The following was my prayer for All Saints Sunday. In the 8:30 service, people spoke out loud the names of departed loved ones and the congregation responded, “Lord, we give you thanks.”
Almighty God, from whom and through whom we have life: We thank you as sincerely as we know how for all the good gifts you give to us—the gift of Creation and all your handiwork; the gift of life; the gift of love, from which nothing can separate us; the gift of eternal life made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus. On this All Saints Sunday, we also thank you, especially, for the gifts of your faithful followers who lived exemplary Christian lives and who taught us through their example how we should live, who have finished their race and rest securely with you and all other saints until your Son comes in final victory and we all experience resurrection and new life. We hold these loved ones in our hearts, and during these moments ahead we lift up their names in remembrance…
As we continue to find inspiration from their legacies, enable us by your Holy Spirit to live in such a way that people who follow us may be changed by our legacy of faithfulness. Identify within us those blind spots of sin that prevent us from being everything you want us to be. Enable us to repent, grow, and change. We pray this in the name of your Son Jesus, who taught us this prayer… [Continue to the Lord’s Prayer.]
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