Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Living Water
(Prayer of Adoration)
Loving God—Father Son and Holy Spirit—
we come today as thirsty people
to You who are the Spring of Living Water.
We come as hungry people
to You who are the Bread of Heaven.
We come as sinful and lonely people
to You who are the Friend of Sinners.
We come as confused and lost people
to You as our Counselor, who is the Way, the Truth,
and our Pole Star.
With Thomas, we call Your our Lord and our God—
the giver of peace, the source of hope and the reason for our joy;
and that’s why we praise You.
That’s why we worship You.
(Prayer of Confession)
However, … sometimes we forget who You are
and begin to worship ourselves instead:
trusting our wisdom and strength more than Yours,
following our wants and desires more than Yours,
stealing for ourselves the honor and glory that’s Yours alone. We’ve loved ourselves too much,
others too little and You hardly at all.
Forgive us.
Help us to change—to think differently, to speak differently,
and to act differently.
Now, in the quiet of these moments, hear the cries of our hearts
declaring what we’re too ashamed of to say aloud: (silence).
(Assurance of Pardon)
Hear the Good News – Jesus Christ came in to the world to save sinners, like you and like me. By His grace active in your faith in Jesus as savior and Lord, I declare as true that you are forgiven and free from all your sins. Alleluia! AMEN.
O Splendor of God’s glory bright.
From Light eternal bringing light, O Light of life, the living Spring, True Day, all days illumining.
Dawn’s glory gilds the earth and skies;
Let him, our perfect Morn, arise, The Word in God Almighty one, Creator imaged in the Son.
Amen.
Ambrose of Milan, adapted.