Pastoral Prayer Loving and compassionate God, you designed us to live in the fullest when we feel loved and appreciated and when we love and appreciate others. In that we rejoice, but we confess that we stumble and fall short of that abundant life so many times and in so many ways. And so we come to you in prayer, Lord, asking that in addition to the five senses we already have, you would give to us a sense of proportion, a sense of humor, a sense of responsibility, a sense of calm, and we ask, Lord, that you would just make us more sensitive. Too often we get hot and bothered about some little inconvenience only to ignore the great injustices in plain view. Grant us a sense of humor, the capacity to lighten up.
Laughter energizes our lives and lightens our circumstances.
To our sense of touch, add a sense of responsibility. Let each of us feel the burden of accountability. Life comes with a duty to strive to do good for others. Make us take seriously that obligation. To our sense of smell, add a sense of calm.