Prayer for the fourth Sunday of Lent
Luke 15:11-32

Spirit of generous grace and lavish love,
We come to you in prayer with a
sense of confession.
We confess that sometimes we are
strong-willed, self-focused, adventure-seeking,
and lack a sense of connection,
accountability, or belonging
to the larger whole.
We act out of our own interests,
and fail to see the impacts our
actions have on those around us,
both human and more-than-human.
Forgive us for times when our
actions have hurt others.
Bring us into awareness that
everything we do has ripple effects.
Remind us that we are in communion
and community with all of creation.
Thank you for your forgiveness,
your acceptance, your embrace.
Pick us up when we fall,
give us a fresh start,
make of us a new creation,
make us partners in your reconciling work:
reconciling the whole world,
all of creation, to your heart.
Amen.

-Wendy Janzen, 2019

Prayer for the third Sunday of Lent ~

O God, Water of Life,
At times our souls are dry, or even frozen,
like a stream in the wintertime.
We feel stuck and immobilized,
not sure where to turn or
how to move forward.
And so we wait.
Give us patience in our waiting.
Allow us to see its value.
Help us to just rest a while,
and let go of our fears,
let go of control.
In the stillness of our waiting,
help us to notice that
deep down, below the ice,
there is still life and movement.
We wait for the springtime sun,
the warmth that will slowly melt the ice
in our souls, our hearts,
our bodies, our relationships.
Shine your love in our lives, O God.
Bring us back to life,
and allow us to flow freely again.
You are the Source of all that is,
the Love that warms our souls,
the Water that give us life.
We praise you and give you thanks!
Amen.

​Wendy Janzen 2019

​Prayer for the second Sunday of Lent ~ 
​
O God, Mother Hen,
We open our hands and hearts to you in prayer,
and slowly let go of all of our fears and anxieties.
Life gets heavy, sometimes, God.
We carry a lot on our shoulders.
We listen to news of violence and hatred,
climate disruption and extinctions.
We breathe polluted air and are drowning in garbage.
We worry for our children and future generations.
We struggle with busyness and lack of focus.
We look for leadership, and find political folly.
In the midst of our troubles,
help us to find refuge in your shelter.
May we seek your face, your light, 
your beauty, your peace.
Lift us up from the mire, and set us secure on solid rock.
Be our mother hen, gathering us close,
protecting, nurturing, sheltering.
Amen.

~ Wendy Janzen
March 17, 2019

Prayer for the first Sunday of Lent ~
​
O God, Divine Presence, Wild Spirit,
we enter into this season of Lent
aware of of just how much
wilderness can change us.
Some of us enter with trepidation,
some, with a sense of familiarity,
some, with exhausted, empty spirits,
some, with foreboding and resistance,
some, with anticipation and hope
eager, in a strange way,
to be laid bare and
broken open by the
wilderness.
Lead us gently, by the hand,
Into this wide open, fierce wilderness,
that we might be able to trust
where this journey may take us
and how it may change us.
Amen.
​
~ Wendy Janzen
March 10, 2019