"We are bold to pray to you; O Lord God, Mighty God" - 20 September 2015 A.M and P.M.

Sunday A.M.

Because of Jesus, because of your Holy Spirit, and because of your strongly guaranteed promises, we are bold to pray to you; O Lord God, Mighty God.

Bring the unruliness and agitation of all the nations of this world to a place of peace, orderliness, and the rule of just law (esp. the tumultuous realm Afghanistan, the distressed nations Iraq and Syria, the violence-torn country of Mexico, and the overwhelmed lands of the European Union), so that peaceful and healthy prosperity might prevail, the unfortunate relieved of their distresses, your church live quietly and safely, and your Gospel go out unhindered.

Direct in our country those who speak where many listen, and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the hearts of this people wise, their mind sound, and their wills righteous.

Rain down health on the sick and ailing, fortify those receiving treatment for serious diseases, provide sanity for those troubled in mind and heart, and give consolation and hope for the grieving……

Consider the needs of this congregation, loving Father. As you have called us through your Son to liberty, may we not use our liberty as an opportunity to serve the flesh, but through love to serve one another (Galatians 5.13).  Look kindly on our families that harmony may fill out our homes and our marriages get stronger. Bless those with “empty nests,” as well as those who are single and widowed, that their days may be filled with your presence, and their time employed in your service.

Revive, enrich, guide, and empower your church throughout the world, including the Southern Baptist Convention, Church of God (Anderson, IND); Independent Baptist alliances; and the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Please guide your churches that they may confidently trust in your Son Jesus Christ for their hope and salvation, that they may crucify the flesh with its passions and desires, and that they would live and walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5.25-26).

Finally, look in mercy on these whom we mention silently to you who have yet to embrace Jesus Christ as he is freely offered in the Gospel, and on these who have strayed away from the Christian Faith ….

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Sunday P.M.

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to you, our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. You cover the heavens with clouds; you prepare rain for the earth; you make grass grow on the hills. You give to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. Your delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor your pleasure in the legs of a man, but you, O LORD, take pleasure in those who fear you, in those who hope in your steadfast love (Psalm 147:8-11 ESV).

We pray for your Church throughout the nations, including St. Elijah Orthodox Church; St. George Greek Orthodox; St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox; All Souls Episcopal; and Church of the Redeemer; may they contend for the true Faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, building themselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep themselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 3 and 20-21). O Lord, hear our prayer.

Lord God, Great King over all the earth, who is great beyond the borders of Israel: we ask you to be with this land that we love; stand beside her, and guide her thru the night with a light from above; from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam. O God, please bless America; our home, sweet home. And to that end, may your churches in this country be revived in robust righteousness and firm faithfulness; may our families become steadier; our liberties become more secure; our fellow citizens less concerned with amassing their entitlements, and more about the common good; and our officials, policymakers and lawmakers less interested in building their own empires and more involved in a healthy and wholesome land. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Where could we turn, O Lord, if not to you? You are the one who made us, who knows us deeper than we know even our own selves. Your eyes, O LORD, are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). There are some who are here who have burdens that they are desperate for you to know, but maybe are ashamed to mention to you….; there are others who have undergone things that have grieved their souls, and maybe feel overlooked….; there are some whose tears are silent and whose sobs are soundless out of despair…. Lord, you know us deeper than we know even ourselves. Hear the solitude, hear the loneliness, hear the sighs, hear the wordless gasps; and answer them with the light of your smile, and the richness of your compassion.  O Lord, hear our prayer.