Prayers for Creation

Friday 26th May 2023

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

Sovereign God,

set your people free from the aggression of war;

set your people free from the pains of hunger;

set your people free from the addiction of greed;

set your people free from the entrapment of consumerism;

set your people free from their blinkered incomprehension of the climate crisis.

Grant us instead the freedom of understanding that comes from your Holy, life-giving, Spirit.

Amen.

A reading from Isaiah 32:14 -17 (The Message)

The royal palace is deserted,
    the bustling city quiet as a morgue,
The emptied parks and playgrounds
    taken over by wild animals,
    delighted with their new home.

Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured
    down on us from above
And the badlands desert grows crops
    and the fertile fields become forests.
Justice will move into the badlands desert.
    Right will build a home in the fertile field.
And where there’s Right, there’ll be Peace
    and the progeny of Right: quiet lives and endless trust.
My people will live in a peaceful neighborhood—
    in safe houses, in quiet gardens.
The forest of your pride will be clear-cut,
    the city showing off your power leveled.
But you will enjoy a fortunate life,
    planting well-watered fields and gardens,
    with your farm animals grazing freely.

Pentecost Spirit,

taking breathe over creation,

drawing life out of chaos.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.