Prayer for Sept. 26: A daily petition for young adults in service

# What this prayer says Sept. 26 republishes the ELCA Prayer Ventures petition for the day. Its focus is young adults who give short- and long-term service across the church and community. The prayer names service in congregational ministries, outdoor ministries, disaster-relief organizations and specific programs such as Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Urban Servant Corps and Young Adults in Global Mission.

The petition expresses thanksgiving that these young adults respond to God's call by sharing faith, compassion, their gifts and a hunger for justice. It functions as a simple, focused invitation to include this group in daily intercession.

# Why this matters for readers If you lead a congregation, coordinate volunteers, mentor young adults, or pray for mission partners, this petition gives a clear subject for corporate or personal prayer. It identifies the population (young adult volunteers), the settings where they serve, and the spiritual qualities to give thanks for—faith, compassion, gifts and pursuit of justice.

That combination makes the petition useful whether you want a brief liturgical element, a sermon anchor, or a memorial intention in a prayer list.

# Practical uses

• Add the petition to morning or evening prayer services when your congregation is marking volunteer ministries or a commissioning.
• Use the wording as a spoken or written prayer at orientation, send-off, or welcome events for volunteers and young adults in service programs.

# Where to find the full resource Living Lutheran's Sept. 26 post points readers to the ELCA's Prayer Ventures monthly PDF. That PDF collects daily petitions for the month and is intended as a guide for personal and congregational prayer. The Living Lutheran page offers this daily petition within its regular Prayer Ventures series.

# Related items to consider

• If your congregation hosts or sponsors short-term or long-term young adult service, consider linking the petition to concrete ways people can support those volunteers (meals, housing, care packages, spiritual mentoring).
• Use the petition as a prompt to invite volunteers to share brief reflections at a worship service so the congregation learns specific names, places and needs behind the general prayer.

# Bottom line The Sept. 26 Prayer Ventures item is short and specific: it asks congregations and individuals to pray for young adults serving in a range of ministries, thanks God for how they serve, and points readers to the monthly Prayer Ventures PDF for more daily petitions. It's easy to integrate into worship, communications, or volunteer support actions.

The post appeared on Living Lutheran, authored by Andrea Kulik and published Sept. 26, 2026. The item is part of the site's regular Prayer Ventures series of daily petitions.