Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Faithfulness
Adapted from Psalm 92:1-5, 8, NRSV
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
(Adoration)
O Lord, Our Lord,
how excellent is Your Name in all the earth!
When we are faithless – You are faithful.
When we wander – You come after us.
When we’re alone – You draw near to us.
When we are caught up in circumstances
that seek to undo us –
You take what we see as evil and work it for good,
For in Your grace and power,
You work all things for the good of those who love You
and are called according to Your purpose.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet, while Your love is consistent, eternal and strong,
Our love is fickle, finite and easily swayed.
So, we confess today
that we have not loved You as You deserve,
with our whole selves –
heart, mind, soul, body and strength.
Nor have we loved our neighbors as we love ourselves.
We know Your good will for us, and we shun it.
We think our ways are better than Your ways,
and our wisdom wiser than Yours.
We are wrong!
So, hear now our silent confession of those things
we are too ashamed to say aloud
and too uncomfortable to share with anyone but You …
(Pause) … AMEN.
Lord our Lord – How majestic is Your name in all the earth.
The sun’s light is but a dim flicker
next to the brightness of Your glory.
Your care is far more intimate
than that of a mother sparrow hovering over her next.
Your faithfulness is even more consistent
than the rising of the sun and the passing of seasons.
Your blessings come in showers that refresh and renew us
more than the spring rains.
And You meet us wherever we are –
in a sanctuary, on a lawn,
walking a beach, working in a desk,
driving a van full of kids to a ball game,
and laying our head on the pillow a night.
For who You are and all You do on our behalf,
We thank and praise You this morning.
Thank You for love shown us by dads and moms.
Thank you for grandparents …for sisters and brothers …
for friends, and even for strangers,
who grace our lives with kindness and care.
God of grace, abundance, and joy,
who pours out your love on us every day:
When we had no hope – You came as a light in our dark time.
When we were weak – You came in power to lift us up.
When we were lost – You showed us the way.
When we were confused –
You told us the truth when others lied to us.
When we were alone –
You came to give us life, and life abundantly.
Thank you!
Because of Your faithfulness in our yesterdays,
we place our tomorrows in Your good hand.