Father, we praise you for your great mercy and grace. Father, you created the heavens and the earth and you created us, small human beings, and brought us into your presence. But then we sinned and loved anything else but you. We betrayed you and we rebelled against you. And yet, justified as you were to destroy us completely, you worked through your plan of salvation.

And your plan of salvation and your mighty deeds to accomplish it bring you glory. We see this glory and we praise you!

We praise you for not destroying us, but working to save us, hopeless rebels. We praise you for your word which is a light for us in the midst of darkness. We praise you for your perseverance in bestowing mercy and grace. You didn’t stop at the grace provided to Noah or Abraham, but you worked day in and day out to provide mercy and grace for each one of us, over the ages. We praise you for your Fatherly care which you provide to us as a community and to us as individuals. We praise you that you welcome each one of us, tiny creatures, into your presence as sons and daughters. We praise you that you have not left us alone but provided the Holy Sprit to remind us of your love and salvation.

We praise you Father for your son, Jesus Christ, who left His glory above, the glory of the one true God, to become a small insignificant man, to be rejected by his own creation and to suffer your wrath in our stead. We praise you for his faith which he displayed as he stood rejected, accused and humiliated. And we praise you for your mighty power which you displayed in raising Him from the dead and seating him back in His place of glory.

We praise you Father because nobody has done such a thing and never will do.

Father, forgive us our forgetfulness. We have forgotten how big of sinners we are. We have minimized our sin and complained about your mercy and grace. We have forgotten how big a salvation you have accomplished, how much you forgave us and how much you have bestowed on us. We have tried to save ourselves from our circumstances in this world and we have tried to justify ourselves before you. Forgive us for doubting your faithfulness. Forgive us for our lack of faith that you will save and that you will provide.

We thank you for Jesus and for the forgiveness we have in Him. We thank you for giving us his righteousness and your Holy Spirit. We thank you for guiding us with your word and for the community of the saints you have placed us in. We thank you that you have promised to restore all things and bring us back to life with Jesus. We thank you that you treat us as beloved sons and daughters!

Father, we pray that in our struggles and pain would work for your glory. As our pain helps us grasp Jesus’ suffering for our sake, help us praise you and thank you when we struggle. Help us proclaim your goodness and the Gospel to the people around us. Even as the world around us rebels against you because of your justice and mercy and tries to find fault with you, help us show the world that you are dearer than comfort and that your people love each other sacrificially.

Father we pray we would live by faith in your great mercy and grace. We pray our troubles and pain would not extinguish our ability to grasp and see your mercy and grace. We pray we would live by hope that we will feel your glory.

When things go badly, help us Father to come to you as beloved sons and daughters knowing that you care enough to give your only son for us. Help us not be rebellious in our pain and struggles, help us not rush to judgement and accuse you of forsaking us, but help us exult in our tribulations and believe that they bring perseverance, proven character and hope.

We pray that by the Holy Spirit we would be aware of your great love in our tribulations and believe that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from your love in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

In His Name we pray, Amen.