St. Nicolai Notes

Prayer for April 18-24, 2021
Sermon Text: Luke 24:36-49 

May our experience of your power and vitality energize us for life that is grounded in God's wisdom

Jesus, we praise your name! We celebrate God’s powerful work of new life, begun in You, and continuing in each of us who have been forgiven and transformed by your love. We rejoice that in You God has fulfilled many promises, and we hope in God’s continuing fidelity, which You demonstrated among us.

We know we would have been “startled and frightened,” and probably full of “joy and amazement,” too, had we encountered You after your resurrection. We know, because we are often fearful in the face of new life and transformed reality. We are often confused by the work that God does to bring newness among us when we are convinced that everything is settled and there is no possibility for change. Through You, God continuously challenges our expectations, experience, and perceptions.

Keep startling, amazing, and scaring us. Keep filling us with unexpected joy. Let our experiences of your presence and power, and of the vitality of your word, move us toward, and energize us for life that is grounded in God’s wisdom. May God’s will be declared and enacted among us in fresh ways today, and in the coming days. Amen.