Opening Prayer
Lord you are my lover, the object
of my desire; you are like a stream flowing through my body, a sun shining on
my face. Let me be your reflection. Amen.
—Mechtild of
Magdeburg, 1210-1280
John 17:20-26
“My prayer is not for them alone. I
pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of
them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also
be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them
the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and
you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will
know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those you have
given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have
given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
“Righteous Father, though the world
does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made
you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love
you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” TNIV
Prayer of Confession
Lord Jesus Christ, who prayed that
all your children might be one in you; we pray for the restoration of visible
unity to your church. Forgive the pride and the lack of love, which have driven
us apart. Take away our narrow-mindedness, our bitterness, our prejudice. May
we never consider as normal the disunity, which is a scandal to the world and
an offence to your love. Teach us to recognize the gifts of your grace in all
those who call upon you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —Author Unknown (French
Reformed)
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