A Prayer for Sunday, April 16, 2017

Easter Sunday

O God,

Praise

Praise fills us over the resurrection of Jesus.

We praise you because Christ the Lord is risen.

We praise you because in him, we have been raised to walk in newness of life.

We praise you because in him, we will be raised to be whole and complete for eternity.

Wonder

Wonder fills us over the resurrection of Jesus.

We gaze in wonder at the empty tomb.

We reflect in wonder on the risen Jesus.

We live in wonder at your amazing grace.

Life

Life fills us because of the resurrection of Jesus.

We live here and now.

We will live there and then.

We live in trust, in hope, and in love.

Let it all be, Lord. Let it all be.

Amen.

A Prayer for Saturday, April 15, 2017

Holy Saturday

O God,

Jesus is in the tomb.

His followers sit and stare, grief-stricken, dazed, frightened.

They think it’s over. They think joy and hope have died.

We know it isn’t; we know they haven’t.  We’re just waiting for tomorrow’s celebration. So it’s hard for us to put ourselves in their place.

And yet …

sometimes a loss hits us so hard that all we can do is sit and stare, grief-stricken, dazed, frightened; sometimes it seems that joy and hope have died, and that they have no chance to rise again.

So maybe we do know something of how they felt.

“Sunday’s coming,” we say.

But sometimes it doesn’t come tomorrow. Sometimes we have to wait a long time.

Give us grace to live faithfully, when we must, in the darkness of Saturday.

Amen.

A Prayer for Friday, April 14, 2017

Good Friday

O God,

We praise you because

Jesus died on the cross for us.

We ask you to give us

grace to die with him.

Help us

take up our cross and follow Jesus,

give up our lives so we can find them, and

die to self so we can live in Christ and for others.

Amen.

A Prayer for Thursday, April 13, 2017

Maundy Thursday

O God,

We have to eat.

When we do, remind us that Jesus is at table with us.

We often eat with other people.

When we do, remind us that we are to love them like Jesus loves us.

Let our meals remind us of the community of which we are part: Jesus, other people, and us. Thank you that Jesus teaches us, by word and example, what it means to love.

Thank you for the privilege of giving ourselves up for each other. Help us take advantage of it.

Amen.

A Prayer for Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Wednesday of Holy Week

O God,

Help us live memorable lives.

Let us be remembered for

our service,

our sacrifice,

our generosity, and

our compassion.

Whenever people speak of us, let

those be the qualities they talk about.

Let them know that we lived those

ways because we followed Jesus.

Amen.

A Prayer for Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Tuesday of Holy Week

O God,

Thank you for Jesus’ words that the Gospels give us. They no doubt report only a fraction of what he said, but we assume they share the ones we most need to hear and heed.

The few words we have are evidently more than we can handle.

Forgive us for not taking Jesus’ words seriously enough. Help us do better. Help us dedicate ourselves to reading, studying, understanding, and believing them. Help us be who Jesus teaches us to be. Help us do what Jesus teaches us to do.

Jesus is our teacher. Let us learn from him.

Jesus is our Lord. Let us obey him.

Jesus is our life. Let us live in him.

Amen.

A Prayer for Monday, April 10, 2017

Monday of Holy Week

O God,

If we examine our lives closely, we may find that our priorities and perspectives are in disarray.

We may find, for example, that we put other things ahead of loving and serving other people.

We may find that our pursuit of success, our interest in self-preservation, and our desire for power get in the way of our bearing witness to the One who came not to be served, but to serve. They may get in the way of other people coming to you.

Give us priorities and perspectives that reflect those of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Help us worship you and follow Jesus in ways that will lead us to think of others before we think of ourselves.

Amen.

A Prayer for Sunday, April 9, 2017

Palm Sunday

O God,

Give us courage to follow Jesus into Jerusalem.

He goes there to accomplish his mission.

He goes there to finish his work.

He goes there to accept his cross.

He goes there to die.

Today, we join those who sang praises to him as he entered Jerusalem. When they praised him as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord,” they were saying more than they knew they were saying.

They were saying more than they meant to say.

 They were saying other than they meant to say.

We should know. We should know that Jesus was a King

who served,

who sacrificed,

who gave, and

who died.

Help us follow our King.

Help us follow him into Jerusalem.

Help us follow him to the cross.

Help us take up our cross and follow him.

Help us give up our lives.

Help us practice love and grace through 

service, 

self-emptying, and 

self-sacrifice.

They laid down palm branches and their garments before him.

Help us lay down our lives for him.

Amen.