Prayer is our practice of connection with God’s love, and is the most deeply transformative act of change for us individually and collectively.
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Lord, Renew our spirits and cleanse our hearts.
Renew our minds and transform our lives.
Renew our cities and rebuild our ruins.
Renew our world, in your name we pray, Amen.
Inspired by the Bible passage: They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. - Isaiah 61:4
Watch this moving and inspirational video calling us to pray from TEAR Australia’s sister organisation, Tearfund UK.
Learn more about TEAR’s work with the First Peoples of Australia.
The following prayer is by the National and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (www.ncca.org.au/natsiec) Used with permission.
Almighty and loving God, you who created all people in your image,
Lead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.
You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
We place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.
We live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones, through the separation of children from their families.
We are sorry and ask Your forgiveness.
Touch the hearts of the broken, homeless and inflicted and heal their spirits.
In your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable.
Lord, you are our hope.
Amen
Liturgy has a powerful role in enabling the Christian body to cry out to God in a united voice. In this liturgy, purpose-written by Alison Sampson for TEAR Australia, we invite you and your church to engage with God’s vision for equality.
View TEAR's resources for churches.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
We come, bearing identities
which shape our lives.
Some of us have access to great privilege;
some of us never get a chance.
Some of us have every aspect of life
affirmed by the state;
some of us must fight
for every right and recognition.
Some of us are paid princely sums;
some of us struggle to make ends meet.
Some of us are honoured simply for being alive;
some of us are shunned no matter what we do.
In Christ, all of us are one.
Lord, form us into your body.
Make us your holy people,
known not for our differences,
nor for inequality,
but only for the ways
we love and serve one another,
the wider world, and You. Amen.
Isaiah 56:1, 65:17-25
Matthew 25:31-46
1 John 3:16-18
God of justice, through the prophet Micah,
you tell us how to live:
to act justly,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with You.
We confess that we have sinned.
You create the earth and call it good,
but we pump carbon into the air
and toxins into the rivers,
and drive countless species to extinction:
Lord, have mercy.
You form us
in the infinite variety and beauty of Your image,
but we use differences to discriminate,
and privilege some at the expense of many:
Lord, have mercy.
You establish an economy of work and rest,
but we participate in an economy
of ceaseless toil and endless consumption:
Lord, have mercy.
You entrust us with great power and freedom,
but we use them only to benefit ourselves
and do not seek your ways:
Lord, have mercy.
Loving God, take our hearts of stone
and replace them with hearts of flesh;
renew our spirits with your spirit,
and make your ways our ways. Amen.
God our Creator,
you make every person in your image;
you prepare a feast for all peoples.
Open our eyes to your spark in each person,
and guide us as we work towards your culture,
shaping a future
where all are invited to the feast.
Jesus our Redeemer,
you came not to be served, but to serve;
you took the violence of the world
on your own body,
and kept on loving through death and beyond.
Teach us to serve one another
humbly, freely, and joyfully,
and to love all the world as a friend.
Holy Spirit our Sustainer,
you make our every breath a prayer.
Grant us persistence and patience,
creativity and courage,
and the wisdom of the long view,
as we turn our prayers into action,
and our lives into songs of praise. Amen.
- By Alison Sampson.
Alison Sampson is the pastor to Sanctuary Warrnambool, a new faith community with Baptist connections in regional Victoria.
