A selection of prayers and links from the SEC publication Prayer & Action.
- January - Homelessness
- Lord, be with the homeless on the streets of Scotland. And lest we forget the extent of your love, we ask that you might be not only with all the people sleeping rough on Scottish streets, but also with those sleeping in the dusty highways and shanty towns of your creation. We pray especially for the 'Masimanyane Housing Project' in Cape Town. In the loneliness of a thousand cardboard boxes, and the squalid darkness of a thousand doorways, Homeless Saviour, be with your homeless children wherever they may be. Amen.
- February - Health
- Father of all, we pray for those within our society who suffer from mental illnesses. In their anger, isolation and restlessness, comfort them with your peace. We ask you for the guidance of your Holy Spirit, so that we might seek to include them rather than to exclude, to understand them rather than to ignore. Against our stigma, ignorance and impatience, let your loe burn within us, so that we might become true disciples of your Son. Amen.
- March - Asylum Seekers
- We hold before you children throughout our world who are separated from their parents because of asylum issues. We pray for children who find themselves in places where no-one understands their language or who are effectively imprisoned in a detention centre. We pray that they will be able to reclaim their childhood rights and be enabled to grow in love for You as they grow in years. In Jesus' name. Amen.
- April - Racial Justice
- Loving God, creator and sustainer of each human life, whose delight is in truth, beauty, justice, peace and love, grant us to follow truth and so to draw close to you in whom is nothing false, to rejoice in beauty of form and character and so to draw close to each other, to strive for justice and so to uphold human dignity, to work for peace and so to overcome every kind of violence, to live in love and so to guard and further each other's interests. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, barrior breaker and sharer of our humanity, and in the power of the Holy Spirit who prays in and with us all. Amen.
- May - Christian Aid
- Lord, you come to us in neighbours we do not know and are unlikely to meet. You come to us when people's needs are measured in statistics, argued about in political programmes, or estimated in development plans. Give us the grace to see past numbers to the real lives behind them, so that we might, with you, build your Kingdom. Amen.
- June - Peace & Justice
- Remember Christ's Call for the Least of These. Dear Lord, our Heavenly Father, help us to be your servants to those hungry for peace, not division; for people whose souls clamour for the sustenance of justice, an end to crimes of violence and greed; to those longing for a night's sleep without gnawing hunger, the fear of starvation. Empower us to feed your sheep, your lambs. Help us to be your servants to those imprisoned, awaiting sentence or parole; imprisoned by debt or an abusive relationship, locked in prisons that have no bars. Help us to free them, to speak of your love. Forgive us our failures. May we see you in others each day of our lives. This we pray, for Christ's sake. Amen.
- July - The Environment
- Creator God, whose Son, Jesus Christ, lived once in Palestine yet whose arms flung wide on the cross embrace all time and space in redeeming love: Grant that we, living here and now, may plant and water the new Garden of the Lord throughout the earth and for generations to come; by the power of the sustaining Spirit. Amen.
- August - The Elderly
- Lord, we thank you for the gifts of Age, the wealth of memories; the peace of prayer; the wisdom that has grown beyond all striving to rest in your grace alone. When increasing frailty of mind or body threaten, be with us as living water in the desert, a rock to give shelter. In word and sacrament, in the fellowship of your people give us the assurance of your everlasting care. And to us give the grace to receive all that your love brings to us. Amen.
- September - Domestic Violence
- God of mercy, protect and enfold with your love, those who have been abused in body, mind or spirit; especially where trust has been betrayed, and the sanctity of home violated. Hold each one as infinitely precious, and journey with them as they face an uncertain future. May they experience the love and care of others - and the joy and peace of life within the circle of love of the Holy Trinity. Through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and your Beloved Son. Amen.
- October - Prisons
- Loving God, your Son knew what it is like to be a prisoner. Help us to remember those in prison, for whatever reason, without judging and without condemning, believing that no-one is beyond your grace and forgiveness. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- November - HIV & AIDS
- God of all compassion, comfort your sons and daughters who live with HIV. Spread over us all your quilt of Mercy, Love and Peace. Open our eyes to your presence reflected in their faces. Open our ears to your truth echoing in their hearts. Give us the strength to weep with the grieving, to walk with the lonely, to stand with the depressed. May our love mirror your love for those who live in fear, who live under stress and who suffer rejection. Mothering, fathering God, grant rest to those who have died and hope to all who live with HIV. God of life, help us to find the cure now and help us to build a world in which no one dies alone and where everyone lives accepted, wanted and loved. Amen.
- December - Children & Young People
- O God, we pray for all who have the privilege and responsibility of nurturing the children of this world. May they be conscious of the task entrusted to them to enable each child to grow and develop in mind, in body, and in spirit. May they encourage each young person to find the gifts You have given them and work so that every home is touched by Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.
