Prayer of Thanks

Dear God, 

Thank you for being our Father in this troubled and wounded world, where dreams are so easily crushed and hearts so easily broken. Thank you for the cool drops of grace that refresh us in this arid and lonely desert we are walking through. Thank you that, through Jesus Christ, you are not only our Father in heaven, watching us from a safe distance, but also our friend and companion on the road. We talk to you, we put our hand in yours and suddenly our burden feels so much lighter and everything seems so much easier. You have made our minds large enough to seek you and our hearts large enough to love you, but, above all, you have made yourself small enough to enter our world and change it forever. And change us forever. 

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you for your words on the cross, when you prayed "Father, forgive them" for those who were crucifying you. These are healing words we can always turn to when we need a breath of fresh air and a new perspective in our lives. By forgiving them -- and us -- you have opened a new way for humanity, making possible that kind of love and forgiveness that seems humanly impossible. Thank you for defying the merciless laws of nature for us. For overcoming gravity by grace and death by eternal life, thus releasing an immense power for the good in our wounded world. And for giving us constant access to this power through the Holy Spirit that dwells and works in us. For all this and much more, we give you thanks and praise and surrender our hearts to you. 

Amen