May He Be Our Root and Anchor

All-powerful and partnering Father,

Your church is drowning in disappointment.

It seems there is a sense of eternal perspective-

we are well trained to say things will work together for good.

Yet, our perspective lacks robustness-

we disbelieve that Jesus Christ  is present now,

                                                             interceding now,

                                                             advocating now,

                                                             revealing now,

                                                             participating now.

We do not live as if to confess as reality now

what was in His earthly days, and what will be when He returns.

Teach us that our disappointment arises as we forget this:

That Jesus Christ is our life, our very nourishment and sustenance.

He has not left us, nor abandoned us to figure things out.

He has not deserted us for another, although we do this to Him.

He has held to the promise to build up His church.

Open our eyes to the reality of Your love-

it is that which enlivens and encourages us.

Forgive us for being so easily overcome,

overtaken, overturned by the way things are.

Establish us further in Jesus Christ-

may He be our root, and our anchor,

that we might grow up into Him, and be stayed by Him.

May love accomplish this, 

just as You are love.

And we crave the day when we will see Him-

and we will see who He is, and who He always has been. 

Even so, come Lord Jesus. 

Teach us to Ache for the Kingdom

God our Father,

Forgive us for trampling all over your sovereignty

with our own insecurity. 

Teach us that you grieve along with us

concerning Aurora and Newtown and Texas and Boston.

Teach us that to lament is not to question your sovereignty,

but to cry "oh, sovereign Lord, why?"

Teach us that lament is therefore the more faithful option

than pretending that the strife isn't there.

Even Your Son cried out with grief unto death

 after predicting his resurrection and ascension. 

And so with these pains, teach us to come to You. 

In lament, we do not exclude you or accuse You.

Instead, we invite you to join in with our sadness-

For certainly you nod along and agree

that this is not how things ought to be. 

So teach us to lament, for it is faithful. 

Teach us to mourn the pain here,

and to look ever more expectantly for Your return.

Teach us to ache for the Kingdom

and not for lesser things.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

We Need to Voice These "Ifs"

 Matthew 11:1-6, Isaiah 35:3-6

Our Father, 

Our cries come to You,

for we do not understand our circumstances.

Your actions seem contradictory,

and so do those of others.

With John we have wondered if justice is on its way-

                                              and if we will ever be vindicated.

With John we have wondered if Jesus has forgotten us-

                                              and if another is coming whom we can trust.

With John we have wondered if our suffering is in vain-

                                              and if future glory will outweigh it.

With John, we need to voice these "ifs", and hear Your reply.

We praise You for lovingly speaking Your promises again to us-

For, with John we are also reminded of Your work in our midst:

The blind receive their sight.

The lame walk.

The lepers are cleansed.

The deaf hear.

The dead are raised up.

The poor have the Gospel preached to them.

May you teach us to have faith despite our current circumstances,

That we might also cry with Peter-

"Lord, to whom shall we go?" 

We look to You to save us,

because we know that You can, and we know that You will. 

May this characterize our faith,

and may You establish us again in a posture of praise. 

In awe and thanksgiving we pray,

Amen.

                                              

Be Exalted, Our God and Deliverer

Romans 7:19-8:2
"For the good that I want, I do not do, 
but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, 
I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 
I find then the principle that evil is present within me, 
the one who wants to do good.
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 
but I see a different law in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind 
and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 
Wretched man that I am! 
Who will set me free from the body of this death? 

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 
So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God,
but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. 
Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 
has set us free from the law of sin and death." 

Father,
Forgive our habitual tendencies.
You have established us to live in the victory of Romans 8,
yet we flounder in sin cycles of Romans 7.
We confessed that only Jesus could accomplish our salvation,
            yet live as though we can handle things from here.
We confessed that our works could not justify,
            yet live as though they should satisfy.
We confessed that the Law had no power to produce righteousness,
            yet live as though it can produce holiness. 

Teach us the nature of your grace. 
May it astound us. May it woo us.
May it cause us to confess you as you truly are. 

Be exalted, our God and Deliverer

By This We Know Shalom

Our God and King,

Teach us when our anger is prideful-

that we might lovingly bow the knee of our will.

Teach us when our anger is revealing our hurt-

that we might name it properly and appropriately.

Teach us when our anger is telling of our past unresolved-

that we might gain courage to remember and revisit. 

Teach us when our anger is righteous-

that we might humbly refuse to accept injustice.

In all these things, 

Remind us that the wounds of Jesus Christ invite us to voice our own.

You never ask us to leave your table,

although we may feel this way in our churches.

Instead, you invite us to dine and commune with you in honesty-

which leaves room for the shedding of our tears.

Thank you, Father, for your invitation.

Thank you, Jesus, for your advocation.

Thank you, Spirit, for your intercession.

By this we know shalom, and we praise you.