Father:  

We rejoice that you are the Creator of heaven and earth, and you are King over all your creation. There is nothing beyond the reach of your power, your throne is established from everlasting to everlasting, and you do according to your will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth, and no one can ward off your hand or say to you, “What have you done?” Every president, king, and dictator, every circumstance, every word, and every breath is ruled by your sovereign providence, and your decrees are holy, wise, and perfect in their eternal purpose and in their effective accomplishment. 

We confess that we desire our way, our wisdom, and our will above yours. In our inability, we resent your power and your providence, and we exalt our frail autonomy. Forgive us for trusting ourselves rather than resting in and submitting to you.  

In Christ, we ask that we would come you as burdened sinners. Let us know the crushing weight of our guilt, let us experience the exhaustion of pursuing our own ways, let us feel the inconsolable frustration of lives filled with covetousness, fear, and self-will, so that we would delight in the truth that your yoke is easy and your burden is light. In prosperity or poverty, in persecution or acceptance, in delight or sorrow, in youth and in advanced age, grant us the conviction that you are good, and all that you do is right as you accomplish your perfect purpose for your glory.  

Glorify your mighty name in all the earth, Sovereign God. Save sinners, sanctify the saints, build your church, destroy the works of the devil, and magnify your mighty name among us, in our families, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. As we engage in fellowship together, as we pray together, as we sing together, as together we give back to you from that which you have provided us, as we sit together and hear your Word proclaimed to us, bring us to grasp our duty and our privilege of worshiping you. Hasten that day, Lord, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to your glory, and we will at last be perfectly embodied and equipped in the New Heaven and Earth to exalt you as you are worthy.   

All this we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.