You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is in them. You alone have given life to all of them. All of creation bows down to you. 

You alone have saved us. You have put your spirit in us, promising to never leave us. You alone are faithful and steadfast in all your ways and in all your words. 

Help us to be faithful as you are faithful – faithful to your word and faithful to each other. Help us to be steadfast in our faith. Help us to not move off of Christ.  

We are often not faithful and we need to remember that you are.  

Forgive us when we are discontent with what you have provided, when we look elsewhere for our greatest joy and contentment. When we look to politics, sports, career, or family, thinking those things will bring us some contentment that you can’t bring. 

Forgive us when we complain about what you have given us – when we complain about each other, when we complain about what we do in our time together. We’re surprised that Israel would complain just days after seeing you part the Red Sea, then we ourselves do the same thing. Remind us to do all things without grumbling or complaining because we are your children. 

Forgive us when we pursue the praise of men rather than your praise. When we seek temporary joys over eternal joys. Remind us that what you give to us is forever and greater than anything we can find here on earth. 

Forgive us when we neglect your word – when we don’t read it, when we don’t hide it in our hearts, when we don’t mediate on it, when it is not primary in all our thinking. Help us to desire your word more than gold, to run to your word daily, to long for your word and the change it brings to our hearts. 

Help us to be steadfast in our faith, not turning aside to any of these things that distract us. Help us to rest in our secure sinless future with you. 

Help us to be faithful now – faithful to each other, faithful with what you’ve given us – and to pursue intimacy and closeness with you. 

Help us to say with Paul that we have fought the good fight, that we have finished the race, that we have kept the faith.  

Amen.