Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on The World
You, Lord God, made the eternal fabric of the world appear, and you created the earth. You are always trustworthy, you judge fairly, excellent and marvelous in your power; wise in creating and careful to make firm what you have made, blessing us with the visible creation and dependable for those who trust in you, merciful and compassionate. Forgive us our sins and our shortcomings, our breaking of your laws and our lack of righteousness. We are your servants; do not blame us for all that we have done wrong, but make us clean with your truth, and guide our steps to walk in holiness and righteousness and singleness of heart, that we may do those good things which will please you and win the favor of our rulers.
Lord, make your face to shine upon us in peace, for our good, that we may be sheltered by your mighty hand and set free from the consequences of sin by the power of your arm. Protect us against those who unjustly hate us. Give peace and harmony to us and to all who dwell on earth, while we obey your almighty and most excellent name, and while we obey our earthly rulers and governors, as you did to our ancestors, when they prayed to you in faith and truth with holiness.
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 60. Quoted in Walter Mitchell, Trns, Early Christian Prayers, ed., A. Hamman, Longman Green, London, and Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1961.
We pray to God the Father, God the Son,
And to God the Holy Spirit,
Whose infinite greatness
Enfolds the whole world,
In Persons three and one,
In essence simple and triune,
Suspending the earth above the waters,
Hanging the upper air with stars,
That he may be favorable to us, a group of sinners,
Who righteously justifies all who sin,
Who ever-living lives.
May God be blessed for ages. Amen.
Let it be so. Let it be so.
Eloe, Sabaoth, Ya, Adonai,
Eli Eli Lama Sabacthani.
Modernized and adapted for Corporate Worship by Stuart Strachan Jr., Taken from “The Prayers of Moucan”, in Celtic Spirituality (Series: Classics of Western Spiritiuality) Trans., Oliver Davies, Paulist Press, 2000.
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.
God, our heavenly Father
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise and thank you today and always!
You are worthy of our praise
simply for who You are:
You are good and You are strong,
You are gracious, just and loving.
As we confront this world that lacks hope,
a world caught up in war, hunger, poverty and
spiritual emptiness,
in Your great mercy You freely give us a new birth
into the living hope
through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
There is no darkness so great
that your light is not greater still.
There is not conflict so disruptive
that your peace cannot quell it.
There is no death so final,
that your resurrection life
cannot break its icy grip. And, …
There is no thief so sneaky or strong
that he can steal the inheritance you give
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for us.
Therefore, we rightly worship You!
However, we are quick to trust
our strength more than yours,
our wisdom more than yours,
our abilities more than yours,
our resources more than yours.
our love more than yours.
And our misplaced trust in ourselves
has led us into sin.