Here is the prayer I used in Prague, inspired by the stories of Jacob at Bethel and Peniel, please feel free to use it if it is helpful:

 

We have reached a certain place, a physical place, a temporal place and here, O God, we seek to glimpse your glory.

We come to this place bringing with us all that has shaped us thus far, failure and success, fear and hope, doubt and faith, vision and dream.

We find ourselves in the house of God, at the gate of heaven, not because this place is more sacred than another, but because you meet us here, where we are, who we are, how we are.

 

We praise you for the mystery of your presence with us

We thank you for bringing us safely this far

And now, as we look ahead to the future

We seek a fresh encounter with you.

 

As we look heavenwards, we are aware that you reach earthwards

Reaching out to heal and renew what sin and greed would destroy

Offering hope and a future where fear and death abound

Sharing the pain and sorrow, vulnerability and limitation of our lives,

Walking among us, dying for us, defeating evil and destroying death.

 

Our future is as yet unknown to us

The challenges that will face us

The questions that will perplex us

The emotions that will stretch us

Yet, as we stand on the edge of tomorrow

We dare to seek the privilege of wrestling with God

Discerning your mind

Heeding your will

Following your call

So that we, like Israel, may limp towards eternity in the footsteps of Christ

In whose name we pray.

Amen.