Prayer for Becoming New Wineskins

Date: November 30, 2022

…no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
if he does, the new wine will burst the skins
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
Luke 5:37-38

Lord, when You spoke in parables, You always
said just what those with open ears needed
to hear. So when You told Your listeners that
new wine cannot be put in old wineskins, surely
they must have understood. Didn’t they?
What is new wine but the elixir of the Holy Spirit?
And what are old wineskins but our old, tattered
selves, cracked and stiff and full of rips?
Lord, You are always creating the new;
You invite us to become new wineskins
into which You can pour Your holiness.
Renew, reinvigorate and transform us, we
earnestly pray. You, Lord, like practiced
vintners, knew that when new wine was
poured into old, used wineskins, pressure
from previous fermentation within could
cause them to burst. So You will never, ever
just patch up our old selves; no, You will
create us anew, turning us into fresh,
malleable wineskins that can stretch as
we grow and fill up with the Holy Spirit.
By our baptism we received new life in You;
now we humbly ask that You grant us
further renewal so we may continue to
serve You in newness of life all our days.