Prayer matters

Thank you. For work

View of the sunrise on my commute to work

REFLECTION
The kingdom of heaven came near to Peter and Andrew at their place of work, fishing in the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:18-20). Pray for the kingdom of heaven to come near to us at our place of work too.

Litany of Labor

Let us pray to the Lord of all creation,
from whom comes life and work and purpose.

Almighty God,
when you formed us lovingly out of the dust of the earth,
you breathed into us the breath of life
and gave us work and purpose for living.
You placed Adam in the garden of Eden to till and keep it.
Through our work, you made us co-creators with you,
shaping the world in which we live.
You gave dignity to our labor by sending your Son to labor with us.
By our labor, you enrich the world.
By our labor, we enjoy the fruits of creation.
By our labor, we find direction and purpose.
By our labor, our families are made secure.

For providing varieties of work and for blessing us by our labor:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who plow the field and those who make the plow;
for farmers and farm workers, for steelworkers and machinists;
for those who work with their hands and those who move the earth:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who tend the sick and those who seek new cures;
for doctors and nurses, for scientists and technicians;
for those who keep notes and those who transcribe:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who think and those who create;
for inventors and explorers, for artists and musicians;
for those who write books and those who entertain:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who work in offices and those who work in warehouses;
for secretaries and receptionists, for stockers and bookkeepers;
for those who market products and for those who move them:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who inspire our minds and those who motivate us;
for teachers and preachers, for public servants and religious servants;
those who help the poor and those who work with our children:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those whose labor is tidiness and cleanliness;
for janitors and sanitary workers, for drycleaners and maids;
for those who produce cleaning products and those who use them:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who sail the waves and those who fly the skies;
for captains and attendants, for astronauts and deep sea divers;
for those who chart and those who navigate:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

You bless us all with skills and gifts for labor.
You provide us opportunities to use them,
for the benefit of others as well as ourselves.

Guard and protect those who labor in the world.
Bless the work of our hands, O Lord.

Look kindly upon the unemployed and the disabled.
Give health to the sick, hope to the bereaved.

Keep us from laboring only for greed.
Make us loving and responsible in all that we do.

Creator Lord, you are the source of all wisdom and purpose,
you are the blessing of those who labor.
Be with us in our labor to guide and govern our world.
Give all men and women work that enhances human dignity
and bonds us to one another.
Give us pride in our work,
a fair return for our labor,
and joy in knowing that our work finds its source in you;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

— written by Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and posted on Liturgy by TLW.

From the blog
Circle me, Lord
Work as an offering
In the school of prayer with Brother Lawrence

(You) unite us. Thank you

To mark this year’s Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 18 to 25 January 2026, a prayer dating back to the third century.

Prayer

Lord, we pray for the unity of your Church.
Help us to see ourselves as rays from the one sun,
branches of a single tree,
and streams flowing from one river.
May we remain united to you and to each other,
because you are our common source of life;
and may we send out your light
and pour forth your flowing streams over all the earth,
drawing our inspiration and joy from you.

inspired by St Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #527

From the blog
3 Prayers for Christian unity
Theme: Called into community [prayer sheet]
Plant us, root us, grow us

Say thank you

A (short) prayer

Lord God, keep us from mumbling on and on in our prayers when all we ought to say is, “Thank you, Lord.” Amen

from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 95

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Angela Ashwin
To keep our hearts in tune
Sola gratia – Deo gratias

Thank you. For new songs

We will not keep silent

based on Psalm 96

We are people who must sing you,
for the sake of our very lives.
You are a God who must be sung by us,
for the sake of your majesty and honour.

And so we thank you,
for lyrics that push us past our reasons,
for melodies that break open our givens,
for cadences that locate us home, beyond all our safe places,
for tones and tunes that open our lives beyond control
and our futures beyond despair.

We thank you for the long parade of mothers and fathers
who have sung you deep and true;

We thank you for the good company of artists, poets, musicians,
cantors, and instruments that sing for us and with us, toward you.

We are witnesses to your mercy and splendor;
We will not keep silent … ever again. Amen

— by Walter Brueggemann, from his Psalms class on January 20, 1999. Posted on the Gladly Listening blog.

Tip: 12 Song Challenge
It’s not too late to join this international community of songwriters (including Irene Bom), working together to grow in their creative gifts and serve the local church.

Also be inspired by Irene’s Make and do website, a window into her creative projects, including new songs. The index offers easy access to the songs and other creative projects that were featured in the her workshop on the Psalms, held in Lausanne (2022) and Budapest (2024).

Give in to joy

Don’t hesitate: A poem

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

from Devotions by Mary Oliver, p. 61

Benediction for the New Year

Let us look for Christ wherever we go.

Let us never stop seeking,
believing that there is a light that shines in the darkness
which the darkness shall not overcome

And may the love of the Creator,
the joy of the Spirit
and the peace of the Christ-child
be with you this New Year, and evermore.

~ by Cara Heafey, posted on re:Worship

From the blog
3 prayers for the New Year
On the threshold of tomorrow
On Writing Prayer-Poems

Affirm with joy

Advent Credo

It is not true
that creation and the human family
are doomed to destruction and loss—

This is true:
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have everlasting life;

It is not true
that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination,
hunger and poverty, death and destruction—

This is true:
I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.

It is not true
that violence and hatred should have the last word,
and that war and destruction rule forever—

This is true:
Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
his name shall be called wonderful councilor, mighty God,
the Everlasting, the Prince of peace.

It is not true
that we are simply victims of the powers of evil
who seek to rule the world—

This is true:
To me is given authority in heaven and on earth,
and lo I am with you, even until the end of the world.

It is not true
that we have to wait for those who are specially gifted,
who are the prophets of the Church
before we can be peacemakers—

This is true:
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh
and your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions
and your old men shall have dreams.

It is not true
that our hopes for liberation of humankind,
of justice, of human dignity of peace
are not meant for this earth and for this history—

This is true:
The hour comes, and it is now,
that the true worshipers shall worship God
in spirit and in truth.

So let us [celebrate] Advent in hope,
even hope against hope.
Let us see visions of love and peace and justice.
Let us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage:
Jesus Christ — the life of the world.

~ written by Allan Boesak, posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Baby steps
Taste the goodness
Open confession

Walk his way with joy

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

A Litany

Jesus invites us to a way of celebration,
meeting and feasting with the humble and poor.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus beckons us to a way of risk,
letting go of our security.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus challenges us to listen to the voices
of those who have nothing to lose.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus points us to a way of self-giving,
where power and status are overturned.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus calls us to follow the way of the cross,
where despair is transformed
by the promise of new life.
Let us walk his way with joy.

— by Rex A E Hunt, from www.rexaehuntprogressivelgy.com

Sing for joy

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Psalm 95:1

Advent Prayer

Alleluia the Christ child comes,
and we await his birth.
Let us throw off our distractions,
and allow the chaos to settle.
Let us watch for the signs,
and listen to the messengers.
Let us stand on tiptoe,
and shout aloud and sing.
Something new is emerging,
something new is being birthed.

~ written by Christine Sine, and posted on GodSpace.

From the blog
God’s glory revealed
Longing for his appearing
Ding! Dong! Curiosity

Joy, despite everything

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 35:10

source: BBC news

News from St Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Columbo

Lakshmi writes,

On the church property a small tree had fallen. Except for two people in our congregation who had water coming into their basement apartment car park (in the outskirts of Colombo), the rest are safe.

The worst hit areas are in the central Province. Landslides continue. Many are displaced and so far nearly 300 have died. Since yesterday, the sluice gates of the dams have been opened and areas about 6-8 km away from Colombo are getting flooded. India has sent a rescue mission team and provided helicopters to help with this tragedy.

In spite of all that is taking place around us, there was some sunshine yesterday and we managed to have two services at SASK – the St Andrew’s Day service in the morning and the Carol service in the evening. Thank God the weather kept fine. Over 100 people turned up for both services.