Heavenly Father and King,
We come to you today as people who would rather govern our own lives than submit to your rule and shepherding. Instead of bowing down in reverence, full of all, and wonder that you, the Almighty creator King of the universe should stoop so low to love and care for us, we often treat you as a servant who should do our bidding and meet all our desires. Instead of honoring the wonderful and merciful Father that you are to us, we run from your goodness and love toward false and dangerous hopes of our desires and idolatries. Our inability to discipline our wandering ways results in incredible brokenness in our lives and relationships: our families, friends, and coworkers have often become the recipients as well as the source of our sin and pain.
Jesus, thank you for worshiping your Father with unwavering faith and unshakable hope on our behalf. Fully knowing and cherishing His true character, you submitted to His wisdom and trusted Him completely in all the circumstances of your life. You ran to Him often in your times of need and never turned toward false gods. The brokenness that entered this holy family came from the willing sacrifice you made to be separated from your Father in an eternal payment for your sin. Now your obedience is ours, and we are so grateful to be united to you and define by your righteousness instead of our own.
Holy Spirit, we are utterly feeble and weak and we need your power at work in us. Help us to know and worship our God, as He is, our King and Father, who loves us passionately in the middle of our foolishness. Press the truth of Your gospel deep into our souls so that we see the work of our triune God: the Father, the radiant Potentate of time and the lover of our souls; Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, humble, weary, bleeding for us, but at the same time the glorious Lamb upon the throne, crowned with many crowns, and worshiped by angelic host; and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who is graciously at work in our hearts and lives. Cause us to know, and feel God’s great love for us until we are transformed into people who love others deeply because of a great sense of our own need and an undeniable sense of our forgiveness and adoption. Open our lips to join the heavenly worship service and sing praises to our heavenly king today, tomorrow, and forever more. Amen.
