Friday 1st January.
At the beginning of the year, we pray that we
will remain faithful to you during the coming
12 months; and only do your will as we live our
lives.
Saturday 2nd January
Give strength and support to the organisers
and volunteers of the Ipswich Winter Night
Shelter. Give comfort to the guests and let
them know that they are welcome at St.
Margaret’s and worthy of your love.
Friday 8th January
Let us pray for all who are chronically ill, and
for the doctors, nurses, and family members
who care for them.
Saturday 9th January
We give thanks for the many gifts with which
we are each blessed. Help us to use them
wisely and for your purpose.
Sunday 3rd January
Lord, keep safe all those travelling home from
Christmas festivities.
Sunday 10th January
In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into
his marvelous light. As we remember Christ's
baptism, we pray for all those who are to be
baptised in St Margaret's during this year,
and for their parents and Godparents.
Monday 4th January
Loving Father, guide and support all the staff
and pupils of St. Margaret's primary School as
they resume their school year.
Monday 11th January
Oh God the hope of the world, understand
my pain, be part of my pleasure, and point
me towards the very best. Amen.
Tuesday 5th January
You care for us, Lord. Help us, in turn, to
always care for those in need around our
neighbourhood.
Tuesday 12th January
Let us pray for those who dedicate their lives
to the care of the elderly and infirm.
Wednesday 6th January
We pray for those trying to rebuild their lives
from any devastating situation. Lord, give them
your strength and perseverance to carry on.
Thursday 7th January
Give thanks for the emergency services,
especially during these winter months when
they are called upon to deal with icy accidents
and falls.
Wednesday 13th January
Lord God, be the punctuation that makes me
pause before destructive phrases come
tumbling out. Amen.
Thursday 14th January
Lord God of all eternity, show me what there
is to be happy about in my life at this very
moment. Help me to be better at counting
my blessings.
Friday 15th January
Dear Lord, we pray for everything that goes on
in our church, the challenges the Church faces
and how through prayer the right decisions
become clear to us all.
Saturday 16th January
God of peace, release me from the need to
have the last word, the best deal, the winning
argument. Instead give me back the freedom of
friendship. And then let me call you father.
Sunday 17th January
Lord God, it is an honour that I share with Jesus
the cartilage, corpuscles and marrow of life.
Help me to look at my body, botched and
blotched, and be glad that you put me in it.
Monday 18th January
Spend some time lifting up to God in prayer
those who you know need God’s healing
power.
Tuesday 19th January
Let us pray for all refugees, and especially for
families with young children.
Wednesday 20th January
Lord God, fill my whole being with love. Not
the slushy kind or the greedy kind, but the kind
that will help people I know be sure that their
lives are worth living.
Thursday 21st January
God of every living thing, I don’t ask you to blot
out everything that makes me anxious. But I do
ask for reassurance that you are very close to
me in this worrisome world.
Friday 22nd January
Lord Jesus, here are the anxieties I have been
carrying about events in my life. Please take
them. I don’t want them back.
Friday 29th January
Creation. It’s all so beautiful. Thank you.
Sunday 24th January
Tomorrow is Burns Night. We pray for the
people of Scotland and give thanks for the
beauty of poetry and how it enriches us
Saturday 30th January
Lord God, may we learn to recognise when
we enslave ourselves through seductive
earthly goals such as overwork, fashion,
status, possessions and other forms of fear.
May we instead begin to trust the
extraordinary but real power of your love,
even though it looks like weakness in our
world, and learn to empty ourselves of all
that gets in the way of this love. Through
Jesus Christ, Amen.
Monday 25th January
Father God, on this day let us remember St.
Paul, who through your Devine intervention
turned away from a life of judging others and
used his life to spread your word. May he be
an inspiration to us in our daily lives.
Sunday 31st January
As many of us book and look forward to
summer holidays, we give thanks for the
numerous options that are available; and the
opportunities for marveling at your creation,
Lord.
Saturday 23rd January
Dear Lord, we pray that you will bring comfort
to those who are mourning the lost of loved
ones.
Tuesday 26th January
Let us pray for those who are persecuted
because of their faith.
Wednesday 27th January
Eternal God, grant me a glimpse beyond the
darkness to the morning, a glimpse beyond the
cold to the spring, a glimpse beyond the tomb
to the resurrection, and let me know what it
means to be just happy.
Thursday 28th January
Lord God, I want to take a stand on issues that
please you, but I don’t want to put my foot in
it. Lead me and embolden me, I pray.
St Margaret’s
Prayer Diary
January 2016
Compiled by members of
Kate Lennard-Jones’ Homegroup