Prayer for a Pandemic 

Lord God, Lamb of God, Have Mercy on Us 

Lord God, Lamb of God, Have Mercy on Us 

Lord God, Lamb of God, Grant us Your Peace 

Lord we come to you a year into a changed world. A year that has seen loss; of jobs, of security, of community, of confidence, of health, of loved ones, and of hope. A year during which many have grown lonely, fearful, isolated, despairing, uncertain, grieved. A year that has challenged our societies, our governments, our churches, our employers, our communities, and ourselves. A year that has left us weary and spent, with no idea of what is still ahead of us. 

Lord, in all this, we remember you. We remember how you brought order out of nothingness, that you decreed and this world, with all its troubles that we now face, came to be. We remember that you are the author of creation, and the maker of every human being. Nothing is too hard for you. And nothing is too small for you. You love us with all our fear, failings, and frailties. We remember that you know our frame; you are mindful that we are dust. And yet you forgive all our iniquities and heal all our diseases. You redeem our lives from the pit and crown us with love and compassion. When we stray, you seek us out and gather us into your arms. Your promises are trustworthy and true, whatever our circumstances may be. Even though we cannot see our way through the storm, you are our faithful guide and you lead us in your path for your purposes and our ultimate good. 

Lord, we give you thanks for your presence with us this past year as we have wrestled with all the things that have beset us. You have preserved us as a community even in the isolation that has become our normal way of life. You have used us to encourage one other and strengthen the bonds of fellowship in new ways.  

We give you thanks for the technologies that have allowed us to keep in contact, to visit, to worship and meet together even when we cannot be present physically with each other. We give you thanks for those who have risen up to make things work and have put in the many hours of effort to lead in worship from afar, to present your word to us, to bring life to a service that is not just a television show but a chance to meet and pray and worship together.  

We give you thanks for those who serve our larger community in emergency and essential services and ask you to protect them as they work. We give you thanks for our government leaders who must make difficult decisions for the good of many millions of people. Grant them safety and wisdom as they work to preserve and recover our society. 

Though every week we see the limitations that remind us of what we have not been able to do in this past year, we also look forward to the time when we can be present with each other again, and hope for that day to come soon. Until then, we pray for your presence with us, your Spirit in us, and that our hope would ever be in you, not shaken by what we see around us. For from everlasting to everlasting, You are God, and we place our trust and our hope in you. 

Amen