Prayers

Prayer for Father’s Day

Loving God,
we come together on this Father’s Day,
reminded not just of our earthly fathers but of you.
You tell us that all who believe in you
shall be called your children,
and you invite us to address you simply as “Our Father.”
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

We praise you that, despite all our weakness and disobedience,
you view us not as subjects,
or as servants,
but as children.
And we rejoice that you want us to see you
not as some deity remote in splendour,
nor as a jealous God demanding our homage,
but as a father, watching over us
with infinite care and tenderness.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

Loving Father,
teach us not simply to say “Our Father,”
but to mean it –
to recognize that you love us as deeply,
as dependably,
and as devotedly as any human father,
and infinitely more besides.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

Teach us that we matter to you,
that you are concerned for our welfare,
that you delight to bless us,
that we need only to ask and you are there.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

Teach us that it is because you care so much
that you instruct us,
discipline us,
and correct us.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

Teach us that however far we stray from you,
however much we may reject your love
or ignore your guidance,
still you go on reaching out,
longing to draw us close once more.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.

Loving God,
You are “Our Father” and we praise you.
Teach us to be your children,
in the name of Christ.

Amen.

~ written by Nick Fawcett, and posted on the Mother’s Union website. http://www.themothersunion.org/

Father’s Day Litany

Blessed are you Lord our God, creator and redeemer of all;

You father us from all eternity giving life to creation and pouring your love into all you have made.

From the beginning we have known you as “Father”, and all our families have their origin in you. Through the love of earthly fathers you give us a glimpse of your everlasting love.

We give thanks for those fathers who strive to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice. And we pray for those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become good fathers.

We thank You for those fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

We also give thanks for those fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives and for those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing.

We thank you for those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and earn their step-children's love and respect.

And we ask your special blessing on those fathers who have lost a child to death, and who continue to hold those children in their hearts.

We also give thanks for those men who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own. We pray for those men who have “fathered” us in their role as mentors and guides

We ask your blessings on those men who are about to become fathers; may they openly delight in their children.

And we continue to pray for those fathers who have died, but live on in our memories and whose love continues to nurture us.

May the love of our earthly fathers draw us ever nearer to you and perfect in us the image of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

~ posted on the St. John’s Episcopal Church website. http://stjohnssilsbee.com/doc/Fathers_Day_Litany.pdf

Father’s Day Prayer

God our Father,
in your wisdom and love you made all things.
Bless these men,
that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

~ written by Scott McKnight, and posted on the Jesus Creed website. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/

Father’s Day Prayer

Father God thank you for your perfect fathering –
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
shepherded and nurtured; disciplined and challenged
so I can flourish in your purpose and plan for me
and bear my Father’s image more fully still.

Father God, thank you for your perfect example.
I praise you because you show all fathers how to love;
to shepherd and nurture; discipline and challenge
so their sons and daughters can flourish in this world as you have planned,
and carry your presence to all they meet.

Father God, bless all fathers today –
with wisdom, with patience, with courage –
and above all with love for their children.

Father God, bless all children today –
with openness to correction, with eagerness to learn –
and above all with love for their fathers.

Father God bless all who are fatherless today –
surround them with godly men to teach, affirm and guide –
and above all to love with the love of a father – in your strength.

Amen.

~ from the sanctuary website. http://www.thesanctuarycentre.org/