Prayers of the Church, 7.31.11

As we come before you in prayer, Oh Lord, we are full of gratitude.  We are grateful for your love, we are grateful for one another, we are grateful for this congregation - for our staff and volunteers, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve each other and the world around us.  We are grateful to be your children.

We are grateful for your Grace, O God, a grace so beautiful that it saved our souls; a grace so terrible that it caused you to sacrifice your beloved son for us.  We are grateful for your grace, Father, a grace often so easy for us that we barely recognize it, while so terribly expensive for you.

We are grateful for the Grace of Jesus Christ; a grace so painful for Him; a grace that allowed the cup to stop in front of him, the grace that allowed him to be tortured for our sakes, the grace that allowed him to take on the sins of not one, but many – in fact the sins of the whole world; a grace so freely given that we have the freedom to ignore it.  Thank you for that grace.

We are grateful for the Grace of fellow Christians – a grace so wonderful that it sometimes causes us to give with abandon, love without seeking return, share to the point where possessions mean nothing. 

Help us remember that to be generous, to be gracious, means to put ourselves aside.

We ask you to shower upon us the gift of a generous spirit, Father:

• Give us the generosity of spirit when we worship
• Give us the generosity of spirit when we pray
• Give us the generosity of spirit when we share and serve
• Give us the generosity of spirit even when we don’t feel like it.
• Give us the grace to never give up on each other.

Allow the grace of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit to be shown to those around us, those we would call family, those we would call friend, those we would call stranger, and those we would call enemy.

So often, silence is our enemy, too.  We are too busy for the quiet.  We are too wrapped up in our lives to pause even for a few moments.  Help us empty our minds of all our clutter as we embrace the quiet and share our prayers with you, Father.

We ask your special blessings today, Lord, for Milligan College and for their new president, our brother, Bill Greer.  We pray that your grace, your wisdom, your love enfolds him -  guides him - as he represents the school and represents you.

And now we pray together as Jesus Christ, our Savior, our redeemer, our king, taught us to pray: