“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”
Gracious God, as we come to the end of a week of reflections upon Hope, we remind ourselves of the Hope You promise us, the promise of eternal life in Your presence where nothing can separate us from Your love. Lord God, as we find ourselves in this time of challenge and insecurity, help us to have the faith to continue to believe and trust in Your promise. Creator God, there are many in our communities who for different reasons do not feel loved, valued or cared for. Help us to reach out the hand of friendship and compassion to those who need. So too Lord, give us the courage, the conviction and the creativity to let them know that You, our almighty creator God, loves them too. Give us the opportunity and enthusiasm to tell people about the birth of Your Son and how on the night that He was born, Love came into our world, Love was born. In the name of Jesus, the child in the manger, we pray, Amen.

“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”
Gracious God, on this first Thursday in Advent, as we reflect upon the hope of the birth of Jesus, we give thanks for the news of the vaccine, bringing a sense of real hope for the future, into our communities. We give thanks and pray for all those involved with this amazing breakthrough, for their continuing work, and for the huge and challenging process of setting up a vaccination programme. As we wait for this process to begin, we rejoice in this hope for things to come, but so too we pray for those known to us who will face their own very real challenges today; those dealing with the grief of loved ones, those undergoing treatments for health issues and those awaiting diagnosis. As we pin our hopes on a vaccine that will heal our nation, we lift before You all those in need of the touch of Your healing today, all those in need of Your love, Your compassion and the assurance of Your presence with them. In a moment of quiet we place those known personally to us, into Your hands.
Lord God, at this pivotal time for our nation, we ask for the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit upon our land, and we pray too for the needs of all nations seeking healing from the virus. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.