Prayers for March
Sharing God’s love with our community
“…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
Ephesians 6:18
This month please pray for the residents of The Orchard, Mallocks Close, Barton Orchard and Barton Rise.
3rd March – On World Wildlife Day we give thanks for the wonder of God’s creation and pray for the protection and preservation of all earth’s creatures for both their and our benefit.
3rd – 7th March – Keswick Bible Convention at Sidmouth – Lord God, we pray your blessing on this Annual Bible Week and on the speakers, Derek Burnside and Krish Kandiah. May all who come find refreshment in your Word, joy in worshipping together and be built up in their faith.
Living Hope is the Church of England’s theme for Lent this year with daily reflections available on the Everyday Faith app. Almighty God, by the prayer and discipline of Lent may we enter into the mystery of Christ’s sufferings, and by following in his Way come to share in his glory.
5th March – Ash Wednesday – Holy God, our lives are laid open before you: rescue us from the chaos of sin and through the death of your Son bring us healing and make us whole in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
7th March – World Day of Prayer this year is led by the Christian women of the Cook Islands on the theme ‘I made you wonderful’ taken from Psalm 139:14. Please join in this global wave of prayer for peace and reflect on the Church’s role in bringing it to pass.
8th March – On International Women’s Day we pray for a gender equal world, free of bias, stereotypes, discrimination and abuse. One that is diverse, equitable, inclusive and safe, where difference is valued and celebrated, with women empowered to live as God has made them.
9th March – On the National COVID-19 Day of Reflection we remember in prayer those who lost their lives and stand together with those who are still grieving and those still living with the aftereffects.
10th March – Pray for our Deanery Synod as it meets in Ottery St Mary and for the Archdeacon of Exeter, Ven. Andrew Beane, as he tells us what a priest does. Pray too for our reps, Becky and David Bowyer.
Thursdays in Lent from 13th March – Pray for those attending our Lent Course, which this year is the Prayer Course II, as they explore the issue of unanswered prayer in the context of Holy Week.
Loving Lord, we lift to You those known to us who are suffering in body, mind, heart and spirit. Grant wisdom to all seeking to bring relief, surround those in need with support and encouragement, and intervene, we pray, with the healing, strength and peace Your Holy Spirit alone can bring. At this time we pray this especially for Alan, Lizzi, Gilly and also Pope Francis.
22nd March – The focus for this year’s World Water Day is on saving our glaciers – pray for the impact of climate change on earth’s ice and the raising of sea levels that meltwater will inevitably bring.
22nd March – Earth Hour, marked at 8.30pm on this day, is a time to switch off our lights in symbolic support for our planet and raise aware-ness of the environmental issues that affect it. May our contribution be to pray for the future of our planet and those affected by our choices.
24th-30th March – In Debt Awareness Week pray for those experiencing shame and stigma for being in debt – may they get the support and understanding they need to get through the cost of living crisis.
25th March – The Annunciation of our Lord – O Lord, pour your grace into our hearts we pray, that as we have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought to the glory of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
30th March – Mothering Sunday – Loving God, we thank you for the women who have mothered us, nurtured us, comforted us, cherished us and believed in us throughout our lives. Show us how to cultivate the good fruit they helped produce in us, so that their legacy will carry on. Amen.
31st March – Pray for our Annual Church Meeting using this prayer that Mark has written for us: Lord, you have raised up apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip your people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. In your church today, raise up men and women of faith to be churchwardens, safeguarding representatives and other PCC officers, that we may be built up in Christ. Amen.
“Prayer opens the heart to God, and it is the means by which the soul, though empty, is filled by God.” John Buchan