Holy God, we would like to think that we love you with all our hearts and souls, with all our might;
but there are so many other things in our lives that clamour for our attention that we often relegate you to Sundays, and times when we want you to rescue us.
Most of us really do want you to be the one in whom we live and move and have our being. We really do want to hear your voice above all of the other voices in our lives. But we get bogged down in the daily routine. We forget who we are. We forget who you are. We forget what the church is supposed to be.
So here we are, standing before you today, with our human foibles and our short attention spans, asking that you would make yourself known to us, that you would help us to recognize the presence of the Holy, that you would continue to challenge us, inspire us, and make us into the people you want us to be. written by Katie Cook, in “Sacred Seasons”
Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God, you breathe on all
that is inadequate and fragile in us.
You make living water spring even from our hurts;
and, through you, the valley of fears
becomes a place of wellsprings,
and your continual presence brings refreshment.
Breathe now in us with justice
on all that diminishes or destroys God's creation;
breathe in us with peace to close the hostile distances
between people and nations;
breathe in us with protection for those bruised
by grinding indifference or the cruelty of others;
breathe now in us with healing for those haunted
by the memory of suffering or shame;
breathe now in us with love for those who are full
of self-loathing, who cannot love themselves or others.
Spirit of Jesus, breathe in us,
that we may share your continual presence and reality.
Loving God, help us to be at home in your love
until no one is homeless,
help us to be in peace in your presence
until the world is at peace,
help us to live in the healing power of your presence,
until our world is whole.
We pray, loving God,
all this through Jesus,
with Jesus, in Jesus,
in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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