Father,

How big is your might and how amazing your love!

You created the heavens and the earth and you gave them rules! You created man and gave him breath! You split the sea in half when you carried your people out of Egypt. You brought them out with signs and miracles and you carried them through the desert into the promised land. You provided food and drink in the wilderness for forty years! When, by your eternal wise plan, your Son died a man’s death for our sin, you brought him from the dead back to life, never to die again! You took wretched sinners and enemies and turned them into holy sons and daughters. You took the ones who were not a people and turned them into your family. O Lord, how powerful you are.

Father, your love is so amazing! Your love for Jesus is pure, selfless, right seeking, righteous, enduring, other seeking and steadfast. Out of own sheer generosity you loved man like you loved Jesus. We don’t love other people as much as we love our children. We don’t love our enemies as much as we love our children. We don’t love ants as much as we love our children. And yet you loved us, fragile, weak and rebellious creatures enough to give your son for us to become part of your family!

Father we confess we forgot your power and love. We were greedy for money, for status and for comfort. We sought to ensure our well-being as if you didn’t exist. We worried and we schemed. We planned as if you were an afterthought. We told ourselves we needed to take care of first things first and you were at best second. We looked at our neighbor with envy and asked for justice.

Father, forgive us our rebellion and the dishonor we brought unto you by our evil thoughts, deeds and through our ingratitude and lack of faith.

Father, thank you for your love that you bestow on us every day as you give us our daily bread. Thank you for the forgiveness you have provided in Jesus. Thank you for the promise of a blessed, plentiful future in your presence. Thank you for your word which is a lamp unto our feet and for your church which is our family.

We pray for faith to believe that you love us and that you are powerful enough to provide for us what we need and carry us through our trials. We pray Lord, to be conformed to your son Jesus and not to the world. We pray that we would love for the thresholds of your house more than the tents of wickedness. We pray that we would long for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Father, we pray that this coming week you provide the daily bread and that we not worry about it. We pray that we would seek to help our poor and needy neighbors.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.