Here is an outline for a prayer of intercession, based on Transfiguration Sunday themes. It comes from World in Prayer.
Prayer of Intercession
for Transfiguration Sunday
(based on Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-9,
Luke 9:28-36, 2 Peter 1:16-18)
It is a strange time of year, O God.
We linger between the seasons of Epiphany and Lent.
We are between the joy of your appearing
and the horror of your undoing
at the hands of those who would not or could not
embrace your way of life.
Perhaps we � like Peter, James, and John �
wait for your appearing in dazzling light and unmistakable clarity:
We are in need of a glimpse of Jesus
who is the way through the mix and mess of this life.
Our planet is fragile and so is the life that claims it as home.
We wonder how long we can simply take what we want
with little regard for what it costs your creation.
We wonder if the planet is crying out for relief
in the floods that are really tears;
the earthquakes that try and shake our consciousness;
the gales that blow sighs, too deep for words.
Renew and restore a vision of care for your creation.
Remind us to take what we need and no more.
Encourage us in a counter-cultural faithfulness
that is not about consumerism.
Spur us with new insight and deeper understanding
that we may live mindfully each day,
conscious of the impact of we do and fail to do.
We pray for the people of the world whose names we will never know,
whose faces flash across the TV screen in anonymity born of numbers;
those who bear the weight of earth's pain:
(insert specific prayer requests as appropriate)
We are in need of a glimpse of Jesus who is the truth �
the truth that love is stronger than hate;
peace is possible;
and life can emerge even in the midst of devastation.
We pray for that truth to be known:
(insert specific prayer requests as appropriate)
We are in need of a glimpse of Jesus who is the life;
inviting us to follow in his footsteps
as he trod the way of love and justice,
inviting us to follow him in prayer
as he lived out his faith
and made You known.
We give thanks for the good news that unfolds in the world
as people dream your dreams, follow your nudging,
and seek you in the faces they meet each day.
Perhaps, O God, it is the only Transfiguration we really need.
For all those who are quiet witness to your love and way of life,
we give thanks, O God.
(insert specific prayer requests as appropriate)
Draw us to the rhythm of Lent as it unfolds in our midst;
a sacred invitation to explore the corners of our soul.
Open us to your light that we might see ourselves clearly,
with all our fears and faults and faith,
with all our desires and dreams and duties.
Help us to see our journey as a place of your appearing �
that like Peter, James, and John
we may come down from the mountain
and set one foot in front of the other
in your name and for your sake. Amen.
~ from World in Prayer, a ministry of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Lodi, California, USA. http://www.worldinprayer.org/
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