Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on storms

Inspired by Psalm 27

All: Oh Lord, my Light, my Life, my Joy, my Peace—with you I find refuge from danger, shelter from the storms in my life. You are good and you do good. You are the Strength of my life, and I look to you for power. On this Lord’s Day, as we worship you in spirit and in truth, there is one thing that we seek: You. We want to worship You. We want to tell You and each other how great and mighty and gentle and kind You have been to us. We gaze upon Your beauty, not because our eyes are worthy to behold You; we gaze upon Your beauty, not because we are sinless like You; no, we gaze upon Your beauty because You have called us, washed away our sins through the blood of Christ, and You have raised us with Him to new life through His resurrection. Since You have been so gracious to us, we do not doubt that You will bring us safely home into the arms of our Savior, in whose name we pray, Amen. 

Submitted by Dustin Ray

O God, You amaze us! Summer is the time You designed for thunderstorms. We understand the science because You gave human beings wisdom and curiosity, and the ability to try to figure things out. We understand that thunder happens when lightning suddenly heats the air and it explodes. But why did You make the lightning so hot? And why did You make the thunder so loud? Are either necessary? Or did You arrange things this way to get our attention? Is that why the Bible calls thunder the voice of God? 

There is so much we don’t know. Because we are just people, and You are the awesome God. We don’t know much but You have told us that all of creation is designed to bring You glory. So help us, the next time we see lightning or hear the thunder, to join with creation’s praise. May it shake us out of our indifference and make us focus on Your presence and power and goodness. Then, and now, we praise You, we worship You, we humble ourselves before You. Amen.

Julie Olive Hughes