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A Prayer as We Face the Coronavirus
By Rev Colin Sinclair (adapted for USA)

Living God,
In our hour of need we turn again to you, for we have nowhere else to turn.  We put our faith in you, because you have proved your faithfulness time and again.  We reaffirm our love for you because you have never let us go.  We thank you that you are not distant from us but have drawn near, in your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has shared our life, tasted our death and defeated it; He understands our worries and our fears.  Help us to respond as your children now.  We pray for this pandemic spreading across our world, remembering all who have lost loved ones and praying for those seriously ill at this time.

We uphold the Centers for Disease Control as it responds to this added pressure on its already overstretched services.  We pray for doctors and nurses and all in the caring professions, who work to help and support people as best they can.

We remember those working behind the scenes testing samples, confirming results, giving information to patients.  We uphold others trying to understand this virus better.  working to create an effective remedy.

We pray for our national and state governments as they work with the best medical advice to guide us on how we should respond and what action we should take.  We pray that these guidelines might be taken seriously and that all would put them into action.  May this crisis bring out the best in us, not the worst.

Help us to live by faith and not by fear; to build bridges not barriers, and to resist all who would speak ill of any other group.  May we not forget our responsibility to one another, not least to the vulnerable and voiceless in our communities.  Help us to find ways of keeping in touch and offering reassurance to those with underlying health issues; for any who feel particularly vulnerable or in danger at present.

As the virus spreads we pray for the disruption it causes to normal life, bringing new fears and anxieties:  We pray for those who have been laid off as their work disappears; for financial hardship for individuals and businesses; for the impact on the economy and pensions, when austerity has already left its mark.  We pray for those whose trips, both for business and pleasure, have been cancelled; and others where events, long anticipated and planned for, have been postponed; for those making contingency planning for home based work or child care or exams.  May our inconvenience not blind us to others’ loss. 

We remember those who cannot visit loved ones in locked-down care homes; for the elderly whose social contacts have been severely curtailed; help us to find creative ways of keeping in touch, of assuring them they are not forgotten or ignored.

May congregations find new ways of living though this time.  May we not forget our faith, but draw strength from it.  So may our worship be heartfelt, our fellowship deepen and our service increase.

God of grace and God of mercy, hear our prayers at this time.  Strengthen us, by your Spirit, so that:  we may carry on our lives as best as we are able, looking out for others, showing love in action, being faithful in prayer, and bringing encouragement, hope and peace; always trusting in you our Rock and our Redeemer.
​
These prayers we bring to you in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

A Prayer in a Time of Coronavirus
BY DANIEL DARLING
The whole world is reeling from the threat of the coronavirus. COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption as sports leagues, conferences, and churches have closed their doors and medical professionals race to treat those infected and to develop a vaccine. This can be a time of great despair and uncertainty.

For Christians, this should be a moment of vigilance as we do everything we can to love our vulnerable neighbors. It should also be a time of prayer.

So how should we pray? Here is a sample prayer for families, groups, and churches as we gather in digital diaspora to worship:
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our dependence upon you. This virus has reminded us of our frailty. We have subdued much of the earth with our innovation and creative acts, but we are reminded in this moment how frail and powerless we really are. So we repent of our self-sufficiency and pride.

Lord, we lament the fallen nature of our world, which mars the beauty of your created order. COVID-19 comes to steal and destroy, to worm its way through human bodies and spread its vile sickness across communities and nations and the world. We, like your Son, weep and rage at sickness and death. And yet we know that it was Jesus whose death and resurrection defeated this final foe. We long for the day you resurrect our bodies and restore the world.

As we endure this new normal in our lives, we pray earnestly for the heroic medical doctors, nurses, and health care professionals who are putting their lives on the line for their neighbors. May you give them strength and physical immunity during this time, so they can help push back against this ravaging virus.

We pray for the scientists, disease experts, and epidemiologists who are working feverishly on vaccines and testing mechanisms. Lord, we thank you for gifting them with knowledge and wisdom we don’t have. We pray for their endurance, for breakthroughs, and for resources. 
Lord, you are the Great Physician, so we pray for healing for the victims of COVID-19. Lord, you are the Creator, with power over the creation, so we pray for COVID-19 to be destroyed. Spirit of God, you are the Comforter, so please comfort our troubled souls.

Dear God, move in the hearts of our public officials. As you have instructed us in your Word, we earnestly beseech you on behalf of our president, Congress, governors, mayors, and local officials. We pray you guide them with wisdom and strength and discernment.

We also pray for the people in our nation and the nations of the world to be humbled and turn to you in repentance and faith. We know you are the Prince of peace, Lord of lords, the King of kings. We praise you for your goodness and your mercy.

And we ask this all in the name of Jesus, our Lord. 
Amen.
PRAYERS AT PARK CHURCH

SPIRITUAL NEEDS
Pray for spiritual renewal in the church, and a renewed eagerness for God's people to grow in grace.
Pray for God to bring good out of evil, that He will bring about the salvation of many souls as a direct result of this pandemic.
Pray that God will soften hearts to the Gospel during this time.
Pray against a spirit of fear.
Pray for God's comfort for all who have lost loved ones to this illness. Pray that God will draw them to Himself during this time, and that Satan will not drive a wedge between them and God.
Pray for true revival in which God so works in the church, among His people, that the unbelieving world takes notice, and surprisingly large numbers of lost people flood into the family of faith.
Pray a prayer of repentance for yourself for areas of life in which you have taken God lightly.
Pray for God's peace for those who suffer anxiety over this virus.
Pray that God will kick the devil in the teeth for this heartbreaking evil.
 
OUR COMMUNITY
Pray for God's provision for churches and ministries that are shut down during this time, that financial support will not run dry.
Pray for medical personnel — for protection and wisdom in dealing with this illness.
Pray for our schools — that no school in our region will be touched by Coronavirus. Pray for wisdom among decision-makers.
Pray for our senior citizens and for nursing homes, that God will stop any progression of the Coronavirus in Fayette County and beyond.
Pray for small businesses, that they will get the financial relief needed in order to stay afloat.
 
OUR CHURCH
Pray for Park Church, for wisdom and guidance for Pastor Lynn, our staff, and all our leaders.
Pray that this illness will NOT touch our leadership or our church family.
Pray for the effectiveness of Park’s online service and ministries.
 
OUR STATE AND NATION
Pray for our state and national leaders to have great wisdom and RIGHTEOUSNESS in dealing with this challenge.
Pray for our local and national economy. Pray for struggling businesses to be able to weather this storm through God's divine provision
 
OUR WORLD
Pray for healing for all those affected by the Coronavirus around the world.
Pray that God will stop the spread of the virus.
Pray for nations and ask God to bring all nations back to Himself.
Pray for the Church in China and Italy, the nations most affected by Coronavirus.
Pray that the pandemic will come to a swift end.
Pray for the development of safe and effective vaccines and/or other medical interventions.
 
PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
645 E High St
Lexington KY 40502


​Phone:  (859)266-1701
Email:  info@parkchurch.com
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