Prayers for April
Sharing God’s love with our community
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24
This month please pray for the residents of Tipton Main Street, Chrystel Close and Barton Paddocks.
We pray for the people of Myanmar and Thailand following last month’s devastating earthquake. We ask for miracles, that people may yet be found alive in the rubble, God’s comfort for those who grieve, and swift humanitarian aid for the many made homeless.
Almighty God, we pray your continued blessing on our Lenten devotions, both private and corporate, that we may find a new intimacy with you. Give us a fresh understanding of your will for our lives, not least through the remaining sessions of our Lent Course (Prayer Course II).
Following last month’s Annual Church Meeting please hold in prayer those who have been appointed to serve as churchwardens and PCC members – and give thanks for those stepping down having served our church so faithfully. Continue to pray for the challenges we face – in particular the future of the Venn Ottery church building.
4th April – We pray for the children and staff of our village school as they break up for their Easter holiday – may they be refreshed by the time away. We also pray for all young people at school, college and university busy preparing for exams in the summer term. May God help them and their families to cope with the stress that this brings.
7th April – On World Health Day we pray that the Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures campaign will succeed in urging governments to improve maternal and newborn health and women’s health in general.
11th April – On World Parkinson’s Day, we pray for all those living with Parkinson’s, and for their families and friends. We give thanks for organisations who offer support and are researching to find a cure.
13th April – Palm Sunday – True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross, which is the path of glory.
17th April – Maundy Thursday – God our Father, you have invited us to share in the supper which your Son gave to his Church to proclaim his death until he comes: may he nourish us by his presence, and unite us in his love.
18th April – Good Friday – Almighty Father, look with mercy on this your family for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed and given up into the hands of sinners and to suffer death upon the cross; who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
19th April – We pray God’s blessing on our village’s Easter Egg-Stravaganza on the playing field, including a time of worship led by Mark.
19th April – Easter Eve – In the depths of our isolation we cry to you, Lord God: give light to our darkness and bring us out of the prison of our despair; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
20th April – Easter Day – Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity.
Lord God, whose Son, Jesus Christ, understood people’s fear and pain before they spoke of them, we pray for those who are suffering in body, mind, heart or spirit; surround the frightened with your tenderness; give strength to those in pain; hold the weak in your arms of love, and give hope and patience to those who are recovering. We continue to pray for Alan, Lizzi and Gilly.
22nd April – Creator God, on this World Earth Day, we thank you for the world of wonder and beauty that you made for us. Help us to care deeply for the world, and help us to act with courage for a sustainable future and to protect all life, to your praise and glory.
23rd April – St George’s Day – God of hosts, who so kindled the flame of love in the heart of your servant George that he bore witness to the risen Lord by his life and by his death: give us the same faith and power of love
that we who rejoice in his triumphs may come to share with him the fullness of the resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
24th-30th April – This year World Immunisation Week celebrates the delivery of essential vaccines over the past 50 years saving 154 million lives. We pray for new advances that will save even more lives by eliminating persistent infections and countering new health threats and that one day they may consign deadly diseases to history.
“Time spent in prayer is never wasted.” Francis Fenelon