A Prayer For Easter

A Prayer for Easter

O resurrected, risen King,

We praise You on this Easter morning

With glad and grateful hearts,

Eager to shout Your glory.

Death could not hold You.

Sin could not destroy You.

For You are God

And worthy of every praise!

O Jesus, You continue to make a way

Where there is no way.

As we celebrate Your resurrection power,

We pray our children

Would sing and dance

In the promise that we are Easter people

And we have a living hope in You.

May our children

Bask in the truth

That You have conquered sin and death,

And may that living hope

Spill into all they do, all they meet, all they are.

Lord, You know us by name,

And You do not forget us

Or forsake us.

May our children proclaim Your goodness,

And may they feel Your graciousness

Shine upon their faces

Like the spring dawn breaking through.

In the empty tomb,

We are given life—

And life abundant!

All the jelly beans and dyed eggs,

Baskets and bunnies

Pale in comparison to You.

O Prince of Peace, we celebrate on this day.

As we eat and gather around the table,

May we remember those who are lonely,

Those who have none to feast with

Or share their table with.

As we eat and gather around the table,

May we remember those who cannot afford

To fill their cupboards.

As we eat and gather around the table,

May we remember those whose lives

Have been marked by violence.

As we eat and gather around the table,

May we pray for all those who are unsafe

In sharing their faith.

As we go out into the world,

May our family live in a way

That proclaims the Good News—

Good news for the poor,

Good news that sets the captive free.

O God, the tomb could not hold You.

Fill our family with a love

That is shared between us

And freely given to everyone we meet.

The earth declares Your glory.

All of creation praises Your name.

And our hearts cry out, “Hallelujah!”

We praise You, O Lord,

As we throw off the sin and the shame of yesterday.

Let us dance in the promise of the new morning

Of today and tomorrow and forevermore!

Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; John 20:11-18; Luke 4:18