Sunday, July 12, 2009
Offered by Alice M. Trowbridge, Associate Pastor

We come to you, O God, full of praise with elation for the realms of creation, which seem to reach their peak of beauty in the glory of summer. We marvel at your vast creative work, which brought forth the spinning planets, the starry heavens, the cycle of the moon and its pull on the ocean tides. And we marvel at the delicate dew that nourishes both the clover and the thistle alike, the lilies of the field.

We thank you that we are also part of your design, although we sometimes take that for granted. Forgive us when we squander that which you have given to us—your gifts of hope and promise and trust. You have given us minds to know you, to pursue knowledge, to use intellect and reason to understand and to think beyond the ordinary realm of thinking into the mysteries of your eternity. And while we stumble through our doubts and fears, your mighty hand continues to hold us strong—urging us to move forward with courage into the places you call us to be. Visit the minds of your people, O God, and fill with grace from above our hearts that you have created.

Our world is troubled by the lesser instincts of the human heart, O God. Where there is violence and war—in the city streets of Chicago, in Somalia, in Sudan, in the Middle East—send your healing to the fractured places. Bring peace among peoples. Make us part of the reconciliation of the world. Teach us as your church where to advance, when to speak out, where to challenge, and when to keep silent.

Forgive us when our faith falters, when we lose hope, when we act as though everything depends solely on us. For we praise you with elation dear God, that the bird’s song is a melody we know by heart and the meadow’s movements in the gentle afternoon breezes are captured forever in our mind’s eye. Who are we that you are mindful of us—and yet, you are.

Your Son, our Lord, became like us so that we would always know we need not worry about tomorrow, that in him the way to heaven is thrust open and there is no place we can go, no suffering we will endure, where our Lord is not walking beside us to comfort and to guide.

So fill us with assurance this day, O God, in the cosmic creation of the universe, and in the daily re-creation—that your timeless love is new every morning, beckoning us to turn to you and to trust and to dare to be all that you have created us to be. For this sacred gift of life, we lift our praise with elation, now and forever. And in the words our Lord taught us, we are bold to pray, Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church