Pastoral Prayer
Praise be to Thee, O Lord our God, for Thine unfailing goodness and love for us. Praise be to the Thee for the gift of life, in all its richness and pleasure and innumerable potentialities. Praise be to Thee for giving us one another, and for all the ways that life in community adds broader and more meaningful dimensions to who we are as well as to whose we are. Praise be to Thee that it is Thou who art God, and not another less kind, less charitable, less grace-filled deity. We are Thine, and for Thy goodness in creating and sustaining us, we give Thee thanks.
We pray for those we know and for the countless numbers of people we do not know who feel outside Thy loving kindness. Some have never known of Thee. Some have heard of Thee, but have rejected the claims of Thy nature which we have so readily affirmed. Some are mentally or spiritually incapable of knowing Thee, and therefore do not feel excluded from Thy love and instead are totally oblivious to it. Grant as much peace as possible to those who live apart from any awareness of Thy care for them, so that even without ever affirming Thee or Thy loving nature, they may nonetheless be beneficiaries of it all the same.
We pray also for those who believe they have become isolated from Thee by behavior which they suppose is unforgivable. Break into their isolation by Thy never-failing grace, and convince them there is nothing they could ever do which would forever alienate them from Thee. If it is possible, help them to discover Thee through Jesus Christ, Thy unique messenger whom Thou didst send into the world to seek and to save the lost. If they live in lands where Jesus Christ is anathema, enable them to see Thee through whatever lights are available to them. Forgive us for all the sins we have committed, and set us on the higher path toward greater and more determined righteousness. Uphold those who are too sick or dejected or weary to respond affirmatively to Thy love, but who nonetheless can be lifted up by Thy tenderness toward them, even if they are unaware of it. All these things we pray in the name of Jesus, who went ahead of us, revealing to us the astonishing good news of Thy kingdom. Now we pray together as he taught us, saying, Our Father….