Use this prayer of the seven symbols of ash to help your church have a deep and meaningful Ash Wednesday.
Please pray aloud:
Sovereign Lord, come use the meanings of ash to make this Ash Wednesday meaningful for my church.
May the ash remind us of our loss—not just our loved ones, but the things, the lifestyles, the relationships, and the aspirations we have buried this year. For everything we once held dear that has returned to the dust from which they came.
May the ash remind us of our own mortality—that just like the people we grieve, we too are like the grass that withers and the flowers that fall. That you alone endure forever, O Lord.
May the ash remind us of our emptiness—that our hearts have idolized the meaningless things of this world. That we’ve chased and feasted on delicacies, but in the end they satisfy us like ash. You alone are the Bread of Life, Lord.
May the ash humble us—that we are nothing before you. We are limited in strength, limited in our wisdom, limited in our beauty. Move us to say with your servant Abraham, “we are nothing but dust and ashes.” Not to humiliate us, God, but that we might know your strength, your wisdom, your glory.
…use the meanings of ash to make this Ash Wednesday meaningful for my church.
—Pray for Your Church Share on: Twitter
May the ash remind us of our shame—like children hiding beneath blankets after breaking the rules, like Adam and Eve covering themselves in fig leaves, like the people of Israel hiding in caves and covering themselves in dust before your majesty, we too cover ourselves in ash because of our sin.
May the ash move us to confession—to acknowledge our sin in both what we’ve done and in what we’ve failed to do against you and against our neighbor. Teach us, God, how have we shown contempt for your name? Use the ash to remind us that we are unclean before you, the perfect and Holy One.
Finally, may the ash remind us of your forgiveness—how ash is also used as a cleansing agent. As your Word says, “The ashes of a sacrifice sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctifies them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, will the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.”
Use the ash from today’s service to deepen my church’s celebration of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus!
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Some of the Scripture used in today’s prayer:
Genesis 3:19, Isaiah 40:6-8, Lamentations 4:5, John 6:35, Genesis 18:27, Genesis 3:7, Isaiah 2:10, Daniel 9:3-4, Hebrews 9:13-14
