Prayers of Intercession 

 
If you are able, pray these prayers out loud.
Let’s join together as a church family to pray the same prayers.
If you are able to do this with others, take it in turns to read them aloud. 
Fill in the blanks with your own prayers and people.

Prayers for Ourselves

 
Father, thank you that you love me as your own dearly loved child.
Thank you, Jesus, for your selfless friendship and care for me.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you lead me and help me understand God’s good will for my life.
Lord, I commit to trust you with my life, my plans and my cares. 
I pray especially about …..
Lord, in your mercy, grace and love, hear my prayers.
 

Prayers for our Church and loved ones

Thank you, Father, that you are Love and that all good gifts come from you. Thank you for my loved ones and church. Thank you that you love them with infinite, divine love.

Please be with those who don’t know you as Lord and Saviour. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for you, Holy Spirit, to convict them of their need for Jesus.
 
Please be with those who are ill right now. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for healing.
 
Please be with those who are grieving. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for Your comfort and that you help us to comfort them too.
 
Please be with all who are anxious and worried. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for your peace that passes understanding to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
 
Please be with those who are struggling with their mental health. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for relief from torment and dark valleys; lift the burden of mental, spiritual, emotional and physical oppression.
 
Please be with those who are in, or may face, financial difficulties. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for Your provision and for faith. Please help us to share needs and burdens as you have taught us to.
 
Please be with our children and young people as they study from home. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for you to give them wisdom, self-discipline and joy in their studies.

Please be with young people who cannot do important exams. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask that they will not lose out in any way, that you will restore prospects, that they will see that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
 
Please be with those who are in key jobs, who are serving our community. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for Your protection from bodily harm, strength to keep going, the grace and patience to cope with difficult situations and people. Please help their families: bless and uphold them.
 
Please bless our relationships with our significant others - with our households, families, spouses, with those we are unable to visit right now – as we face new challenges in this lockdown. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for your grace so we may produce a full harvest of the fruit of the Spirit!
 
Please be with those who are struggling with loneliness. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask for Your loving Presence to dwell with them.
 
Please be with those struggling with relationship breakdowns, whether marital, parent-child or close friendships. I pray especially for ….. In Jesus’ name I ask the Spirit of forgiveness, love and reconciliation to bring peace and healing.
 
Lord, in your mercy, grace and love, hear my prayers.
 
 

Prayers for our Country

Lord, we pray for our government and leaders as you command us to, for the good of all people and for peace.
 
Please bring your wisdom - that goes beyond natural or political instincts – so that our leaders govern with a better sense of justice and love.
 
Please work in this present situation to bring long-term good for the country – greater equality, fairness and dignity for everyone.
 
Please raise up wise and gifted leaders who have integrity and sincerity, who know what needs to be done and how to implement effective change.
 
Please help those in public services to do their jobs in difficult circumstances. Please keep them well, especially in emergencies and out in the community. Thank you for our army, navy, police, paramedics, social workers and other professionals who are working through this crisis. Please bless them and keep them safe, Lord. Please help them reach those who need them in time.

 Thank you for the NHS staff and for their dedication, compassion and vocation. Please bless them at this time of crisis and potential chaos. Keep them safe, give them strength, lift their morale. 

Please bless our local communities; help us to see where local needs are and meet them.
 
Please bless charities and provide for them, so they can continue their work for the good of our nation, communities and people. I pray especially for …..

Please shine your radiant light, Jesus, into the lives of the homeless, the prisoners, the isolated, the ill and the dying. May they see the Day of Salvation and be glad.
 
Please help us, your Church, to be a blessing to our nation, to witness faithfully to the Hope we have in Jesus Christ – both in what we say and in our loving actions.
 
Lord, in your mercy, grace and love, hear my prayers.
 
 
Prayers for our World

 Thank you for this beautiful world, Lord. Even in fallenness, it is a miracle of your beauty and creativity.
 
Thank you for the promise of the new heavens and the new earth, the promise of eternal salvation. Thank you that you loved the world so much, Father, you gave your Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue people from death and hell. Raise up your church all over the world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that Your Kingdom may come into the lives of those in darkness and the fear of death. 
 
Please, Lord, bring revival, so that Your Kingdom may come and Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
 
Please shine your light of salvation and mercy into the refugee camps, the slums, the warzones, the crazy and corrupt regimes. Walk into these places, Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and declare freedom for the prisoners, the refugees, the desperate and dying.
Forgive us, Lord: we forget about them so easily in the midst of our own concerns. Please, Lord, show your Church how to stand with you. Teach us Your ways, merciful and compassionate Saviour.
 
Please, Lord, bless researchers with genius to come up with an answer to this coronavirus. Please give genius to those who will then share it with the rest of the world with compassion, fairness and mercy.
 
Please, Lord, show mercy to the countries who are too poor to fight off the coronavirus threat, who have no adequate system of healthcare or social welfare. I pray especially for …..
 
Please, Lord, impress on world leaders the weight of their responsibility and the need to work together for peace and the common good of all humanity. 
 
 
God, you are Light – there is no shadow in you. Shine a light on our world leaders – on what is done out of ego or selfish ambition, what is corrupt and for the benefit of the privileged few – so we can see what is true and what is false.
 
Lord God Almighty, the One True Judge, please bring the fear of the Lord to our world leaders, especially those who claim some allegiance to God or the Church, for leaders like Trump and Putin. They will stand before you at the Judgement. In your mercy, let them know the fear of God NOW, for the sake of their nations and the world.
 
Lord God: You are Love. You are Light - how can you bear this world’s darkness? 
How long, Lord, until you put things right?
 We trust in Your mercy, grace, love and truth. In light of them and in the name of our glorious, gracious, loving Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we pray.
 Amen