These prompts are provided for worship leaders as they prepare the prayers of intercession for weekly worship. The prompts are prepared by several leaders in the ELCA and reflect current world and national events. You are encouraged to adapt and add other concerns for your local context, including staying informed of events and concerns in your synod.
Intercession prompts:
For those who are tending, harvesting and sharing seasonal produce…
For communities in eastern Kentucky impacted by flooding…
For communities in the western United States experiencing expanding wildfires…
For collective engagement in the ELCA’s Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative
For those who are experiencing insomnia…
For students, teachers, and school workers preparing for the start of the academic year…
For those who are gathering for the Churchwide Assembly…
Praying for the Churchwide Assembly
As the ELCA prepares for Churchwide Assembly in August, prayer petitions are available that may be incorporated into worship six weeks prior and one week following the assembly. Find the full list of petitions here.
Petition for August 7:
Let us pray for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and its members who gather this week in its Churchwide Assembly. Inspire the celebration of God’s varied works throughout the church. Instill your peace in the midst of the work you have called us to and the deliberations that will take place. Shape the work of the church according to your will for the whole world.
Other notable events and observances:
Aug 8: Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Aug 10: Lawrence, deacon, martyr
Aug 11: Clare, Abbess of San Damiano
Aug 13: Florence Nightingale, renewer of society
Aug 13: Clara Maas, renewer of society
Suggested hymns & prayers:
A prayer for gifts of agriculture (ELW p. 78)
God, our creator, you have ordered seedtime and harvest, sunshine and rain. Give to all who work the land fair compensation for the work of their hands. Grant that the people of this and every nation may give thanks to you for food, drink, and all that sustains life; may use with care the land and water from which these good things come; and may honor the laborers who produce them; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A prayer for health care providers (ELW p. 85)
Merciful God, your healing power is everywhere about us. Strengthen those who work among the sick; give them courage and confidence in all they do. Encourage them when their efforts seem futile or when death prevails. Increase their trust in your power even to overcome death and pain and crying. May they be thankful for every sign of health you give, and humble before the mystery of your healing grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A prayer for the mission of the church (ELW p. 75)
Draw your church together, O God, into one great company of disciples, together following our teacher Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving in Christ’s mission to the world, and together witnessing to your love wherever you will send us; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ELW = Evangelical Lutheran Worship
ACS = All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship Supplement
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Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72–87) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46–55), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at sundaysandseasons.com.
Follow this link to access resources to assist worshiping communities as they respond to the crisis in Eastern Europe. Several prayers are provided that could be used during the prayers of intercession or at other times, in public worship or for devotional use at home or in other settings.
All Creation Sings includes several resources for lament including “Lamenting Gun Violence” (Leaders Edition, p. 107) and “Service after a Violent Event” (Pew Edition p. 64-66, Leaders p. 110-113) as well as several collect prayers. This content is also available on SundaysandSeasons.com in the Library.
Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession
Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published in-print and online by Augsburg Fortress.
Prayer Ventures, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.
