Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Marriage
God of grace, power and glory –
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer – and our Father:
When we’re tempted to think it’s all up to us:
to change the world,
to overcome evil,
to establish Your kingdom.
to make things right, and good and just
we’re reminded that
where our hand is weak, yours is strong,
where our wisdom fails, yours holds fast,
where our love falters, yours endures,
where our wills vacillate, yours remains true forever.
That’s why we lift our hands to you in prayer.
In the end, victory in life’s battles is Yours not ours;
rejoicing over life’s joys is more for Your work than ours.
So we celebrate and give thanks to You
for marriages begun and families that grow;
for friends that succeed, graduate and move on to new things;
for ministries that bring hope, encouragement and salvation;
for work and play, for new friends and old friends,
for having enough, and even some more,
so we can give to others in need.
Jesus, Lord—because you took on flesh,
You know what it’s like to be us.
You know what keeps us awake at night,
or yanks us out of sleep in the early morning.
You know what it’s like to have good days and bad days, too.
You know the feelings of being physically tired,
emotionally exhausted and mentally drained.
We’re grateful for a God who knows what it’s like to be us.
You know the joys of a newborn child in a family.
You care about parents who care for their children
with wisdom, love, grace and faithfulness so that
one day they’ll turn and follow You.
Give them what they need to fulfill their calling to love as You love.
You care about weddings and marriages that follow.
Bless husbands and wives with your love that bears all things,
hopes all things, endures all things, that never fails.
May our homes reflect Your love for us
and ours for You to all who see them.
You also know what happens when the wonder fades
and real life takes its toll on families and marriages—
when relationships get strained, sometimes to the breaking point,
when our own strength is not enough,
when forgiveness and reconciliation is tough.
Lord—come as the One who specializes in reconciliation,
in hope and in persistent love.
Make a way home for those who’ve wandered;
and an open door when they return.
God of Grace and God of Glory – rich in love and mercy, all powerful and everywhere present: We come to You at Your bidding, trusting in Your faithful compassion and not in our fruitless efforts to do what is good or right or loving.
We thank You always for the gift of new life in a child, the gift of new relationships in an engagement or marriage; the gift of new birth for those who hear the gospel and respond; and the gift a new heaven and a new earth there for all who know You. All that is truly new comes from You, not from us.
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.