"Praise, O Servants of the LORD" Congregational Prayer - 4 August 2019

{This congregational prayer is shaped by Psalm 113}

Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! We lift our hearts to you, O mighty God, merciful God, majestic God, because you have cared for us in spiritual and bodily and psychological needs; and so, with our hearts and hands and voices we resound with your praises!!!!

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! Lord God, our Father, we pray for your one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and we pray for St. Christopher’s, St. David’s, St. James’, and St. John’s Episcopal Church. We pray for all your Church’s Bishops, elders, pastors, ministers, and servers, that they would all be faithful to the Word of God and guide your Church to prove herself to be the light of Christ to the nations. And Abba, Father, for this congregation we pray; for all of our parents and the children in our homes, our students and young adults seeking to take out on their own paths, for each of us in our vocations and conditions; that in all we do we would show ourselves Christ’s disciples in word and deed.

The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? Governor and Ruler of all creation, nations and peoples, we pray for the peace and security of the world’s nations, for an end to unjust war and violent oppression that the peoples of the earth may come to receive the Prince of Peace. And eternal God, who has made us pilgrims and sojourners, we pray for our own country, for those who govern, for all the people in this land. May we have justice, security and well-being. In these days of racial tensions, political rodeos, hot headedness, terror threats, ethical fluidity, and sexual bewilderment, show yourself a mighty God on our behalf that our own nation would finally say with deep conviction and deliberate comportment, “In God we trust!” We pray for Patrick Crusius that you would visit him with your mercy and justice: he would come to his senses and see the evil he ripped through peoples’ lives with and he would utterly turn to you; but also that he may receive for his crimes what is legitimately warranted. Finally, for others in our country who are tempted to unjustly take up arms and destroy others – whether out of bigotry, hatred, fear or from mental illness – stop them, in whatever ways are best and right for them. 

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD! Father, giver of all good gifts, we pray for the poor and hungry…., the homeless and mentally ill…, the unemployed and heavily employed…, the sad and scared…, the sick and lonely…, and for the families of the dead and the wounded in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio; that help unlooked for may arrive at just the right time; that you would draw them up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set their feet upon a rock, making their steps secure. That you would put a new song in their mouth, a song of praise to our God, so that many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD (Psalm 40.2-3). And saving God, we pray for those who do not rest on your Son Jesus – maybe some in here and those out there…; as well as those who are in deep spiritual need…; that by your Spirit active in their lives, they may find conviction, courage, and comfort in Jesus Christ. Amen.