Every Monday, Living Lutheran offers a week’s worth of prayers from the ELCA resource Prayer Ventures, which can be downloaded here. These petitions – one for each day this week – are offered as a guide for your own prayer life as together we pray for the needs of the world and give thanks for the ministries of our church.
Monday, Dec. 7: As Paul valued the work of the Christians in Philippi, we also give thanks for our many partners and companion churches and pray that we encourage and complement one another in doing God’s work together in the world.
Tuesday, Dec 8: We give thanks for the unique perspectives of faith and tradition that come with the diversity of cultures in the world and for observances that remind us of how God called and used Mary to fulfill the prophecies of the promised Messiah – Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, Dec. 9: For soldiers on active duty, serving in areas of high risk and separated from family and faith communities, we pray that they find comfort and strength in the cloud of faithful witnesses that surround them, even from afar.
Thursday, Dec. 10: We remember in our prayers all people, especially women and children, who live with the debilitating and wounding effects of poverty and hunger. We pray they will find relief and self-sufficiency and that we will be generous in our support and work to end poverty and hunger everywhere.
Friday, Dec. 11: We remember in our prayers our elders and pray they are surrounded by caring and supportive circles of friends, family and care providers, as well as nurturing communities of faith that value their gifts, life experiences and wisdom in the mission and work of the church.
Saturday, Dec. 12: On this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we give thanks to God for the witness and traditions that come from our Latino sisters and brothers in Christ and for the ways in which they make God’s presence and work in the world known.
Sunday, Dec. 13: Our baptism is a sign of repentance, newness and belonging, and a call to a life of service and witness. We pray the Holy Spirit will guide and enliven our service and witness with others, especially when we grow weary or hesitant.