God, you taught us to love by first loving us and today as we join together in prayer-we will pray for others.
God,we pray for your children we hear about on the news. We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for those living in the public eye-our elected officials, famous people, others who fascinate us. We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for your children living around the world. People we will never meet. We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for our classmates and colleagues. They are the people we see regularly. Some we know well and others we don’t. We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for your children who we overlook. People who are in prison or struggling to find a job after being released. People who are underemployed or homeless. People who seek safety and security after being denied it. We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for our neighbors. They are the ones who live closest to us. We wave as we pass by. We may even say hi over the fence. Do we invite them into our home? We never know their whole story but you do.
God, we pray for our friends and family. These are the people we know the best. We pray that our relationships are ones of honesty, love, and compassion. And yet, we never know their whole story but you do.
God, we want to live out these words from 1 John 4:11, “Beloved, since God loves us so much, we also ought to love one another.” So open our eyes to your children today. Open our hearts to your children reaching out to us today. For your love, Gracious God, we give you thanks. Amen.