Oh Good & Gracious God,
You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Because of Jesus –
You are our God, as well.
We’ve been grafted into Your family.
We have been blessed by You,
for You are indeed Lord of all.
Lord, You know all things.
You know what is coming.
You know what is next in each of our lives –
individually and as a community.
You are updated, in touch, and completely aware of all things at all times.
You have examined us and know all about us.
You know when we sit down and when we get up.
Indeed, You know our thoughts before we think them.
You know where we go and where we lie down.
You know everything we do.
Lord, even before we say a word, it is already in Your heart.
And because You know us so well,
we can trust You with our lives -
our past, our present, and our future.
We trust You, Father.
We place our lives and our destinies into Your hands today.
Long before You laid down earth’s foundations,
You had us in mind.
You had settled on us as the focus of Your love,
to be made whole and holy by Your love.
O Lord, we love knowing that You think of us all the time.
How precious are Your thoughts about us, O God?
They cannot be numbered!
Even more than that, You have amazing plans in mind for our lives.
You saw us before we were born.
Every day of our lives was recorded in Your book.
We don’t understand how it all works in time and space,
but we are grateful that You have designed the destiny of our lives.
You establish and direct us.
You make secure our footsteps, as we take delight in You.
You wanted us to enter into the celebration
of Your lavish gift-giving
by the hand of Your beloved Son.
We are honored to be of Your masterpiece, Your handiwork,
for the good works You have prepared.
You have uniquely gifted us, placing us on earth
at this very moment in history that we might serve You with all that we are.
And so, Father, we ask that You empower us
to faithfully use our time, our energy, and our gifts to serve You,
and to partner with You in a mission
that is so much bigger than we could ever imagine or invent.
Lord, thank You for the amazing future you have before for us.
Thank You that our future is filled with hope.
Even though the days may seem dark or uncertain at times,
we praise You that this is not the end.
We may not understand it all,
but we thank You that You can use
everything we are going through right now
for good and for a future full of hope.
Thank You for constantly working in our lives.
You are effectively molding us -
strengthening, energizing, and creating in us -
the longing and the ability to fulfill Your purpose for Your kingdom.
Father, we praise You squashing even the slightest doubt in our mind
that the God who started this great work in us
will keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish
on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
Lord, You began a good work in us;
You will be faithful to complete Your destiny for our lives.
Lord, You know what You are doing.
You have it all planned out:
plans to take care of us,
not abandon us,
plans to give us the future we’ve hope for.
We commit to reading Your Word,
calling upon Your Spirit to join us in mission,
and praying for wisdom in discerning and decision-making.
Because of You, and in partnership with You,
we are ready to transform our lives, our homes, our communities, and the world.
We trust You! We are ready to begin our lives anew!
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior, who taught us to pray by saying these words:
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment