God we pause in our day, in our lives, in the beginning of our weeks to connect with you. In this time we thank you for our gifts, our blessings, our joys; we lift up all that we cannot influence or change, all the anxiety, the grief, our friends and family that suffer. In this time of prayer we ask you to support us with our own personal needs; our self-doubt, our struggle with discipline, our sense of being overwhelmed. Thank you for being a God that came as a human; a God who can understand and empathize with our concerns.

There are so many stories that inspire God, stories of people like Zaccheus. Help us when we too doubt; when we have already pigeon holed ourselves into a certain path or we assume we will fall short. Give us the stubborn hope of Zaccheus that Jesus brings something new. Give us the courage of Zaccheus to do our part to live into that which Jesus has invited us. Loose our tongues o God to tell the stories that form our faith; may we tell them to our children and our grandparents. May we share how we connect or question them. For what we do in here God should change how we live throughout the week; these stories change our hearts, our hopes, and our goals. Help us to live them out, telling and retelling, for it is then that they can become our story too.

We are grateful lord that you care for our own individual needs and worries and losses. We
pray for those who are suffering in mind, body or spirit. We pray for those who received
diagnoses that change the course of their life. We pray for those who grieve the loss of
someone they loved; whether it was a week or a decade ago; the grief and longing they live
with is present.

We thank you that you care for the intimate details of our lives and immense needs of the
world. Lord, continue to hold us in your love and challenge us with your justice and wisdom in the weeks to come, in Jesus name, Amen.