Pastoral Prayer for Father's Day

Here’s the beginning and end of a pastoral prayer for Father’s Day from John Vest’s website.

Father’s Day Prayer

Almighty God of all creation,
we join our voices to praise you today,
singing of your wonders,
giving thanks for your grace and care,
and celebrating the joys of life you have blessed us with:
family and friends;
new relationships and deeper relationships;
new life and transformed lives;
reconciliation and restoration.

On this day we are especially grateful for the gifts of fathers,
the gifts of being a father.
and fathers that we miss.
We thank you for the many ways that our fathers have shaped us,
for their example and their love.
Yet we also pray for those

who have painful relationships with their fathers;
those who are estranged from their fathers
and fathers who are estranged from their children.
And, God, we pray for those who are unwilling or unable
to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood.

[prayer continues]

Gracious God,
all of our prayers are summed up in the longing for your kingdom,
that wonderful, amazing, and new reality that is emerging all around us.
So we join our voices together, God,
praying for the coming of your kingdom,
using the words that Jesus taught us.

Our Father…

~ written by John W. Vest, and posted on John Vest. http://johnvest.com/