Here’s a prayer of intercession and commitment from the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Prayer: Risen and Ascended Lord
We worship you as the
Lord, risen and ascended.
As we pray for our
broken world,
we want to ask you
when you will fix everything,
when your kingdom
will come,
when justice will be
restored,
and you tell us to
wait;
to wait upon you, to
attend to you.
But people are hungry
now, thirsty now,
people lose their
lives in our world now,
and you tell us to wait.
But for how long?
Lord Jesus, risen and
ascended,
show us where you are
now,
to join you in what
you are doing now.
Open our eyes again,
to attend to you now,
and join you in what
you are already doing.
But people suffer
from war now.
And we’re pretty sure
we know what needs to be done,
what justice must
look like,
and still you tell us
to wait;
to attend to you, to
see what you are doing –
to catch Your Spirit.
Help us to know what
you are doing, and to join you.
And people are
suffering environmental breakdown now.
People’s lives and
livelihoods are being wrecked now.
Western greed for
biofuel drives poor families from their lands now –
and we want you to
act, and act now.
And you tell us to
wait.
To wait upon you,
and to see who you
are and
what you are doing,
and the miracles you are working.
Help us not to fix
the world,
but to wait on you
and so see the world transformed.
Lord, we long for
justice, for you to act.
By your Spirit, show
us what you are doing already,
ahead of us, despite
us, for us.
Forgive our arrogance
and help us to listen.
Fill us with your
Spirit, Risen and Ascended one,
restore your kingdom
in our lives,
that we might know
you more,
trust you more,
serve you more fully.
Fill us with your
Spirit that we might wait for you,
and in so doing, see
you at work,
and find ourselves
drawn in, to the glory of your name,
Risen and Ascended
Lord. Amen.
~
from the Baptist Union of Great Britain website.
http://www.baptist.org.uk/
