Pastoral Prayer for Nov. 1, 2020 (Luke 13.31-35)

God we come in prayer before you from many places; some as new parents, wondering what kind of world our sweet baby will inherit. Some as parents of busy, loud, and perpetually hungry households who wonder what our children will learn and what challenges they will face as they grow in strength. Some have teenagers or young adults; we come from places of helplessness, where the pain and struggles our young people face are mountains we cannot help them scale. We come from places where those we have been entrusted to care for and mentor have launched, places where we have finished the hours in our careers and places of work, where we have the time to invest in people and causes we care deeply about. 

We need you god, in all of those places we come from. We need you to gather us under your wing as a mother gathers its children. We seek that fierce protection offered because our questions have not been answered, our worries left unassured, and we and our loved ones feel unprotected and unprepared for whatever else this year and the next have to throw at us. As our heavenly parent O God we thank you for taking us in, for advocating for us, no matter what who we are or where we are on life’s journey. 

When we are fearful oh God, remind us of the words your son spoke in the gospel of Luke. I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day. Remind us that we follow a Lord who is unrelenting in His desire to protect us, to gather us, to teach us, and to encourage us to stand up with that same fierce passion Jesus modeled for us. When we grow weary, know we are loved by a God who must keep going today and tomorrow and the next, for the world you so loved O God, you still so love. 

We thank you for gathering us. We thank you for never giving up on us. We pray that we may follow the lead of your Son who never stopped; as we seek to follow His footsteps, we too, will keep going today and tomorrow and the next. For those we love, for the world you love, and for the vision you have given us to make a reality here on earth. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.