In our prayer for others on Sunday, Jessica Kennedy reminded us to be thankful for all the good gifts God has given us. When life returns to a ‘new normal’, let us not take these things for granted.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father
As we look to the future and our world opening up again, we remember and give you thanks for all the joys and adventures in life that make it so fulfilling.
We thank you for theatres and cinemas, and the opportunity to escape into drama and another world.
We thank you for music, – for concerts, gigs, opera and festivals. For singing along (loudly and badly) to our favourite songs or getting lost in the splendour of classical works.
We thank you for museums and art galleries, for our history that they show us and remind us of and the beauty they preserve.
We thank you for zoos and aquariums, for the excitement of seeing bizarre and often unimaginable creatures, and for the work they do in conserving species and educating us.
We thank you for play activities, for trampoline parks and soft play, for laser tag and paintball, for the fun we can have with our friends and children playing together.
We thank you for sports, both indoor and outdoor, for swimming and gyms and rugby and football, golf and tennis, croquet and jousting. We thank you for the exercise for our bodies and the chance to play with teammates.
We thank you for pubs and restaurants, for the opportunity for a pint after work or a family lunch. We thank you for proper chips.
We thank you for the opportunities to go on holiday, to fly on aeroplanes to far flung lands or take the train to the coast.
We thank you for freezing British sandcastles and cerulean blue warm foreign seas.
We thank you for city explorations or jungle adventures, for snow-drenched mountains or boating escapades. For the chance to experience new cultures or discover hidden British secrets, and mostly to spend quality relaxed time with those we love.
We thank you for friends and family, for hugs and laughter and love, for meals together and birthday celebrations and joyous weddings. For dinner parties and burnt barbecues, game nights and date nights. For popping out for a coffee or over to your mum’s. For popping anywhere.
We thank you for our church, and the opportunity to meet together to worship you and support each other in body and spirit. And to raise our voices together in song to your glory.
Lord God, in a world filled with more suffering perhaps than in any recent living memory, we pray your hand on all those who need comfort. And we remember your beloved son Jesus, who suffered with us, and died so that our suffering need not be boundless or endless.
We give you thanks for all the good things we are missing and we thank you for the hope and certainty we have in Christ, that all these good things will return. We pray that until that day comes that we will be sustained in strength, physically, emotionally and mentally over the remaining weeks and months.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
