Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Conflict
Heavenly Father:
You know all about us – our weakness, our failing, our sin;
And you still love us enough to give your Son to redeem us.
Hear the cries of our hearts today.
There’s someone for whom it was hard to get out of bed today.
They’re tired, discouraged or stressed out.
It was an effort just to get here.
Give them hope today:
a light in the darkness, a whisper in the silence.
There’s one for whom everything they touch comes apart:
She’s having a hard time holding the marriage together;
His project at work is going poorly;
There’s a divide between him and his son,
between her and her daughter;
Everything he touches turns to sawdust;
And no matter what she does, she can’t get well.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Come and redeem the relationship.
Take the lessons learned in failure and build a new life.
Use the pain to create compassion.
Create something delightful out of what feels like disaster.
Restore what the devil has stolen;
turn what was meant for evil to good.
We pray on behalf of those who can’t pray for themselves.
We pray for those afflicted in body or soul, who need your healing.
Put your hand on them.
Touch a mind that’s tormented;
a body that’s ill or injured. a heart that’s broken.
Restore them all.
God, our heavenly Father
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise and thank you today and always!
You are worthy of our praise
simply for who You are:
You are good and You are strong,
You are gracious, just and loving.
As we confront this world that lacks hope,
a world caught up in war, hunger, poverty and
spiritual emptiness,
in Your great mercy You freely give us a new birth
into the living hope
through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
There is no darkness so great
that your light is not greater still.
There is not conflict so disruptive
that your peace cannot quell it.
There is no death so final,
that your resurrection life
cannot break its icy grip. And, …
There is no thief so sneaky or strong
that he can steal the inheritance you give
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for us.
Therefore, we rightly worship You!
However, we are quick to trust
our strength more than yours,
our wisdom more than yours,
our abilities more than yours,
our resources more than yours.
our love more than yours.
And our misplaced trust in ourselves
has led us into sin.