A Congregational Prayer for Father’s Day Sabbath
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
We bow before you this Sabbath morning, bringing hearts of praise, confession, gratitude, and petition.
We praise you for being Creator, Savior, & Sustainer of life
We confess our sins, grateful for your forgiveness
We are also grateful for the blessings we have been reminded of this day…
- For birthdays and anniversaries
- For graduations and other achievements
- For restored health and for hope and for peace
But others of us today need these very things…
We come to you this morning asking for restored health,
For strength to continue medical treatment without the discouragement that comes with it,
For success through upcoming surgeries and healing from past ones
We come to you together asking for restored relationships,
For healing in our homes, work places, in our hearts
We also need healing as a nation
Some of us hear of families separated from each other at our border and we see a necessary evil;
Others of us see it as against the very way of Jesus.
Please be with us as we navigate these very difficult waters.
And please be with the hurting and frightened fathers and mothers and children.
“Our Father, who art in heaven…”
As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend it is, for many of us, a time to honor the first man in our lives who gave us a sense of security and taught us integrity.
But for others of us, this day remembering father contains a mixture of emotions…
“Our Father, who art in heaven…”
please heal those wounds too…
we ask for the peace that only you can give…the peace that passes all understanding.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”
You are holy.
& You are part of our family.
What an amazing God you are.
We praise your name.
Amen.
Kendra Haloviak Valentine is New Testament scholar and Dean of General Education at La Sierra University. This prayer was given at the Azure Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church on June 16, 2018. It is reprinted here with permission.
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash
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