1st Sunday in Lent - Pastoral Prayer

Dear LORD,

In this season
We remind ourselves that
We are dust
And to dust
We shall return.
We remind ourselves that
We will die
Someday.

O God, Some of us are all too familiar with this fact—
Through illnesses, natural disasters, accidents,
violence, aging, and the death of loved ones.
Some of us do not need to be reminded that
“the grass withers and the flower fades.”

Still others of us, O God, deny this fact,
Filling our days to the brim
With activities and entertainment.
We fight our mortality with busyness.

But in this season, O God, lead us
And surprise us
Into still, quiet places
Where we may realize that
Even though we are dust
Even though we will die
We are upheld by your Holy Spirit,
Which gives us courage and comfort
To sort through the tears, uncertainties, and trembling.

Help us to know and trust that—
Whether we wake up in our own bed,
In or beside a hospital bed,
Or in heaven—
We have never left your sight,
We have never left your arms.

We give you thanks for the assurance
Of your love made known
In your son, Jesus.

Who taught us to pray with boldness,
saying, "Our Father..."

Amen.