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At St Thomas' we pray regularly for people in our parish and the wider community. Each week we have 'prayer focus' and the Parish Calendar which helps us to remember everyone on a regular basis. Here is this weeks prayer focus and calendar:

If you would like someone to pray for you or with you, please email us to let us have your details.

How Do I Pray?

'Lord, teach us to pray'

That request was put to Jesus by his own disciples - which should encourage us if we feel we don't know how to pray. They needed help, and so do we, especially at troubled times such as these.

But there isn't just one right way to pray - what works well for one person may not for another. The following thoughts are offered just as guidelines which may be useful:

When we pray we come before God with the world on our hearts. We are also offering ourselves to be in some small way channels of love and peace in God's world.

God already knows what is in our hearts and minds. We can be honest with God, and say exactly how we feel, or even just sit in silence.

It might help to find a quiet space. You may want to be on your own, but you may also find that it helps to join other people, who may be gathering to pray in local churches, but also in schools, workplaces and elsewhere.

You may find that you can say just what you want to, using your own words. But many people find it helpful to use written prayers. Why not start by using the words of the Lords Prayer, or one of the other prayers on this page.

The Lords Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

One of our housegroups has been looking at the words of The Lords Prayer and putting it into their own words. Here is one of the versions for you to think about, and maybe have a go at rewriting it yourself!

THE LORD'S PRAYER - adapted by a member of the congregation

Our Father God in Heaven, your name is Holy and honoured and we praise you.

We ask that your purposes for this earth may be fulfilled so that you may reign supreme here just as you do in Heaven.

Give us every day, exactly what you think we need Lord, not what we want, because you know what is best for us and forgive us for the wrong things we think, do and say. We will, with your help, forgive those who hurt us in those same ways, just as you have commanded us to do.

It's not easy Lord, following your ways, so we pray that you will keep us from listening to the Devil and doing what he tells us to and please keep us safe from all evil attempts on us in body, mind and soul.

For you Lord, are the majestic King of Heaven and earth. You have all the power and might and glory, now and into eternity.

Let it always be so - Let it be.

Prayer taken from word on the web 3rd October 2004

http://www.word-on-the-web.co.uk

Hey God, I need to know that I can be free. Show me, please - in ways I can understand and respond to. Seems really difficult - this Christian stuff sometimes. Help me to see clearly, and to get to the foot of the cross every day. Thanks.

A Five Finger Exercise - Sue found this in a Church when she was on holiday.

With your hands together:

Look at your thumb - pray for those nearest to you, live with you or by you and ask God to make you easier to get on with

Now look at your first finger - pray for your bosses - often work atmosphere is fraught and difficult - your boss has problems and needs your prayers for such things as working differences; pray for your priest, viar or rector as she or she also works in a world of ever increasing pressure on his/her time.

Your middle finger - pray for those in great authority - they have awesome responsibility and they need our prayers.

The next finger - this finger is our weakest and so we pray for the weakest members of our community and world - for those who needextra help - not only for those who are ill but for thse who care for them.

Your little finger - pray for yourself - are your problems quite as bad as they seem? Perhaps we can find a different perspective on them through prayer?

Don't forget to add a word of thanks for the good things you have received and lastly, listen to God and hear what HE is telling you.

Notes and prayer taken from Word for Today 10th December 2004

Psalm 30 v 4-5
Sing praises to the LORD, you who belong to him; praise his holy name.
His anger lasts only a moment, but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Notes
Worship. One thing that has united and divided the church over generation after generation. Yet worship is something that remains central to our response to Almighty God. Here, David calls on the temple worshippers to "sing praises to the Lord", but actually worship is much more than that.

Don't get me wrong - sung worship is a fantastic way to express our love for God, but you just can't be doing that all day long. In Romans 12 v 2, Paul urges the Christians "to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship." You see, actually worship is about giving every aspect of our lives over to God. But there's a problem. As someone once said, "The trouble with living sacrifices is that they crawl off the altar", and this is all too often so true. We start so well. We're so determined to be different this time. Until the next time we mess it up again.

We can be extremely grateful, then, that close to worship is God's mercy: the fact that he just goes on reaching out to us again and again and again. As David puts it here, "his kindness lasts for a lifetime". Our God is so faithful, so loving, and so forgiving - as long as we decide to let him be. Perhaps this is our ultimate act of worship: to allow God to be God, to give him all of our lives (no matter what mess it's in), and to let him change us. And the best bit? God accepts us just as we are, not as we think we should be. Good news. Good news worth singing about!

Prayer
Father, thank you that you never give up on me. Forgive me that I so often fail and let you down. Be Lord of my life today, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen