Praying for Legislators at Specially Called Meeting (September 2017)
I was asked to join Joel Harder of Capitol Commission (in the picture below), and Doug Melton from Southern Hills Baptist Church in a prayer lunch for the Oklahoma legislators who are in a called special meeting (26 September 2017).
Here is the part I led:
Here is the part I led:
PRAYER FOR ALL LEGISLATORS: DR. MIKE PHILLIBER
Let Us Confess Our Sins:
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1.7, 9).
And so, it is very appropriate for us to spend a moment silently confessing our sins.
Silence….
We confess to you, O God, that we have sinned against heaven and in your sight; and are not worthy to be called your children. Yet you do not retain your anger forever because you delight in mercy. Therefore have compassion on us, subdue our iniquities, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea; for the sake of him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood, Christ Jesus your Son and our Savior. Amen (Luke 15:21; Micah 7:18-19; Revelation 1:5).
Let Us Pray for the Joy of Salvation because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Silence…
Almighty God, whose joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8.10), whose kingdom is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14.17), and whose love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; may your Spirit wash over us with joy, so that righteousness may flourish in our homes and callings, and peace thrive. May your Spirit make your love for us, to us, and in us more real than ever. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Divine Wisdom:
Silence….
O our God and Father, who is making the first last and the last first, who has made little children the measure of your kingdom; please give us that wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3.17). As we operate, deliberate, expostulate, and at times, remonstrate, may it not be as enemies and adversaries, but as fellow human beings made in your image, made to have unending fellowship with you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May we grasp right from wrong and chose that which is right, for ourselves, our families, and our people. May partiality and prejudice be put far from us, and integrity and equality gain the upper hand. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Discernment:
Silence…
Lord, since the wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving (Proverbs 14.8); we cry out to you to endow us with discerning hearts and perceptive minds and to see that the decisions made here are not mere abstractions, and that the deliberations are not about winning contests of muscle and might. Instead, these men and women are called upon by the townsfolk and inhabitants to guide toward the common good. These decisions are for real flesh-and-blood men, real flesh-and-blood women, real single parents worn thin and worn down, actual unemployed and underemployed, tangible girls and boys who giggle and laugh, but who also see hard things and hear harsh words, etc. And so we pray for clear-headed discernment so that there will be true liberty and justice for all, the free born, the foreign born and the unborn. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Teachability:
Silence….
Honestly, Lord, it is easy – all too easy – to let our positions go to our heads. Whether we’re pastors, politicians, parents, professors, police, or proprietors, we can fall into the trap of believing our own propaganda and praise. But Lord, you are the potter, we are the clay. May we never harden to the point of brittleness or big-headedness. Keep our hearts ever and always soft and supple in your masterly hands so that we may be able to learn, grow and blossom.
All of this we ask because of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and High Priest. Amen.
Silence….
We confess to you, O God, that we have sinned against heaven and in your sight; and are not worthy to be called your children. Yet you do not retain your anger forever because you delight in mercy. Therefore have compassion on us, subdue our iniquities, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea; for the sake of him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his own blood, Christ Jesus your Son and our Savior. Amen (Luke 15:21; Micah 7:18-19; Revelation 1:5).
Let Us Pray for the Joy of Salvation because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Silence…
Almighty God, whose joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8.10), whose kingdom is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14.17), and whose love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; may your Spirit wash over us with joy, so that righteousness may flourish in our homes and callings, and peace thrive. May your Spirit make your love for us, to us, and in us more real than ever. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Divine Wisdom:
Silence….
O our God and Father, who is making the first last and the last first, who has made little children the measure of your kingdom; please give us that wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3.17). As we operate, deliberate, expostulate, and at times, remonstrate, may it not be as enemies and adversaries, but as fellow human beings made in your image, made to have unending fellowship with you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May we grasp right from wrong and chose that which is right, for ourselves, our families, and our people. May partiality and prejudice be put far from us, and integrity and equality gain the upper hand. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Discernment:
Silence…
Lord, since the wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving (Proverbs 14.8); we cry out to you to endow us with discerning hearts and perceptive minds and to see that the decisions made here are not mere abstractions, and that the deliberations are not about winning contests of muscle and might. Instead, these men and women are called upon by the townsfolk and inhabitants to guide toward the common good. These decisions are for real flesh-and-blood men, real flesh-and-blood women, real single parents worn thin and worn down, actual unemployed and underemployed, tangible girls and boys who giggle and laugh, but who also see hard things and hear harsh words, etc. And so we pray for clear-headed discernment so that there will be true liberty and justice for all, the free born, the foreign born and the unborn. Amen.
Let Us Pray for Teachability:
Silence….
Honestly, Lord, it is easy – all too easy – to let our positions go to our heads. Whether we’re pastors, politicians, parents, professors, police, or proprietors, we can fall into the trap of believing our own propaganda and praise. But Lord, you are the potter, we are the clay. May we never harden to the point of brittleness or big-headedness. Keep our hearts ever and always soft and supple in your masterly hands so that we may be able to learn, grow and blossom.
All of this we ask because of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and High Priest. Amen.
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