Holy God, our Living Water and our merciful Guide, together with the rivers and seas, wells and springs, we bless and magnify you. You led your people by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, and provided them water from the rock. We thank you for the gift of water. The Holy Spirit moved over water in the beginning of creation. In water, your Son Jesus received the gift of baptism and was anointed by the Holy Spirit to lead us into the way of everlasting life through his life, death, and resurrection. Gracious God, you have called us into a community of faith. We are called to life by you and to sustain life with you, the source of life and creator of every being. We pray for those who struggle every day for their daily supply of water: in the slums of Brazilian cities, in the deserts of Africa, in the townships where clean water does not flow. We pray for those who experience floods and for others in desperate need of water. We pray that those who are fortunate to have an abundance of water do not take your gift for granted, or fail to heed and understand the cries of people who need water for life. Amen
Used by permission of the Lutheran World Federation.
I am also thinking of the wonderful prayer over the water from the Baptismal service: "We thank you for the gift of water...." Something to be grateful for from the cellular level on up.
ReplyDeleteMany of us in Bethlehem were without safe water for days this week--everything had to be boiled and filtered. Makes us really mindful of the importance of water--which we often take for granted.
ReplyDelete