Lord, thank You for the gift of another year gone by. Lead us into the next chapter of life that leads us to discover the truth of God’s love. Reveal to us our part in Your story. Forgive our mistakes. Give us the wisdom to forgive others and the strength to forgive ourselves. Interrupt the chaos of negativity and allow us to be, “mirrors whose brightness is (entirely) derived from the sun that shines upon us” (C.S. Lewis).
Be our strength. Be our shelter. Be our Friend. Be the truth that we see in each and every person that we meet because, “what draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth” (C.S. Lewis) that we are all beloved children of God.
Tags: C.S. Lewis, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Prayer
Help us to see the big picture, beyond ourselves, so that we can learn from both our joys and our sorrows. Look, it doesn’t matter where we are in this life because we’re all on the same journey towards grace and redemption. Give us the strength to “never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” (Corrie Ten Boom)
This life isn’t meant to be routine, so Lord, “revive whatever peace and love has died in us” (Christian Today) because the only one who can mend a broken heart is the One who made it. And as long as we still have breath, we can still shine the light of God out onto the darkness of this world
“Our soul is not contained within the limits of our body. Our body is contained within the limitlessness of our soul…Every possession or accomplishment will rot but what remains is our heart” (Jim Carrey) and how we affected others. It is through our faith in God, God’s word and God’s grace that we know that “in Christ, there are no goodbyes and in Christ, there is no end” (MercyMe) so let’s hold on to the only truth that we have; that God so loved us all that God redefined what love is because in the end love always wins.
Tags: Christian, Christian Today, Church, Corrie Ten Boom, ELCA, Jesus, Jim Carrey, lutheran, Prayer
You came to us so that we could have hope, so that we could know love and so that we could have You, the light of the world, throughout every moment of time. You came to share the truth that this world is not our home and that sin and death can’t keep us from experiencing a love that surpasses all understanding. The birth of the Living God, who stepped into our world and walked this earth as one of us, was just the beginning of a love story that has no ending and no good byes.
Today, You are still right beside us. You hear each joyful laugh and see each tear. Throughout the wreckage of time, You are the constant that connects each generation and nation because You are the God that stand with us and shields us against the storms of life. You are the God that showers mercy and grace over a world of condemnation and judgment. You are the God that shares in our story one scarred hand to the other. May we know You as You know us.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer
Lord God, “You are near to all who call on You” (Psalm 145:18). And we will sing of Your love from one generation to the next. (Psalm 89:1). So many memories flood our minds as another year closes and a new one begins. We pray that You would continue to bless us beyond imagination.
Don’t let us stare too long at doors that have been closed, but instead prepare us for the doors that will be opened to us because “we will not find peace by rearranging the circumstances of our lives…” (Eckhart Tolle) We have peace because Love found us right where we are, and God was born as one of us.
Faith tells us that no matter what lies ahead, God is already there. “Love has a name; Jesus. Love has a place; our hearts. Love has a story and it’s not finished yet.” (DAYSTAR)
Tags: Christian, Church, Eckhart Tolle, ELCA, Jesus, Prayer, Psalm
Light of the world, chase away the darkness in our lives and in our hearts. Strengthen us to speak truth even if our voice shakes. Remind us why we hope and what we hope for because, “the world can’t be fixed now…it has to be healed. And healing is not an event. It’s a process” (Marianne Williamson).
Remind us what we’ve forgotten: that we are all co-inhabitants of the same world house and have to live together. Shift our thinking, so that we can see Your light in each and every person that comes our way.
As we wait for You, we dwell in the mystery of faith and the glory of the gospel: that You humbled Yourself and became one of us so that Hope would overcome anguish, regret and fear. You are the bridge that closes the gap between the divine and the human, the lost and the found, the sinners and the saints. That’s why we seek Your presence. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we live.
Tags: Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Marianne Williamson, Prayer
Almighty One, You are the author of salvation and life everlasting. Thank You for laughter, love, friends and family. Thank You for being our shelter from a dark world. Thank You for being the only constant in our lives.
Help us to identify with You so that we can have the audacity to love each other as You love us. Challenge us to “read Your word, live Your word, and to be Your word” (Rachel Garcia) so that we can let go of our will and let Your will be done in our hearts and in this world.
Because of Christ, nothing and no one can take away any of the blessings that the Lord God has given us. The “death and resurrection of Jesus Christ removes the distinctions that we have created amongst ourselves” (Rachel Garcia) so that Love, not judgement or condemnation, can be the lens in which we see each person in this room and in our life as fellow children of the only living God.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer, Rachel Garcia
Almighty One, thank You for another sunrise. Another opportunity to experience and be the experience called life. We’re here because we don’t have all the answers. We’re here because the world is clouded by doubt and fear. We’re here because of You.
You are the bridge between hope and the hopeless. And right now we need hope. Hope for a world that can know peace. Hope for a world that can know love. Hope for a world that can know You.
“Our faith rests not in what we are, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done and in what He is now doing for all of us” (Charles H. Spurgeon). For there is no mistake or regret that we confess that will make God love us any less because even when we forget God, God never forgets us and holds us in the everlasting arms of love.
Tags: Charles H. Spurgeon, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer
Great Provider, we come to You today because we need You. We need Your strength. We need Your comfort. And we need peace in our hearts and minds that only You can provide. We’re just imperfect people loved by a perfect God. We need a new heart, a new spirit and a new understanding so that we can be more like You.
“When our faith wavers, when our trust withers, renew us O God. Grant us confidence in You, large enough to move mountains, deep enough to receive all the goodness that you give” (Bread for the Day 2015, p 346).
We can never go where You, Lord, are not. So open our minds so that we can side with the widow, the poor, the sick and the strangers among us who the world has kicked to the sidelines. Let’s share Your good news knowing that “if the faith that we share is not good news for everybody then it isn’t good news for anybody” (Rob Bell).
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Prayer, Rob Bell
Lord God, thank You for the gift of life and the people that you have put in our path. Thank You for those who have gone before us. Guide us as we pave the way for those yet to come. “Search us, oh Lord, and know our heart. Test us and know our anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in us and lead us in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139: 23-24).
By faith we can see Your works all around us. And it is by faith that we are called to go into the lives of those we know and those who we don’t know and share the good news that tears down the mountains of doubt and fear. Center our hearts and minds in You so that we can be a sanctuary for the broken souls of this world.
When the world turns cold and dark remind us that You are forever with us and that we never face these mountains alone. “Scripture, Christ, Grace, Faith and the Glory of God alone” (Martin Luther) gives us the strength to face anything that comes our way.
Tags: Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Martin Luther, Psalm
Great Redeemer, thank You for Your Living Word that abides within us. We’re sorry when we’re silent about our sins and all the ways that we stray from You. We pray that You would speak truth into our silence and open our ears to hear the whispers of Your Holy Spirit by anchoring us in Your Word.
Open our eyes to the glimpses of our own humanity so that we can understand “that there is not one thing that we can do to make God love us any more, or any thing that we can do to make God love us any less” (Rev. Ed Bacon). All we need to do is seek the One who is always seeking us.
Transcend the errors in our thoughts so that we can “put away all bitterness, wrath, malice and anger… (Show us how to) be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving of one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Yes, we “sin continually. But Christ has died, and forever lives (within us), as our Redeemer, priest, advocate and King” (Martin Luther).
Tags: Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Martin Luther, Prayer
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