Great and wondrous God, you are worthy of praise
from the heights of heaven to the depths of the sea.
The sun, moon, and stars bear witness to your incredible creativity,
and our own spirits echo with the joy of your boundless love.
We call upon your steadfast and unchanging love
that will never pass away,
a love that is made new for us today in the good news of Jesus Christ.
We pray for those among us and those far away
who are desperate for a word of grace and acceptance.
May they hear that word of welcome also from us.
We acknowledge the majesty and tremendous power of wind, rain, snow, and fire.
We pray for those who suffer in the wake of natural disasters
and for those who have no adequate protection from the elements.
May we reach out with compassion to tend the broken and welcome the homeless.
We celebrate the vitality and abundance of life in all its forms:
creatures that walk, crawl, swim, or fly;
plants that provide nourishment and beauty;
microscopic creatures beyond number.
We pray for those whose lives are out of balance:
those with too little food, or too much;
those who are fighting infections and illnesses of body or mind;
those who mourn the end of a beloved life or fear the loss of their own.
May your healing love be made real,
and may we carry your presence into the lives we lift up.
We pray for those who lead and serve the nations of the world,
that your peace might prevail among all people,
and we offer ourselves to the blessed work of making peace.
O Lord, glorious over earth and heaven,
fill your people with your strength
and raise us up to serve you with loyalty and compassion,
on behalf of all your children.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ your beloved Son,
and we join in the prayer he taught us, saying:
The Lord’s Prayer
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, IA
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