Two Prayer Petitions from July 6 Worship

Here are two petitions that were included in our prayers on Sunday at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio:

Pastor: We thank you for the privilege of living in a land in which, without fear and in freedom, we can worship and serve You and others in Christ’s Name. Help us to honor our country best not by putting it first in our priorities, but You. And help us too, to live by the ethos of the true patriot: our country, when right, to keep it right and when wrong, to make it right. God, we thank You for blessing America and in response, we pray that You would help us be a blessing to others. Hear us, O God;

Congregation: Your mercy is great.

Pastor: We pray for nations and peoples that suffer oppression and scarcity at the hands of the powerful, that they may find restoration in your promise of life. Especially today, we lift up the imprisoned peoples of Zimbabwe, China, and Tibet. Hear us, O God;

Congregation: your mercy is great.

[In part, these prayer petitions are based on those provided to congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I invite you to pray these prayers for our country and our world with us.]