Congregational Prayer - 2 November 2014
Sunday Morning:
O Lord God, Giver of all good things, in whom there is no
double-mindedness nor is there any dark side (James 1.17); we come in confidence
to pray for your World and your Church. We pray for your peace, justice and
wholesomeness to rule and prevail in all nations (esp. Iraq, Syria,
Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ukraine).
Almighty God, thank you for this country. Continue to preserve our
nation economically, legally, educationally, and morally; please guide our
leaders for the good of our country and the peace of your Church; and govern
the mid-term elections this week that the right things and the right people
will be elected.
We ask for your care, protection and provision for all our U.S. Military
personnel, (Thank you for Xxxxxx’s safe return).
We intercede on behalf of all who are sick, struggling and suffering
(esp. these)…. Raise up the beat down; turn the light of your face on those
swallowed up in dark-despair; and restore each and everyone body and soul.
We pray for all those who have never confessed Christ Jesus as the
Lord, those who have strayed away from the faith, as well as those who claim to
be atheists and skeptics…; graciously convert them, giving them faith in Christ
and repentance unto life. And do, please, give us opportunities to tell them
the Good News of Christ Jesus the Lord.
We pray for Your Church throughout the world: For those churches who
have compromised the everlasting wholeness of your Law and Gospel, we beg you
to reclaim and recover them. For all the rest we pray your generous care for
all their needs, strengthen them in faith, hope and love, and be glorified in
all their works and decisions. And Father, we thank you for the faithful who
have run this race before us, for the encouragement of the great cloud of
witnesses who fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith.
For this congregation we pray: renew our spirits by your Holy Spirit,
and draw our hearts unto yourself, that our work may not be a burden but a
delight; and give us such a mighty love to you as may sweeten all our obedience.
Let us not serve with the spirit of bondage as slaves, but with cheerfulness
and gladness of heart, as children delighting ourselves in you and rejoicing in
your biddings, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Sunday Evening:
For behold, LORD God, you are the one who forms the
mountains and creates the wind, you declare to man what is your thought, who
makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD,
the God of hosts, this is your name (Amos 4.13)! Glory to you, LORD God of
hosts; glory to you, Almighty Creator; glory to you, who sustains us and all
creation.
You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; you have established your throne
for justice, and you judge the world with righteousness; you judge the peoples
with uprightness. You are a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times
of trouble. Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD,
have not forsaken those who seek you. We implore you to protect and deliver
your people who are hunted down and hounded by tyrants and tormentors. Also,
please rescue those people who are being crushed under the heel of injustice
and oppression. Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged
before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but
men! (Psalm 9.7-10, 19-20). O
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for your Church in all places, including Heavenly Heights
Baptist Church; Henderson Hills Baptist; Heritage Baptist; Higher Ground
Baptist; Highland Hills Baptist and Highland Landmark Missionary Baptist Church:
Father, so that you may be glorified in your saints, and marveled at among all
who have believed on the day of Christ’s final return; we ask that you would be
pleased to make us worthy of your calling and that you might fulfill every
resolve for good and every work of faith by your power, so that the name of our
Lord Jesus may be glorified in us, and we in him, according to the grace of
you, our God, and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1.10-12). O
Lord, hear our prayer.
Father, help us, in this congregation, to keep ourselves free from love
of money, and to be content with what we have, for you have said, "I will
never leave you nor forsake you." Therefore, we have every reason to
confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do
to me" (Hebrews 13.5-6)? We confess to you that living in our consumer
society, in our envy-driven and acquisition-leaning culture which incessantly
touts the mantra of “buy more, have more, keep up with and bypass the Jonses,”
that it is easy to slip into greed on the one hand, and despair on the other.
Forgive us and help us, since godliness with contentment is great gain (1
Timothy 6.6). O Lord, hear our
prayer.
Finally, Lord God, we pray for those from our fellowship,
amongst our friends and in our families who older years are painful and
disconcerting, those who are distressed, those who are injured or infirm, those
who feel or appear to be coming apart at the seams, those who are hobbled by
serious aching…refresh them with your plentiful mercies, lift their hearts, and
grant them relief. O Lord, hear our prayer.
(If these prayers benefit you and you find them helpful, please employ them in your church, Bible study, or personal devotions. Mike)
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