PASTORAL PRAYER
Almighty and Everlasting God,
Good and Gracious God,
There was a heaviness to the week that overshadowed the joy.
There was a darkness to the days that impeded the light.
There was a burden to the hours that multiplied our weariness.
The storm of anxiety, the storm of despair, the storm of doubt continued to brew.
But You are the God who identifies with every discouragement,
every agony, every broken part of us.
You lift our spirits, even when we are crushed,
when we despair, when we are so frustrated and tired,
discouraged and depleted.
You promise us life and a great, wild, ridiculous hope.
We have much to learn from You, Jesus,
about traveling gracefully through this storm called life.
You specialize in the impossibilities --
You walked on water,
You heal the sick,
You forgive sins,
You set the captive free,
You set us free from our captivities.
Yet… We are often people with doubts
when You call us to be people of faith.
We see You calm storms, heal illness, even restore life,
yet we still struggle to trust You.
You send us out,
but we want to stay home.
You provide partners for the journey,
but we want to go it alone.
You give us authority over evil,
but we don’t know how to use it.
You say we need only the clothes on our back and a staff in our hand,
but we… we make sure our phones are charged and our GPS is on.
You say that if people are unkind,
we should simply shake the dust off of our feet,
but we would rather get mad and post about it on Facebook.
Lord, we want to be obedient!
We want to believe!
Help our unbelief!
Gift us with faith, small as a mustard seed,
so that we can be your faithful people,
believing in Your power to save,
believing in Your power to reign supreme,
believing that we can share this Good News
with everyone we meet.
When we grow weary,
lead us back to Your presence.
When our bodies fail,
let us feel Your touch.
When we’re desperate for You,
wrap us in Your love.
You are our help and our comfort,
our strength when we fall down.
You are the God who sees past the present,
and we belong to You.
Let the knowing of You and Your goodness bring us peace,
especially when our minds rally against us
and fixate on the “what ifs”.
Calm our timid hearts and bring rest to the weary places.
Help us to remember Your promise
that You are with us even to the end.
Even on the weary days, especially on the weary ones,
You are our God.
Storms will come, Lord. We know they will.
But when they do, may we filter them
through Your Almighty promises.
Your promises are unbreakable.
Make our hope unshakeable.
May Your love and strength be our anchor.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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