Today is “Father’s Day” so I thought I should provide something special, just for us Dads.
So, today instead of the usual. I think I will share a prayer. But, not just any prayer, a prayer not “For a Father” but “By a Father”.

A FATHERS PRAYER ON FATHER’S DAY
Almighty God,

I come to you today in a prayer of gratitude, of my deepest thanks for all my life has been and is yet to be. Your Holy Presence within me is my strength, my wisdom and my love.
I thank you for my children and the love I have for them all. And, the love I shared with their mother that allowed them to be. May they be ever mindful of Your Love that brings life to all existence.

I pray, Your presence is known within each of their lives in a very special way. That they might know You as I do. A living and present God, providing them life and all they need to live it in abundance. Not with material things, but those things from within. From down deep inside our spirits that speaks to our minds and is seen in our actions and heard in our words. That they might know the true God that is “within” rather than seek one that is “beyond”.
I pray that my children and their children will embrace a life of unconditional love for all humankind and all of God’s creations. That they will put aside any form of bigotry and hate toward others and learn that forgiveness, mercy and grace are the keys to true happiness. That they will live their lives in love so profoundly that all who know them will see it there. And, that they will find the peace that comes from knowing what “God-like love” is and make it the center of their lives.

I pray that each of them will be filled with strength, courage, power and boldness tempered by wisdom, knowledge and understanding that can only come from the presence of God in their lives. It matters not whether they see God as a Spirit, a Power, an Energy or a Force for it is all the same. What matters is that they live their lives in such a way as to honor their very existence, honor “That which is within them” that gives them life. And, that they do so by the kindness, compassion and unconditional love they display in their everyday living.
May your Holy Presence be with them always and may You watch over them and protect them against all the wrongs that this world might bring forth. Be in their lives as you are in my own and let them know you are there always.

I pray Lord God that you will lead, guide and direct our lives in such a way that we might be a blessing to all creation and an honor to who we are and our God.
May these words be manifest in my life and in the lives of those you have given me. For now, and forever.
Amen.

Happy Father’s Day 2018 and may my prayer be yours,
Rev. Dr. Shannon Rogers, DDiv, UCCA