Prayers of the Church, 10.28.12

We come before you, O God, thanking you and praising your name for your great love and care.  You give us bread to eat, you give us clothing to wear, you give us a community of faithful people who love us and care for us even when we don’t recognize it.  You give us salvation through you beloved son, Jesus Christ who gave his all for us.

We call on you for help today, Father, as we regularly do.  Thank you for encouraging us.  Thank you for welcoming our requests.  Thank you for never forsaking us.

As sinful and selfish beings, we call on you.  Help us recognize the gifts that you shower upon us.  Help us realize that you call on us to give as well, following your example of giving manifested in your faithful followers throughout the ages. 

Help us realize that giving is a way of life.  Help us to remember that is your will.  Give us strength, character, and perseverance to give and do what’s right because it’s right and because it is what you want. 

We know there are many ways to give.  We are often called to give the money you place under our care.  Help us remember that it belongs to you.  Help us to give of your resources with abandon – money, talent, and most of all for many of us – time.

Help us develop a character of giving, of giving our best.  Help us remember that when we give freely, we are transformed from selfish beings who consider that we are the center of the universe, into more Christ-like beings.  Help us realize that we are a part of something much larger, of something bigger than ourselves and that is the kingdom of God.

Help us have a giving spirit with people we don’t like, maybe who we even find reprehensible.  And help us have a giving spirit with people who don’t like us, who even hate us.

 

Remind us that when we give it should not be for recognition, not for a pat on the back.  If our bosses don’t notice or say it’s not enough, if our organizations don’t appreciate it, don’t recognize it, if our churches take it for granted, if others take advantage of it, help us to give anyway.

Help us to give because it’s not between us and them, but instead because it’s between you and us.  Help us remember, help us realize that giving is a part of worship, that giving is a part of how we show we love you.

Loving God, we ask special blessings today on the European Evangelistic Society.  Bless them as they continue seeking to be an international witness for the Christian Gospel throughout Eastern Europe

Now hear us, Lord, as we pray together the prayer that Jesus Christ taught us:

Prayers of the Church, 8.19.12

⁶You, O Lord, are God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all…the one God, the true God…our loving God.

As we come to you immediately in the silence, turn your face toward us -- hear our prayers – help us feel your presence.

Gracious Lord, we are so very thankful for your great love, the love that was manifested in the cross and is manifested in our salvation through Jesus Christ. 

We are grateful, too, for your Holy Word, which teaches us how to live, how to worship and how to love.  Help us heed its teachings toward humility and gentleness; help us remember that we each sin every day and that there’s no time to judge others because they sin differently than we do, but instead we should devote our time to lifting up each other in the love of Jesus Christ, building relationships that give us the right to speak up.

Help us as we strive to be a devoted family, bearing with one another in love.  Bless our enemies, Lord, and help us act in such a way that they see you when they see us.

Gracious God, engender in us a spirit of peace making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit.  Satan and the world have no qualms in testing, tempting, and deceiving us.  Help us be a strong-knit family that always strives to keep each member close to you.

Give us patience, Father, with ourselves as much as others.  We can all too easily fall into the trap of thinking we are bad because we sin.  Help us remember that even though we are human, we are your children – deeply flawed and yet deeply good – and you can use us to do great things for your kingdom.

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Glory be to you, wondrous Lord, in whom all things are possible.

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We ask special blessings today, Father, on Pine Oaks Assisted Living Center.  Help them love and serve as they work to full their mission to be a Christian Community compassionately providing quality, person-centered care and services.

And now we pray together, as a family, the prayer that our savior Jesus Christ taught us to pray:

Prayers of the Church, 7.29.12

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

From your holy scriptures, Father, we read these words, and believe. As we trust the sun to rise, as we trust time will continue to march onward, so we trust in you, Lord.

We have expectations of you, Father, some pure and righteous, grounded in the faith, in the Holy Word, and some living in our selfish desires, our focus on ourselves and wanting you to be at our beck and call…for our purposes. Forgive us Lord. Forgive us when we forget that our purposes have no place, no merit, unless they are aligned with your will for the world and how we can be a blessing to that world.

You don’t promise that our lives will be easier because we follow you…in fact, you promise our lives can be more challenging when we trust in you, when we stand up for the cause of the Christ. You don’t promise that we’ll be physically healthy, that we’ll be successful by the earth’s standards, that we’ll be wealthy with earthly riches. You don’t promise that we’ll have physical beauty, flat bellies, sculpted muscles.

What you do promise is that you love us and will always love us, whether we acknowledge your existence or not.

What you promise is salvation, everlasting life, eternity with you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What you promise is that no matter our situation, you will never forsake us. You promise that if we stray, you are always ready to welcome us back to you.

And we have made promises to you, Lord. We say we love you. We say we love our fellow humans. Help us be the Christians you want us to be. Help us be the Christians we planned to be when we made our promise, our commitment to you: I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and I want to serve him as my savior. Help us understand the gravity of that commitment.

Hear our thoughts, our desires, our prayers as we ponder that commitment in the silence.


We ask your special blessings today, Father, on Joe Lieway, his family, and his ministry of planting self-sustaining churches in Liberia. We pray his efforts are fruitful and that your truth shines through these churches to the people they serve.

And now, we pray together the prayer that our savior, Jesus Christ, taught us to pray:

Prayers of the Church, 6.24.12

Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. O God, w ¹³e give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.  And now, our God we give thanks for your power.

As we contemplate your power, Father, evidenced in creation, we focus on your power to save.

We focus on the cross.

While the cross by itself is a symbol of despair, the cross of Jesus is the power of God.

The cross of Jesus:

• Power over sin
• Power over death
• Power of love
• Power of forgiveness, even our enemies
• Ultimate power.

Forgive us when we try to conjure up a sense of power, when we believe in earthly power; when we reject your power for worldly wisdom.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

The cross of Jesus.

Hear our prayers of thanks in the silence, Lord.

Praise be to you, loving Father.

We ask special prayers today, gracious Lord, for Dennis and Fabienne Freeland and their family as they serve with other missionaries in Cameroon to spread your word in their part of the world. Bless them and keep them, especially Dennis and the other pilots, as they support operations in western Africa.

And now we pray together as Jesus taught us to pray:

Prayers of the Church, 2.5.12

The glory of God is upon us.  The majesty of the Lord shows all around us.  You, O God, are love, a love so intense, a love so blindingly radiant that it can sear away the ugliness of our souls.

We come before you in prayer, Lord.  We thank you that you hear us.  We thank you that you desire a relationship with each of your children.  As children often are, we can be timid.  Let us never be afraid to come to you.  Let us never fear that we are too unworthy to approach you.  Let us never worry that you will reject us. 

We know that Jesus was in constant communication with you.  We know that he cherished the relationship he had with you.  Lord, remind us that our prayers are not just about finding answers, not just about guidance.  Remind us that our prayers should also be about building our relationship with you.

Forgive us when we forget, when we are too lazy, when we are too busy to pray.  Help us be like Jesus and be in constant communication with you.  Help us remember that we can’t live without you….that life without you isn’t life at all.

Help us remember that our prayers can’t always be about us.  As we pray, help us focus on doing your will and on being a blessing to others.

Help us feel your presence, Lord; engender in us the knowledge that you will never leave us alone, never leave us to our own devices, never forsake us.

We come to you now in the silence, our defenses down; we come to you now in the silence, our importance of no consequence; we come to you now in the silence, our souls laid bare.  Turn your face toward us, Father.  Look upon us with your grace, hearing our petitions…and speak to us.

Help us always remember to pray for our enemies.

Glory be to you, O great and wondrous Lord.

We ask your special blessings today Father, on those who minister in our churches, specifically Aaron, Ryan, Anna, and Greg, but also all those around the world who minister in the name of the risen Lord.  Give them the grace of the Savior.  Help us support them and their families as they strive to spread the Good News to all people.

And now, we pray together the prayer that Jesus Christ taught us to pray: