Sunday, July 15, 2012
Offered by Thomas C. Rook, Parish Associate

Creator God of this beautiful blue planet, spinning in the vastness of the universe, this beautiful home that you have established for the development of life, we give you thanks this day. Although your larger purposes within the universe may lie beyond our knowing, yet we can know something of your nature and your intentions for our own lives. We sense your love of beauty, of living things, and your faithful, nurturing presence in our lives. So we thank you, gracious Lord, for life and for providing us with the beauty of color and design that brighten our spirits and point our hearts and minds toward you.

At the same time, through your prophets and through our own life experiences, we know you as a moral force who, in care of your children, call for justice and fairness in human relations, a God who reminds us of the consequences of our attitudes and actions in life. And so we remember today all those who struggle with daily insecurity within each day of life, whether in the Middle East, in Africa, or in Chicago. We pray for national and local leaders who need wisdom and goodwill to extend the blessings of freedom into the lives of all citizens. And we pray that each of us find ways of expressing kindness and care within our own lives.

We are grateful this morning, O Lord, for all those in our lives for whom we care and who care for us. And thank you, faithful God, for this community of Christ, for the members and friends of Fourth Presbyterian Church, for their faithfulness and generosity and goodwill, for their voice of advocacy for the voiceless. Trusting, O Lord, that none of these is lost to your love and mercy, we pray today
     for all those who feel alone, scared, and close to despair,
     for ones whose spirits are clouded with concerns about their health
          or the health of one they love,
     for those who seek meaningful work and cannot find it,
     for ones who have suffered loss in their lives, loss that cannot be restored.
In all these places of life, may you, O Lord, be a strong and comforting presence.

Finally, we thank you for yourself, O God, for seeking and finding us, for claiming us as your own when we have forgotten to whom we belong. In your mercy, provide us with strength for the day and courage for the morrow. And now using words of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray in one voice, Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church