"Father, You Made All Things" - 23 October 2016 Morning and Evening

{This little critter was looking in my kitchen window yesterday morning}

Sunday morning:

Father, you made all things very good, by the word of your power, in the space of 6 days; and by your almighty present power, whereby as it were by your hand, you sustain heaven, earth and all creatures. We adore you our Creator and our Sustainer!

Compassionate Lord who ate with tax collectors and sinners, who came not to call the righteous but sinners; we pray for those who are unbelievers and those who have strayed away – hear us as we call out their names….save them, change them, cleanse them, make them utterly yours. And help us to be part of that amazing-grace work!

We pray, O Lord, that of your great goodness, you would comfort, strengthen, aid and fortify those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity. We mention those on our minds before you….

We beg you to rule the hearts and ambitions of all who bear the authority of government in this and every land, may they be led to wise decisions and right actions for the peace and welfare of our world. And with regard to those groups and gangs of people banded together to do evil, or to push perversion and immorality on others by use of force and intimidation, we pray with the Psalmist: 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 9.19-20)!

We pray for your Church all over the world, and congregations here in the OKC area: especially for Church on the Rock; City Pres; Community of Faith; Council Road Baptist; Cross Pointe Community Church; Crossings Community Church; Crossroads Church and Crown Heights Christian Church. Lord, you promised that you were building your Church on the rock-solid reality that you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and therefore the gates of hell would never prevail against your church (Matthew 16.18): please preserve your church from the cunning works of Satan so that our thoughts would not be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to you (2 Corinthians 11.3), that we would not be ignorant of his designs and outwitted (2 Corinthians 2.11). For those congregations who desire to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11) cloth them with the whole armor of God and to stand. For those churches that have been beguiled by his subtle promises of relevance and magnitude, who have a reputation for being alive but are really dead (Revelation 3.1) awaken them, and grant them to be strengthened and that their godly works would become complete in your sight. And be with those churches under pressure and under threat of danger – we think especially of the XXXXXX in Turkey, under martial law, threats from ISIS, and intimidation by the police. Grant them continued strength and to live lives above reproach; and that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached clearly and boldly to the ends of Turkey.

Hear our prayer, O Lord; and let our cry come unto you. Amen.

-------

Sunday evening:

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”” (Matthew 28.18-20)

Lord, we long to see others brought into the happy life of Heritage, as together we grow in truth, worship and Christian love. Grant us opportunities to make disciples; to have “divine appointments” to map out the Gospel to others, and to see many baptized and taught the way of Christ. And, as James puts it, if anyone has wandered from the truth, we might be instrumental in bringing them back from their wandering, save their soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5.19-20). O Lord, hear our prayer.

And, Lord, we pray that if anyone is caught in any transgression, by the leading of your Spirit we would step up and restore them in a spirit of gentleness, keeping watch on ourselves, lest we too become tempted. And that we would bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6.1-2). O Lord, hear our prayer.

Missionary God, who sent your Son, and with your Son, sent your Holy Spirit, and now – O Father, Son and Holy Spirit – you send us: we are very thankful for those on our Missions Committee – the time, the work and the concerns; and that they help us to be a mission-minded congregation. Guide them as they gel together to make wise and perceptive decisions; as they help folks prepare for being sent out, as well as funding and praying for those already in the field. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Our Father, we pray for our denomination, this congregation, and also Christ the King Church in Desoto; Denton PCA; Christ PCA in Flower Mound; Fort Worth PCA; Grace and Trinity Presbyterian Churches in Forth Worth. For the younger congregations, we pray that you would mature them in grace, wisdom, joy, resilience and faithfulness. For the older and more established churches, may we not turn in on ourselves and only be concerned about internal issues – as important as those are. But may we always be a facing-forward, facing-outward people, remembering that we exist, not for ourselves, but for you, and your world rescue operation. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Finally Father, hear our other concerns, desires, hopes and appeals…You not only knew these longings and needs before we did, you also know what are the best outcomes. Work all of these out for your glory, our own encouragement and our good, that we may give you thanks and grateful praise all of our days. O Lord, hear our prayer.