A Prayer Of Thanks For God's Presence in Life's Journey

At the moment I am preaching my way through a selection of the psalms of ascent. I'm calling the series Songs from the Road, as we look at the upward journey following Jesus. This is a prayer for the service on Sunday. It's trinitarian in nature and picks up God's presence with us on life's Journey. To tell you the truth I do wonder if I haven't laboured the journey motif a bit too much. The first stanza (if one may claim a poetic term for such humble writing) is influenced by Psalm 107, not a psalm of ascent but one from Israel's return from exile with such vivid images of landscape both physical and of the soul.

Eternal and gracious God

You reign over our stays on quite river banks

You are the Lord of the storm tossed seas we venture upon

You sustain us as we wonder through dry desert times

You lead us to green pasture and restore our souls

You have bought us this far by your grace

And You will lead us on to our home with you

Merciful and gracious saviour

We were weighed down by our sin and shame

WE plodded on, under its crippling weight

You stepped into our world showed us the way

Then you bore our sin upon the cross and it is no more

The price has been paid and we are free

WE share your new life in all its fullness

Holy Spirit our guide and comforter

We were alone and in the darkness,

But as we turned to Jesus, you filled us with his light

You dwell with us, with us and work to make us whole

You empower us by your presence to live for Jesus

To witness to the great hope we have in him

Enabled and equipped by you to love and serve

Great and good God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

We come today to praise and worship you for who you are

To give thanks for all you have done

You created the world and work you purposes out in history

In Christ You saved us and are making us whole

You are calling us to see your kingdom established

in the depths and the heights of life’s journey you are with us.