Oh God, in this time of Lent, we come humbly as your children, confessing our need of your work in our lives. Renew and restore us we pray.
God of Mercy and Grace, you came to us through your Son Jesus, to break down the dividing walls of hostility between us; yet we maintain walls that separate and isolate.
You give us the ministry of reconciliation; yet we nurse our wounds and withhold mercy and forgiveness.
You invite us to celebrate the glory of your presence as Peter, James, and John experienced on the mountain; yet we deny the wonders you have worked in our own lives.
You ask us to acknowledge and share our wealth; yet at times we refuse to recognize and relieve the poverty around us.
You bless our lives with boundless love; yet we fail to witness to that love,
and so keep others from knowing you.
Forgive our selfishness, we pray. Transform us by your Spirit and your Word into that which pleases you.
Make us new, enabling us to become the image of Christ in our world.
And as you renew us, we worship you, O God, with songs of praise.
We worship you with words of prayer and with ears that listen for you to speak your saving truth into our lives.
We worship you in the silent spaces where we struggle for hope and for courage.
We long for a glimpse of your glory; the glory that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it; the glory that touches lives with a beauty so holy that it heals the wounded soul;
the glory that gives strength to the weary.
We, who stumble and fall so often, worship you, longing for your light to shine upon us.
Pour your holy love into our lives; draw us into your purifying presence;
speak to us your transforming truth.
Then, grant us grace to live every moment changed by such glory—
daring to live with hope and courage and love, reflecting the life of Jesus,
through whom your glory shines in the most unexpected ways.
We lift up your Holy Name. Amen.