Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Gracious God, as a new Thursday dawns, we pray once more for all those working within the NHS and healthcare system. Today we pray especially for the staff in our Intensive Care Units who deal with the effects of Covid 19 on a daily basis. As news reports reach us of their exhaustion and anxiety, after so many months of working under such tremendous pressure, we lift them before You. As communities we give grateful thanks for their continued dedication and expertise. We give thanks for the compassion and the love they give to all those in their care. We pray that they may know the assurance of Your love and Your presence with them throughout this day. Living God, we ask that you give them strength, give them courage and most of all, give them a sense of peace at the end of a difficult shift knowing that they have truly witnessed to the power of Your love in our world. So too, we pray for their families, concerned for the wellbeing of their loved ones and often separated from them for many hours, due to the demands of long working shifts. May the power of Your Holy Spirit be experienced today. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Proverbs 17:17 (NRSV)
“A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity”.

Gracious God, today we thank you for the gift of friendship. We give thanks for those who laugh with us when times are good, and weep with us when times are sad, for those who show their care for us in very practical ways, for those ever ready to be a listening ear or offer a word of advice, for the people we trust and can depend on.
Lord God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus, our constant companion, who journeys with us offering support and encouragement. Through His example we see what it truly means to be a friend to all and so help us to be faithful to His teachings. Help us to live out His commandment to love our neighbours and treat them with the dignity, compassion and respect that we would like to receive in return. Help us to be ready to extend the hand of friendship to new friends, not yet made, to those in need of a new friend. May all our relationships be rooted in love, the love that comes from You, our creator God, remembering that we love, because You first loved us. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Malachi 3:6, (NLT)
“‘I am the LORD, and I do not change.”

Gracious God, as we come to You this morning, many aspects of our life have changed beyond belief; the ways in which we interact with others, the way we conduct our leisure time, the restrictions placed upon us in work settings, the ways in which we worship You as a community, life is unrecognisable from the lives we shared almost a year ago. As we try to respond to these changes, there are days when we feel simply lost at sea. And yet we know that Your love for us is unchanging, we know that Your power and Your majesty is unchanging, that You are the anchor in our lives, You are the stability amidst the storms of change and our lifeline when we need support. So Lord God, help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and the assurance of the promise of Hope to be found in Jesus Christ who taught us that nothing can separate us from Your love. May that promise be the anchor on which we secure our lives today, Amen.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
‘Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments’.

Gracious God, as we begin a new week, we come to You. Life continues to be challenging for us with uncertainties and worries, with issues that affect our physical and mental well-being and yet we know that we are assured of Your presence with us in any situation, we are assured of Your strength and guidance and we are assured of Your compassion and Your love for us. As the dark days of winter begin to lengthen, as we see snowdrops in bloom and daffodil shoots appearing on grass verges, we are reminded that Spring is coming. As these floral wonders of Your creation reflect new life and Your continuing presence in our world, give us the faith and the confidence to continue to place our trust in You, to keep hope for the future and may the beauty of Your creation refresh our inner-being and cause our hearts to smile. In the name of Jesus, our Prince of Peace, Hope and Love we pray, Amen.

Mark 9:36-37 (NIV)

‘He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Gracious God, as Mental health Children’s Week draws to a close, we lift the future safe keeping of our younger generation into Your hands. We realise that the effects of the pandemic will have an impact upon the mental health of our children for years to come, the effects of continuous lockdown and separation from family and friends, loss of contact time with their teachers and all the benefits of the wider school curriculum, uncertainty of exams and assessments, being unable to attend the many different groups that they might belong to outside of the home and school. Lord God, we pray that when we come out of this pandemic, as communities we will consider very seriously how we can address the effect of Covid 19 on our children so that we can give them a secure and bright future. We pray that those in positions of power and authority, children’s agencies, medical professionals and parents, will be given the opportunity to come together and address these issues as a united body. We pray for the power of Your Holy Spirit to counsel and to guide.
God of Love, we know that every child is precious to You and so we place them into Your protection this day and pray for all their futures as they continue to grow surrounded by Your love, Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)
‘Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing’.

Gracious God, as we clapped last night and showed our love and respect for Captain Sir Tom Moore, we give thanks this morning for all the unsung heroes of this pandemic. For those who have tirelessly helped others, for all front-line workers, for those who have raised funds for the NHS and other charities, for those who have inspired us and picked us up when we’ve been down and shone as beacons in our communities, we give our grateful thanks. May the values that Jesus taught us, the desire to treat others with compassion and empathy, continue to bring light, hope and positivity into our world.
On this the 4th day of Children’s Mental Health Week, we continue to pray and ask for Your blessing upon all our children and their families. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Matthew 25:40 (NLT)
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Gracious God, on this, the third day of Children’s Mental Health Week, we lift before you all Children’s Services. Lord we know there are many, many agencies and charities working to ensure that our children are kept safe and we pray for our national Social Services, Adoption and Fostering agencies. So too, we pray for the many organisations that seek to address mental health issues and support families. We appreciate Lord, that providing help and support is particularly difficult both logistically and financially during this pandemic, but we just pray that these essential services can find ways to continue their vital work in assisting children to grow and thrive emotionally. God of strength and wisdom, we lift before you today all professional and volunteer workers and ask that You bless and guide the service, care and compassion they give to our children. May Your presence and love be felt in our communities today. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV )
‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’.

Gracious God, our heavenly Parent, on this, the second day of Children’s Mental Health Week, we lift before you all parents and carers. We appreciate that this is an enormously challenging time for all those looking after the children in their care as the routines of daily living are disrupted. We think of those home-schooling, many of whom are trying to work from home themselves. We think of frontline workers and their concerns over bringing the virus into the family home. We think of single parents juggling the demands of family life whilst physically separated from their support network of family and friends. We think of those struggling with financial issues, relying on Foodbanks and other agencies and unable to give their children the digital devices that home schooling now requires. We think of those for whom there is conflict within the home. We think of those helping children to deal with the loss of loved ones within the family, whilst dealing with their own grief. So too, we think of those caring for children with health issues or learning disabilities, who may also have lost the presence of the support networks that they rely on for support. And so, Lord God, as we focus upon the mental health of children, so too we pray for the mental well-being of all those caring for children in the home. May we as communities do whatever we can to support them and let them know that we value the amazing job they are doing in the raising of our younger generation. May they know that they are not alone and may Your guiding presence and Your love be at the heart of every home. Amen.

This week I would like to share with you material provided for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021

Day 4 Praying together
“I do not call you servants any longer… but I have called you friends”
(John 15:15)

Meditation
God thirsts for relationship with us. In Christ, God came to meet us. Jesus lived in prayer, intimately united to his Father, while creating friendships with his disciples and all those he met. He introduced them to that which was most precious to him: the relationship of love with his Father, who is our Father. Jesus and the disciples sang psalms together, rooted in the richness of their Jewish tradition. At other times, Jesus retired to pray alone.
Prayer can be solitary or shared with others. It can express wonder, complaint, intercession, thanksgiving or simple silence. Sometimes the desire to pray is there, but one has the feeling of not being able to do so. Turning to Jesus and saying to him, “teach me”, can pave the way. Our desire itself is already prayer.
Getting together in a group offers us support. Through hymns, words and silence, communion is created. If we pray with Christians of other traditions, we may be surprised to feel united by a bond of friendship that comes from the One who is beyond all division. The forms may vary, but it is the same Spirit that brings us together.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, your entire life was prayer, perfect harmony with the Father. Through your Spirit, teach us to pray according to your will of love. May the faithful of the whole world unite in intercession and praise, and may your kingdom of love come. Amen.