Sunday Pastoral Prayer (March 17) Athens First UMC

[It’s not often that St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday but it did this year on the 2nd Sunday in Lent. It’s a good thing this worship stole has purple and green as reversible colors for when this happens on the church calendar! We continued our Lent theme of “My Fears Relieved” by focusing on our fear of doubt. Click here for the sermon.]

God of mystery and wonder, we confess that we have many questions about our faith. Our hearts are heavy today over the recent mass shooting in New Zealand and we pray for your peace to overcome hate, bigotry, and evil. 

We want answers but you offer assurance. We want certainty but you offer compassion. We want proof but you offer peace. Help us to learn to be your faithful people especially when we have more questions than answers. 

Whenever we doubt, help us to be like Abraham and look up at the stars and remember the covenant that you made to be our God and to never leave or forsake us.

Whenever we doubt, help us to be like the Psalmist who begins his prayer with questions and uncertainty but then concludes his prayer with a renewed trust in you.

Whenever we doubt, help us to be like Thomas who was honest about his reluctance to believe, but then was able to say, “My Lord and my God!”

God of mystery and wonder, thank you for reminding us that we are not alone in our doubts and for your amazing grace that relieves us of our fears.

And so we pray for anyone who maybe be struggling with doubt and fear; for the family stricken by the loss of a loved one, for the high school senior uncertain about their next steps after graduation, for the teacher trying to find the best way to help a student to learn, for the person dealing with a challenge that offers no easy solutions. 

God of mystery and wonder, on this St. Patrick’s Day, we thank you for Celtic Christianity that emphasizes how you are closer to us than we can ever ask or imagine. Thank for the “thin place” moments in our lives where you give us just enough assurance to help us through our times of doubts and questioning. 

As we prepare to pray the Lord’s Prayer, I invite us to do something a little different. As we pray this prayer, let’s pray it with our eyes open while looking at the cross in the front of our sanctuary. As we pray together, know that the one who hung on that cross and then rose again is also the one who has you covered… “Our Father, who art in heaven…”