Pastoral Prayer - Absolute Being

Lord Jehovah,
You are the beginning of all life and truth. No one made you. No one has taught You. In You is the source of being, and from You it flows out into us and into all that You have made. We are like water; You are the fountain that is our source. We are like light; You are like the blazing sun. None of us can add anything to You or take anything from You; all we have and are is but an echo of the chorus that sings within Your greatness.

Father, arrest our hearts with the absolute greatness and glory of who You are. Tear our eyes away from the little things that distract us – from our pride, from our lusts, from our vain ambitions and entertainments. Let us drink deeply from the well of Your being, and find after having so drunk of You that the destructive appetites of this world lose their savor. Give us hearts that long for what is truly good and lasting – those gifts that You hold in Your eternal right hand.

Impress us, Lord. Awe us. And as you do, let Your greatness speak peace to our troubled hearts. We are in such turmoil over worldly things. Over the anxieties of tomorrow. Over the regrets of yesterday. Over those who are hurting and those we fear who seek to do us harm. These things all seem great when measured against our limited grasp, but they are shown as fleeting vapors in the light of Your being. Your kingdom sits in the heaven and all this universe is Your dominion. Comfort us by the knowledge of Your rule.

As we gaze upon Your greatness, we also pray that it would particularly be shown to us and for those we pray.
  • May Your strong right arm uphold those sinking under the weight of life. Overcome their circumstances and overcome their fears.
  • May the life You hold within yourself enliven those close to the grave. Bring health and healing to them in this age, and even more, pour the life of eternity into them in the age to come.
  • May Your sovereign mercy soften hearts hardened in sin. Bring repentance and hope of grace and restoration to those who are lost.
  • May Your glory, Lord, fill all the earth like the waters fill the sea. May we be drawn to praise it as members of that throng from every tribe and tongue and nation You are calling to Yourself. May the nations acknowledge Your greatness and the humble be lifted up by Your might.


We pray all of this in the name of Jesus, who shares in Your eternal life and who speaks it to us.
AMEN

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