Prayers: The Third Sunday before Lent
God of all Seasons,
we thank you for the many blessings,
great and small with which you shower us every day.
We easily recognize some of your blessings,
such as life, health, food and water, clothing and shelter
and meaningful relationships and occupations.
So many of your blessings and gifts to us are unseen,
and now we thank you for them also.
Because of our frailty as human beings,
it is so easy to become despondent when life throws its challenges at us.
Help us to think of our woes as opportunities to turn to you in faith,
because you are God, and we are not.
We were not there when you created the heavens and the earth
and the myriad wonders of the deep,
we were not there when Jesus was mocked and flogged and nailed to a cross.
But we are here now and so are you,
so Lord, help us to pray, in times of blessings and woes,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who being fashioned as a human being,
knew the joys and woes of human life. Amen.
God in heaven,
Help us to be aware of the things that inhibit our relationship with you.
Send your Spirit to heal us and so improve that relationship with you,
so that we can rejoice and leap for joy!
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
God of the Universe,
help us to show your love through our lives,
so that we can bring your light and taste
to our communities.
We ask this in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Collect 33
Almighty God,
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, among the many changes of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.