Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on New Life
O God, our resurrection and life, the promise of Your new life in Christ is like a breath of fresh air in a dry and thirsty land. We have gathered as believers, and as those who are honestly seeking the truth. Guide our worship this hour.
O God who makes all things new, speak to us as whole people today. May Your truth touch not just our intellects, but also our deeper yearnings of heart and soul. We bring with us our daily concerns, as well as our more eternal questions. May Your new creation in us shed light upon our everyday walk.
O God who fed the multitudes with but a few loaves and some fish, feed us now with the abundance of what You freely offer, that we might overflow with Your goodness right where we live. All this we pray in the name of, and because of, Jesus our Christ. Amen.
Rev. Linda Smallwood, My Redeemer Lives Blog.
God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
God of hope, of new life—
All our times are in Your hands.
We thanks and praise You,
for you are the Lord of our yesterdays,
our todays and our tomorrows.
In You, the old is redeemed and
everything has become new!
Knowing that You are good and strong,
loving, wise and faithful;
we trust you with all that’s on our hearts today—
from that which brings us to tears in laughter,
to that which causes us to weep in sorrow.
Loving God, we thank You
for grace you’ve shone us this week,
for prayers to which you’ve said “yes”
and those to which you’ve said, “No—I have a better idea.”
Father: today we celebrate your gift.
At creation you gave us the gift of life;
Through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus,
you gave us new life;
At his ascension, we gained a mediator
who prays for us every day.
But today we celebrate another gift:
the gift of your presence with us all the time and everywhere;
the gift of your life living in us and through us;
the gift of Your self in the Holy Spirit come to us –
to enable us to live the way you call us to live,
to equip us to serve you as you call us to serve,
and shape us more and more in to the image of Jesus.
THANK YOU for the gift of you.
And may others know the same gift of your Spirit.
God of Wonder and Majesty – You are the Alpha and Omega,
the Beginning and End
… our past, present and future.
You’ve come in the past …
You’re here with us now …
and You’ll come again in power and glory.
Because You are faithful and true in all times and places
we pray confidently knowing You hear us.
We pray with thanks for new lives,
new families and new marriages –
and for all the ways You bring new people
and new experiences into our lives.
We ask for faith to embrace Your new gifts,
and wisdom to know what to do with them
for Your glory and our joy.
(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.