23 May 2005

A Prayer During Revival

Near the end of Jesus’ encounter with the lame man at the poor of Bethzatha, Jesus says something of you Father—he proclaims that you are still working and that he is still working. On that day you displayed your work in the life of a person who couldn’t walk—you restored his strength, and you forgave His sins. You created this world good and right, yet when we sent it into a tail spin— you did not abandon ship. You, Holy God, who we worship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit—are still at work, creating, restoring and transforming this world and the people upon whom you placed your image. You have been at work in our former days and have blessed us with kindness, mercy and goodness. You have comforted us when we were in grief and you rejoiced with us when we were awed by your creation, when we celebrated in good accomplishments the true joy we sensed was yours. So we thank you, we worship you, we rejoice in you. And tonight we pray in faith—that as you have worked you are still working now. You are working to restore our world to peace and joy, you are working to mend the hearts of girls and boys, women and men, you are working to heal us of our infirmities, you are working to deliver us from temptations and sin, you are working to fashion us into the very likeness of Jesus.
We invite you to be about your work in us, that we may about your work in the world. Search us O God; examine our hearts, help us to confess all that would stand in the way of your work in our lives . . .

May our lives bear witness to that love in all we say and do. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen

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