God calls all of us, whoever we are and in whatever state of grace or disgrace we find ourselves, to worship Him. When we do so, we are refreshed, renewed, and restored to a proper relationship with God. We gather in gratitude to God for His continuous and unfailing love of us, asking Him to inspire us to seek to become new beings by His spirit working within us. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We confess before Thee, O God, that although most of us are not too busy, sometimes we deceive ourselves into thinking we are too busy properly to take time to bow before Thee in prayer. We imagine that we have things to do which take us away from Thee, little realizing that there would be nothing at all to do if Thou hadst not created us. We suppose that we will take time to pray when we have time to pray, but that until then, we shall go on with whatever it that occupies our lives. Forgive us for being too much consumed by daily concerns and too little consumed by eternal concerns.
We thank Thee for all the gifts in life which give it richness and meaning and texture: for a baby’s smile, a dog’s unconditional love, a comedian’s humor, a poet’s insight, a sunset’s splendor, a spouse’s forbearance, a doctor’s knowledge, and for the myriad other blessings, large and small, which make life exciting and pleasant and meaningful. And as we feel blessed by many things, help us to become a blessing to others by sharing the plenty we have with others less fortunate than we are.
As a third week of war and great uncertainty disrupts the lives of everyone in Gaza and Israel, we pray once again for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians who seek safety somewhere, and there is none to be found. We pray for the Israeli soldiers who are ordered to seek out and obliterate the perpetrators of this new conflict, risking their lives on behalf of their fellow citizens while trying to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians who have not attacked them. Grant Thy blessings to people who are now enveloped by the fog of war. Give to us peace in our time, O Lord. We pray in the name of Jesus, the prince of peace, and in whose memory we pray as he taught us, saying, Our Father….