Union Church to bring people to salvation.

We intercede for Dr. Helen as she continues her treatment; grant her rest and progress with her recovery. We also pray that little Samuel will react favorably to the chemotherapy treatment. Heal them and strengthen them, together with their family members and friends who need to intensively take care of them.

Grant our church secretary Heddy Ha a speedy recovery; and as the Rev. Kwok Nai- wang’s recovery faces new challenges, we ask You to renew his strength in this battle for his health.

Father, we give You thanks for the remission of the Ebola epidemic. As we continue to pray for the needs of the world and our church, we see how human existence is plagued by broken relationships, death and meaninglessness. Yet we ask that we do not grow weary in praying. Father, let us see how Jesus Christ has become a remedy to broken relations, death and meaninglessness.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ by whose blood we become your priests. Amen.

Let us now say the Lord’s Prayer in our own tongue.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your Kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom,

the power and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 4 October, 2015

Hope S. Antone

Let us take our prayers of intercession before God.

Loving God, we come to you with humble and contrite hearts. As we celebrate the World Communion Sunday, we pray that we will indeed be one in spirit as we savor again your gift of love and forgiveness through Christ Jesus. May we respond in gratitude for such gift of love and forgiveness by striving to be loving and forgiving. 

As we remember the Christ’s broken body, we bring to mind all those who are persecuted for their faith, principles and values. We specially pray for those who have been displaced from their own land, who have been subjected to so much suffering and violence – like the Lumads or Indigenous communities in southern Philippines, and the tribal communities, like the Kachin, in Myanmar.

May government leaders listen to the cries and aspirations of the internally displaced peoples in their own countries and elsewhere, and address them with justice and truth. May government leaders look kindly upon those who are longing for a life of dignity, such as the refugees and asylum-seekers. May there be no more discrimination and dehumanization – for everyone is created in your own image and deserves to live a life in abundance and dignity.     

We pray for peace in this world that you have entrusted to us. May war and fighting cease. May gun-shooting of people, especially innocent people, come to an end. May swords, spears, guns and other weapons to snuff out life be turned into ploughshares, pruning hooks and other tools to grow plants and nourish life.

May your whole creation find peace with justice in this time of worsening climate change, global warming, and ecological destruction. Be with the communities that are most vulnerable to storms, earthquakes, floods and other calamities.     

We also pray for the needs of our own community here in Kowloon Union Church, and the wider ecumenical movement. We remember those who are in hospital, are ill at home, or recovering from illness. We lift up to you Helen Tan; Heddy Ha; little Samuel; Revd. Kwok Nai Wang; Saimon; Padi Rex Reyes. May your healing mercies surround them.

During this week’s Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, we join Christians everywhere in praying for the people and churches of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We pray for the tiny minority of Christians who strive to witness to the gospel and live according to God’s word in spite of danger and threat to their lives. We remember the peace-makers who are struggling to end hostility and violence; the soldiers who refuse to kill their own people; and the international organizations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International and all who work on behalf of political prisoners and the dispossessed.

Gracious God, we also offer to you the silent petitions in our minds and hearts…

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.