Sunday, March 15, 2009
Offered by Thomas C. Rook, Parish Associate

Lord Jesus Christ, as long ago you encountered ones along some dusty road in Palestine, so you come to us now. Like them, we are full of our own needs. Some are in health and some are ill; some are joyful and some sad. Some are confident and some fearful and unsure of what may happen next. Yes, O Lord, we are much aware of our needs. And yet this morning we come into your loving presence, not so much to speak our words to you, as to hear your word for us; not so much to name what we want of you, as to discover what you would have of us; not so much to seek escape from our lives, as to ask you to be with us in the midst of it all. Nurture within us, O Lord, the listening ear, the hospitable heart, an eye to see and respond to the neighbor in need.

You, O Christ, our good and faithful shepherd, have gone before us with a courage and stoutness of heart that we often find lacking within ourselves. The routines and demands of our daily life often seem to crowd out our attention to the larger purposes to which you call us. With wonder, we look upon the singleness of purpose that you brought to the enterprise of living. And by contrast, we acknowledge our own distraction from the greater things of life, preoccupied as we are by the lesser. Create within us, we pray, a hunger and thirst for the weightier values you would implant in our hearts—justice and kindness and faith.

Holy Christ, our Master, the pioneer of our faith, embolden us and our leaders to be steadfast in pursuit of the good, the noble, the just. Instill within our hearts the greater vision to which you call us, those aspirations that lift us higher than the easy or comfortable, and the sturdiness of faith and purpose that lead toward your kingdom. We acknowledge that within the storms of our individual and national life, we readily feel our fear and can sense our weakness and inadequacy to the task. And yet, although our influence may not be great, it can be good. While our speech may not be eloquent, it can be truthful and sincere. We need not be rich to be generous nor have all wisdom to be understanding. While we may not know everything, we may know you and your will.

Stay always beside us, our loving Savior. In our times of danger, guard our lives and guard our souls. Claim your place as Lord of our heart as you call us forward under the banner of your cross. And now, praying in words you have taught us, we say together, Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church