God of all healing and comfort, be with Sarah Hall, Fred Accos, Margaret Murdach, Cooper and his family,Regina Zepernick, and all those we hold in our hearts today. Pray for those in any need or trouble.

Please call the church office at 377-0106 to have someone added to the prayer chain or to have someone added to the weekly prayer cycle.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6-7]

"Prayer issues from that threshold where soul and life interflow; it is the conversation between desire and reality. The inner life of each person is prayer that commences in the first stir in the womb and ends with the last breath before returning to the invisible world." ~John O'Donohue

"To pray, I think, does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God. All our actions must have their origin in prayer. Praying is not an isolated activity; it takes place in the midst of all things and affairs that keep us active. In prayer a "self-centered monologue" becomes a "God-centered dialogue." ~Ronald Rolheiser

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." ~Karl Barth

"When I pray coincidences happen - when I don't pray they don't." ~William Temple

Prayer is more than just a ritual we use at meals or at bedtimes or at church. Prayer is the air that Christians breathe, the water we swim in. Prayer can be the reading of a pre-composed paragraph or a simple and silent thought, sent on its way to God our Father. Sometimes prayer comes easily, sometimes it takes hard work. God promises in the bible that He hears every prayer, and often He answers them; sometimes, however, they may be answered in ways we do not expect, or not answered at all. In such times, when it seems that God does not hear us, He is often teaching us to persevere, or inviting us to more closely examine our own motives for our requests, so that we can conform them as much as possible to what God wants for us. Whether or not our prayers receive immediate answer, they are always an occasion to turn our eyes upon God and look for God's Presence. The more we do this, the closer we grow to God, and the more we learn to love.