"O God our Father, We Entreat You..." - 20 August 2023

 

O God our Father, we entreat you to make us a holy, joy-filled people in our homes, work, and our various networks of friends. May those who are married be free of strife, pettiness, and fear; may those who are single be chaste and holy, enjoying you in their God-ward singleness; may the children grow stronger in grace and wisdom, loving you all their days while obeying and honoring their parents; and may the elderly flourish in God-given strength, patience, and sound-mindedness. Please form us as a church that is instrumental in drawing the straying back to Christ and his church and bringing unbelievers to be born again by trusting in your Son Jesus Christ.

We pray for your church in all realms and regions, along with these churches in the greater OKC area, All Souls Episcopal, Church of the Redeemer, Church of the Resurrection, and St. Augustine Episcopal Church. Grant them to find and live out the righteousness, peace and joy which are in the Holy Spirit. Grant them to be gripped by Christ and his Lordship. And grant them to leave behind that which hinders their faithfulness and to turn toward you, Our Father.

Please strengthen, assist, build up and give a renewed confidence to those who are physically, mentally, or emotionally depleted and drained (…).

O Lord God, be pleased to bring all nations to lean into solid peace and judicial fairness under the sovereign rule of Christ. We pray for Togo; Tonga; and Trinidad and Tobago. We pray for an end to all wars, all natural or man-made famines, pestilences, droughts, and plagues. We pray for an end to abortion, sex trafficking, pornographic exploitation, kidnapping, and slavery. We also bring before your face the suffering, hungry, broken peoples of our world who have been left without homes, shelter, or loved ones through various catastrophes, pogroms or forced relocations. Have mercy, Lord. 

O God, be with our own nation. We implore your mercy on us so that racial tensions roused and stirred up by violent bigotry and virulent bombast may be assuaged. We pray for a change of hearts in our land that we may come to see every person as what they are – those made in the image of God. We pray for our President, Mr. Biden, and Vice President, Ms. Harris. Because we know that original sin and total depravity are just as much in the White House as they are in our house, we pray that you would restrain and remediate any rotten inclinations, schemes and predispositions; and that you would boost what will make for true liberty and justice for all, whether freeborn, foreign born, or unborn. Make haste, O God, to answer our prayers for Christ’s sake. And now we join together to pray as our Lord Jesus directed, Our Father, who art in heaven…

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