Worship

Prayers of the People

We invite you to pray with us today.

Most High God, today we heard how Nebuchadnezzar praised you for delivering the servants who trusted you. Even when threatened they kept their faith in you. They decided to believe in you and live accordingly even if they did not witness the demonstration of your power. We are inspired by them and so we pray like them. We do not rely on the strength of our faith, but on the strength of the one in whom we place our faith.

We are worried and afraid. We are anxious about health – physical, mental, and emotional. Whether it is our own or our loved ones, we cry out for healing, recovery and relief. We fret over our finances – employment, investments, and purchasing power. Whether for retirement, comfort or survival, we pray for daily bread even though we want more and more. We struggle with relationships – romantic, friendly, or adversarial. Whether we have many relationships or few, we all want to be loved, seen, and supported. These concerns are real and, Lord, you care about them; having gone through what we go through, you sympathize with us. But Lord you know that these worries distract us from seeing beyond our own needs.

As much as we need you to hear our prayer, as a people who have been forgiven and called to be the light, leaven, and salt in our corners of your world, we, like our Lord Jesus, look beyond our needs to the needs of others and we pray for them. There are people who are worried and afraid because of the possibility of being separated from their families. There are those who lost so much to fire or flood. There are those who wake up to the daily reality of violence and warfare. We not only pray for your help and peace, we pray for the courage to be creators of justice and joy for them.

We celebrate that this community of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church was able to pray with our family of faith of the Palisades Presbyterian Church last week as the community recovers from losing their building to the LA wild fires. We celebrate the delicious samplings of chili we get to enjoy today after this worship service and the funds that we will raise to feed even more people at this corner of 5th and 55th through A Place at the Table.

On this Super Bowl Sunday, remind us O God, of the spirit of competition that allows us to have a clear side – whether it on that of an Eagle or that of a Chief – yet be united the appreciation of good sportsmanship, dedication, and the pursuit of excellence.

We thank you that you are a God that can protect us even when the fire blazes seven times hotter. And so we pray the prayer of the one who saves us all, who taught us to pray saying…

The Rev. Dr. Jonah So, Executive Pastor, offered this prayer on Sunday, February 9, 2025.