Sundays in Lent
Prayer
Pastoral Prayers For All Seasons
Object:
Across the years, Eternal God, there have been many things we desperately wanted. We remember when we were young wanting a stack of chocolate bars, a new pair of jeans, a recording of our favorite singer, a driver's license, a car ... We could so vividly imagine how wonderful life would be once we had what we wanted.
Now we remember that we lost interest in some of those items before we ever owned them. Or once possessing them we discovered that they weren't as wonderful as we first imagined. The disappointment left a bitter taste in our mouth.
Only later, God, did we learn that those yearnings were practice runs for our hungering and thirsting after you. You are our ultimate longing. It is you we desperately want and need. Even so, we often continue to imagine how wonderful it would be if we had this or that. Then life would become full and rich, and joy would surely be ours. Even with these treasures in hand, our joy is still destined to run out and then we will need to start searching for something else.
Now our attention is fixed on you. You satisfy our hunger. You slake our thirst. We need look no further. We are so grateful that we stopped our anxious searching. How good it is to live within the circle of your unending fulfillment.
It is one of the great pleasures of life, that we can speak to you anytime, day or night. You are always within range of our thoughts. With you there is no "call waiting." How you honor us with your presence. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Now we remember that we lost interest in some of those items before we ever owned them. Or once possessing them we discovered that they weren't as wonderful as we first imagined. The disappointment left a bitter taste in our mouth.
Only later, God, did we learn that those yearnings were practice runs for our hungering and thirsting after you. You are our ultimate longing. It is you we desperately want and need. Even so, we often continue to imagine how wonderful it would be if we had this or that. Then life would become full and rich, and joy would surely be ours. Even with these treasures in hand, our joy is still destined to run out and then we will need to start searching for something else.
Now our attention is fixed on you. You satisfy our hunger. You slake our thirst. We need look no further. We are so grateful that we stopped our anxious searching. How good it is to live within the circle of your unending fulfillment.
It is one of the great pleasures of life, that we can speak to you anytime, day or night. You are always within range of our thoughts. With you there is no "call waiting." How you honor us with your presence. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
