Jesus,
May Your resurrection
Incite a lifestyle of celebration.
The future reality of Your Kingdom
Has pierced into our present pain
And brought the hope of heaven
To our lives, families, and cities.
Jesus,
May Your resurrection
Increase our holy determination.
We want to join in Your revolution
Of living and laboring joyfully
For the sake of others.
Jesus,
May Your resurrection
Illuminate our daily participation.
May we trust small acts of love and service
Are signposts of hope and heaven.
Jesus,
May Your resurrection
Expand our imagination.
Reframe for us what is holy ground,
The sacred overlap of heaven and earth.
Jesus,
May Your resurrection
Be a ceaseless celebration of Your inauguration.
Your Kingdom has begun!
You are making all things new!
Prayer inspired by the book, “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” by N.T. Wright.
Other prayers to engage with place…
God of Welcome,
I dedicate my table to You.
You are kind.
You are good.
You are beautiful.
I ask that I would receive You
In the generosity of kinship gathered around my table.
Thank you for the caregivers in our lives.
For those who make us feel noticed, seen, and loved.
For the spouse who made our breakfast.
For the friend who follows up with a text.
For the neighbor who brings in a package.
For the barista who remembers our name.
For the stranger who extends an act of care.
Thanks be to God,
the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
who delighted in making
the families of plants
who call our homes
their home.
Visio Divina is a prayer practice in which God speaks to us through what we see. In Latin, the words “Visio Divina” mean "holy" or "divine" seeing. I have appreciated this prayer practice for several years, using art. However, it can also be applied to everything we see in the created world, whether grand or tiny. Visio Divina can usher us into a new experience of God.
Jesus,
You are the Light of the World, the King of the Universe, the only Son of God.
And, the way You chose to show us how to love each other
Was through the sacred ordinary
Of the basin and towel.
You are invited to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and listen.
When we wake into God’s vast creation,
May we listen and pay attention to what we hear:
birds chirping, water running, wind rushing—
but also what we don’t want to hear:
traffic, construction, alerts, and alarms.