"O Strengthener of the Weak" - 14 May 2023

 

O Strengthener of the weak; fortifier of the faithful, rescuer of the wayward, restorer of the repentant; we lift up our hearts and eyes and voices proclaiming that your steadfast love is good and endures forever. Thank you that by your most holy, wise and powerful preserving you govern all your creatures and all our actions; thank you that you deliver your people from their enemies, drawing them from the miry bog and setting their feet on a rock.

Look on the nations – including Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, and the Netherlands – preserve the good and just, remove the evil and malicious. Open the way for your Gospel to run deep and wide in all lands. And look upon our country, Good Lord. May our leaders be noble, honorable, gracious, merciful, just and moral. May we and our fellow inhabitants support whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

We pray on behalf of your Church world-over; this congregation; Penn South Church of Christ, Poplar and Warner, Putnam City, and Seminole Pointe Church of Christ. Give us the grace and strength to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have called us, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Take note, Father, of the pain and distress of those struggling with disease or darkness of heart; the uneasiness or discouragement of those looking into an uncertain future; the frustration and fear of those fraught with marital and family strife and strains; (…). May your hand be on them to guide them, your right hand to uphold them, your peace to fill them and guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, Holy God, for the godly mothers of this church and in our lives, some still living and some already gone from our sight, who have exhibited your own tenderness, compassion, and nurturing care. Thank you for those mothers who gave so much not only in having children, but in raising them to adulthood. We pray for those mothers who have left deep scars that you would bring about repentance on their part, and healing to those they hurt. We pray for the mothers of this church; may they continue to encourage, lead and love their children in the various seasons of life, showing them – as it were – the face of God. And we pray for those who have long desired to be mothers but can’t; make them rich in the joy of the Lord, satisfied with you, and to continue to share the love you have worked in them. 

Finally, we bring to you those on our hearts who continue to look away from you, those who have turned their back to you, those who deny either your existence or your importance, and those who are seriously wavering, (…). Bring them to see their perilous situation, and to cry out to your Son Jesus, for you have promised that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). And now, we join voices and hearts together to pray as our Lord Jesus directed, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven…

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