Vespers - 12 November 2017


(For hardship): Almighty God, whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways; you never pledged us an easy life; you never guaranteed us unending success; yet we affirm with Proverbs and the Shorter Catechism, that as long as it serves for your glory and our own good, there is the promise of long life and prosperity. We pray with, and pray for, those who are facing various hardships….Some are in deep desperation; others find themselves dented and debilitated; several are staggering; and not a few are stumped. O Lord, you who care about these and their predicament, bring them the props and provisions they are in need of. Send them hope and help. And may they all come to rise up and rejoice in you and your name. O Lord, hear our prayer.

(For family): Your Sacred Scriptures remind us constantly that you are a God who enters into a covenant with people – not a business contract, but adoption and a marriage! You often display your relationships in family terms, which warms our hearts! Since you are deeply cognizant of how family can be either a rich place of joy, or a deep place of hurt, we pray for our families and family members… Look mercifully on them. Bring our young children to faith in Christ and our older children to fill out in faithfulness to Christ. Provide reparations and restoration to those marriages and family relationships that are ruined and ripped. Guide and direct those in our families who are perturbed by decisions and indecisions. And those who seem to keep going down blind alleyways and wrecking themselves against the walls; mature them and lead them to live and love wisely.  O Lord, hear our prayer. 

(For Heritage): You who are able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the presence of your glory with great joy; we rejoice in the way you have walked with us, and where you have brought us as a congregation. Thank you for the new friends and old friends and our full new members’ class; please continue to add to your church such as are being saved. Thank you for the monies and the moment we’re in so that we can freshen-up our building and renovate the floors; may it all go timely and well, and may the funds continue to flow in. And thank you for each family and each person who is willingly engaged in serving in this church: WIC, Deacons, Elders, Sunday School Teachers, Missions Committee, Nursery Volunteers, and others; bless their serving hearts and serving hands. Now to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen (Jude 24-25). O Lord, hear our prayer.

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