The sun radiates light and warmth that causes plants to grow so that we might have a harvest. It also warms the earth so that our planet is covered by oceans, rivers, and lakes, rather than freezing over as one giant ball of ice. In a way that is at times hard to fully appreciate, the sun sustains life on earth. And yet, we remember that the sun exists because God spoke it into being. And it rises every day because it obeys God's every command. Even more, Psalm 67 imagines the face of God being like the face of the sun. God's face shining on us blesses the whole earth, every nation on earth, and all the people on earth.
Lord, we delight in the sun you created to bring light and warmth and even life to this world. We thank you for warm summer days, for growing crops, and for the sunshine that brightens our days and even our moods. Even more, we delight in the glory of your face. Your face shining upon us is the source of our life, our forgiveness, our peace, our joy, our acceptance and love, and every good thing we enjoy, O Lord. You are good, and we want to praise your name forever!
Lord, we also want your glory to cover the whole earth, as the light of the sun touches every part of this world. Grant that those living in darkness might be brought into the light. We pray even, Lord, that you might use us in your mission of reaching the world: use our testimonies of your goodness, our sacrificial generosity, our faithful friendships, our gifts, our time, our compassion; use our very lives Lord to bring others into the joy of knowing your love. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
