Prayers of Church & Community, Nov. 3, 2024
Westminster Presbyterian Church
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
What can we say?
In this sacred space … some of us too tired to move, some of us bewildered by the dark winds of time and loss, some of us full of hope and peace and love …
How shall we speak to thee, O God.
What can we say?
Do we thank thee enough, O God?
Do we consider the lilies of the field, and the birds of the air?
Do we see with our eyes, or do we merely observe?
Can we see thee, O God.
The glory of the heavens, and the beauty of the earth?
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
With whatever is in our hearts?
Our fearfulness, our lusts, our greed, our smoldering resentments … it’s not always a pretty sight, O God … our heart can be full of things we do not comprehend, feelings that beckon us to darker places of the soul, to be lost within ourselves.
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
We have love in us, in all kinds of ways.
Love for friends and family … for them, dear God,
We pray.
We pray for their welfare … we pray for their health … we pray that they will live good and decent lives …
There is so much we want, O God.
Most of it good, some of it not so good.
We’re not always sure of ourselves.
Our best motives can hide all sorts of things, dear God.
All sorts of things …
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
By your Holy Spirit, move us closer to Christ …
We’ve taken steps in the right direction, dear God, but we can hesitate … and we do … the chasm of fear beckons us … we turn from the mountains of hope before … we turn from Christ beside us, we go our own way … oh how stubborn can we be, dear God, how stubborn can we be?
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
With all that we are … and here we are.
We feel something of your great love for us.
And we are grateful … we pause for a moment or two in our busy lives, too busy sometimes, to say Thank You!
And in those words of gratitude, dear God, some relief.
To count our blessings … and reach for peace.
You are faithful to us, your love for us is without season, never a turn of the tide … always and forever, the LORD of life and our Creator … the God and Father of us all, the LORD of this Table, the love of our Savior.
How shall we speak to thee, O God?
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ who taught us to pray, saying:
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 debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
