Here’s a prayer of intercession for Father’s Day. It was written by Nick Fawcett.
Prayer of Intercession: Father’s Day
Gracious God,
You know the joy of fatherhood and also the pain,
for you witnessed the life and death of your Son,
and you see each day the triumphs and tragedies of us,
your children.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
In Jesus you experienced the delight of being a father –
as you watched him grow and mature into adulthood,
as you saw him baptised into the Jordan,
as day by day he responded to your guidance,
faithful to the very last –
a beloved son with whom you were well pleased.
Yet you also experienced agony –
in the horror of the Cross,
the pain, the humiliation,
and the sorrow he endured for our sakes.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
In each of us you find pleasure –
when we pursue what is good,
when we honour your commandments,
when we seek your will and respond to your guidance.
But we cause you also so much pain –
through our weakness,
our repeated disobedience,
our deafness to your call and our rejection of our love.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
Gracious God,
you know the joy and the pain of fatherhood,
and so now we pray for fathers everywhere.
Help them to appreciate both the privilege
and the responsibility they bear,
and teach them to give freely of themselves
so that they may discover the happiness,
the fulfilment,
and the inexpressible rewards that fatherhood brings.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
Give them wisdom, patience and dedication,
and grant them strength to persevere
when children bring tears as well as laughter,
anxiety as well as hope,
pain as well as pleasure.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
Reach out, we pray, to all fathers in such circumstances –
those who question their ability to cope,
or fear they have failed;
those striving to offer support,
or feel they have nothing left to give.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love.
And finally, hear our prayer for children
who on this Father’s day feel pain instead of joy –
those whose fathers have died,
those orphaned as children,
those who have been mistreated, rejected, abused,
and those from broken homes
who barely see or know their fathers.
Lord God our Father,
reach out in love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
--written by Nick Fawcett, and posted on the Mother's Union website. http://www.themothersunion.org/
For more worship resources for Father’s Day, click on Father’s Day in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
