Father, some of us come here from a place of real joy and closeness with You. Many if not most of us are a mixed bag of closeness to You as well as internal and external struggles that weigh and press in on us. And some of us are merely struggling to hang on. Lord for all of us though, there are real points of struggle to believe what You’ve promised, to believe that You’re good to us. Wherever we are Lord, we pray that You would kindle our hearts with the fire of faith by Your Spirit to fight against our tendency to unbelief. Would we not neglect our pursuit of You, knowing that as we patiently pursue You, You promise to reward those who seek after You. As 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Father, knowing that’s true in the end, would you at a very fundamental level simply show us Jesus in Your Word in greater ways now? Would we be captivated by what we see of Jesus, His glorious power and justice, as well as His tenderness and kindness and mercy, and would this melt our cold hearts that ebb and flow in struggle to believe what you’ve promised? You know our frame and remember that we are dust. We’re desperate for Your sustaining grace in this and pray to this end.

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP)