Worship Leader Prayer, August 15
(Tom Stephens)
Gracious God, Protector, Redeemer, Sustainer,
You have heard our joys and concerns, those both shared here this morning and those unspoken that remain deep within our hearts. Guide us and comfort us as we deal with those things and events that affect our lives, that press upon our hearts.
As the lull of hot summer days draws to an end, as family reunions and vacations are fondly remembered, help us to discern your gentle, guiding hand in the many facets of our surroundings as we await the start of the school year and the added pace of more structured routines. Let us not forget that you were there when we saw the crash of waves on the beach, when we smelled rhododendron in the mountains, or experienced the sunsets and sounds of summer nights.
We know, but sometimes forget, that we are never on vacation from you, that the purpose of vacation is to bring – through you -- a healthy balance in our lives by giving time and space for ourselves as well as for others, so that we better understand your calling for us.
Heavenly Father, as the lyrics of our opening hymn so beautifully declare, we ask that you be our vision and lord of our hearts.
On this your Sabbath, you remind us to be still, but we’ve all too often forgotten what stillness is. You command us to keep the Sabbath holy, but instead we keep it busy. We long for rest, and yet we fear slowing down -- lest we catch up with ourselves and lest you catch up with us.
Lord of the Sabbath, help us to hear your call, in which alone there is true rest for our souls.
Gracious God, sometimes we see our lives as an unsolvable puzzle. Our days move along rapidly, but the people and situations we encounter seem to make no sense. We consider and weigh carefully the decisions we think we should make, but find ourselves doing something completely opposite of what we thought we had decided. Then a moment of stillness comes, and we realize that all these random strands are actually part of the beautiful tapestry that is the journey of our lives, and we are so grateful. Thank you, God, for leading us in paths we might never choose, and for making the journey of our lives a rich and varied texture.
We therefore ask you, O God, that when we have the opportunity to make choices, grant us the humility to open the windows of our souls in order for your path to become clear to us.
Finally, to those who have hunger in Pakistan and Haiti and around the world, we pray that you give them sustenance and shelter.
And to those of us who have sustenance and shelter, we pray that you give us hunger for justice and service.
Help us to discover and incorporate your love into our lives, so that we may go out and do your will –in the next hour, for all of today, and in the days and weeks ahead.
We offer this prayer, and those prayers unspoken by us, in the name of the Your Loving Son who taught us to pray, saying:
Our Father who art in Heaven …..