God of all deliverance and salvation, our lives are a mist and shadow, and then we pass away. All flesh is grass, and we wither and die. And yet, in Your great wisdom, according to Your Word, which does not wither and die, You have set eternity in our hearts. You have made us in Your image, and therefore we hunger for true communion with You.
We confess ourselves to be wraiths, living in a land of shadow and appearance, knowing that ultimate reality can be found only in Your presence. We also confess that Your glory and presence pervades this material world around us, and yet, because of the Fall, we are not able to see it as we ought to.
But Father, we praise You for the coming day of resurrection, when we will no longer look through the glass darkly, but will rather see You face to face. We will finally see the created order in the light of that blinding revelation of unapproachable light, a light which we may approach through Jesus Christ our Lord. We would continue that approach to You now, with halting steps and slow. Guide by the hands, as You did with the toddler Ephraim.