Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Invitation
Father God – You invite us to come as a child
to his / her daddy.
You invite us to open our souls to You.
You invite us to lay our desires before You.
You are fond of us, Your children – so we come to You
humbly, lovingly, yet confidently.
We pray for your world – which You created and called “good”.
Now we see it so riddled by war and hatred,
infected with hopelessness and despair,
confused, having lost its way,
and refusing to walk in Yours.
Shine Your light in the dark corners of the earth:
Ignite your followers as lamps to show the Way.
(Prayer of Adoration)
God, Almighty – holy, gracious, truthful and loving, we’re drawn by Your invitation to enjoy Your love, an invitation to feel Your touch and hear Your voice, to taste and see that You are good!
Thank You for new life to celebrate. Thank You for meaningful work & restful Sabbaths. Thank You for encouraging relationships and Your provision for our daily needs. Thank You for all our good gifts from Your hand.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet, we’re not always so grateful. In the midst of plenty, we still want more and complain when we don’t get it. Forgive us. When You give us more than we need so we can bless those with less than they need, we hold it tight to ourselves. Forgive us.
We’ve lived our agendas this week and ignored Yours. We’ve been blind to opportunities to show Your love to others. We’ve been too busy to love You in simple ways – neglecting quiet moments for prayer or reading your love letter to us in Scripture. Forgive us. Forgive, too, that for which we’re too embarrassed to say aloud but now confess in the silence of our own hearts … . Amen.