Lord, we thank you for the promise

Lord, we thank you for the promise
seen in every human birth:
you have planned each new beginning–
who could hope for greater worth?
Hear our prayer for those we cherish:
claim our children as your own —
in the fertile ground of childhood
may eternal seed be sown.

2   Lord, we thank you for the vigour
burning in the years of youth:
strength to face tomorrow’s challenge,
zest for life and zeal for truth.
In the choice of friends and partners,
when ideas and values form,
may the message of your kingdom
be the guide, the goal, the norm.

3   Lord, we thank you for the harvest
of the settled, middle years:
times when work and home can prosper,
when life’s richest fruit appears;
but when illness, stress and hardship
fill so many days with dread,
may your love renew the vision
of a clearer road ahead.

4   Lord, we thank you for the beauty
of a heart at last mature:
crowned with peace and rich in wisdom,
well-respected and secure;
but to those who face the twilight
frail, bewildered, lacking friends,
Lord, confirm your gracious offer:
perfect life which never ends.