Today, Father,
our hearts are yearning to give you
the praise
and glory you deserve,
but we acknowledge
that we are only frail vessels of
that praise.
We confess before you that we have sinned.
We are broken by our fallen natures,
we stumble in our pursuit of holiness,
and we transgress your commandments.
We
stand in need, O God,
always in need,
of your forgiveness freely given.
We stand in need of your healing
of the disease of sinfulness.
Gracious Lord, accept this confession of our unworthiness,
and forgive and
cleanse and make us whole,
as you have promised.
Lord, take our humble words today,
and magnify yourself.
Be
present in this place,
as you have promised,
and let your Holy Spirit rush over
us like a fire
—consuming all our chaff,
separating out the dross,
and leaving
only pure and holy vessels
worthy of the service of the Great King.
We bear
before you these intercessions and requests,
and we pray that they may be
pleasing in your sight.
Lord, heal those who are ill.
Raise up those who
are faltering.
Give courage and strength of heart
to those who are plagued by
worries and fears.
Grant hope to the hopeless,
and peace to the troubled.
We
pray for our neighbors,
asking that your Word might proceed
powerfully among them
through our witness.
We pray for our nation and its
leaders,
asking that you would give them wisdom and discernment
for the choices
that lie ahead.
And we pray for our enemies,
asking that you would turn them
from the path of evil
and bring them to repentance and faith.
Give us hearts of
compassion toward our fellow men
and of gratitude toward you.
All these things
we ask,
proclaiming the great name of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
for it
is in him that we offer these requests.
Amen.