Intercessions
24th September 2023
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. (1 John 4:7a)
Heavenly Father we come before you today with our hearts full of joy and gratitude for the opportunity to be able to share today’s service with people from the various organisations with which we have the fortune to be associated. As we pray for the needs of our world this is our opportunity to give them thanks for the support that they have given to our church of Christ The King and the communities in which they serve.
Our church has worshipped in this area for many years originally in the ASCA building. We give you thanks and praise for the work that this association does in the Almancil area helping elderly people and families in need. We are able to worship in this lovely park setting because of the generosity of our local junta of Almancil and we give you thanks for the close association that we have developed over the last few years. We pray Lord that you will continue to bless both these organisations and the work they do for the citizens of this area.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
There is so much that is wasted today in our throw away society, so we thank you Lord for the work of Refood here in Almancil. The Refood Movement organizes communities to prevent food waste. As Christians we often pray for the world’s resources to be shared more fairly and this is a good example of someone’s excess being used to supply someone else’s need. We thank you Lord for being able to recycle old pairs of spectacles which instead of ending up in landfill are repurposed for use by others in countries less well off than our own. We give you thanks Lord for the companies that buy in bottle tops of all kinds and corks so that families such as Ana and Rafa have help with funding medical needs.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
We thank you Lord for the gift of music and the joy that it brings to many aspects of our lives. We pray that the 2 young men from the Nepalese community will feel blessed as they share their music with their families and friends. We look forward to a time when their music can be heard by us here in Almancil.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
In our hearts and minds Lord we pray for peace in our world. As we look around we see so many areas of war and conflict, but in all these areas there are men and women working hard to bring comfort to those caught up in these situations. We thank you Lord for the organisations, large and small, that work in these dangerous areas. We pray for their safety, and we particularly think of the small group that organise a weekly trip to take supplies from here in the Algarve to an orphanage in Ukraine. We might think we cannot make a difference but any donation, large or small, of money or goods, can make a big difference to someone in these areas, letting them know that they are not forgotten.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
We thank you Lord for the dedicated men and women of the emergency services who respond to fires, floods, road accidents and many more hazardous situations. Many are unpaid but yet are still willing to put themselves in danger to go and help those in desperate need. We have all seen reports of the terrible wildfires, earthquakes, violent storms and raging floods happening in various parts of the world and we give you thanks Lord for everyone who has responded to the emergency calls for help. Here in the Algarve the Bombeiros bear much of the responsibility of responding to emergency calls and it is our privilege today to acknowledge the part they play in saving lives in this area.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
We ask your blessing Lord on everyone who is with us here today, sharing in our service of worship and thanksgiving. Some of us may speak a different language to the person sat next to us but we can all share in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ for He is the embodiment of the love that God has for us. Help us all to share this gift of God’s love with the world.
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.