Prayers of the Church, 7.7.13

Almighty God, the God who made the heavens and the earth, who commands all of creation, we give you thanks for the opportunities you present to us:  opportunities to worship, to learn, to share your Word, to have meaningful relationships with our brothers and sisters and with our maker.  You could have crafted us as nothing more than robots, toys to play with, but instead created beings with the ability to have complex relationships.  You wanted a relationship – to share your love – Godly love, fatherly love.  Thank you for this great, unconditional love.

Oh, God who commands the planets in their orbits, the sun as it shines, help us to hear and respond to your commands to serve each other and the world around us, to reach out to the dispossessed, to help those in need whatever the affliction, to love the unlovable, to build relationships with our enemies, to allow ourselves discomfort, pain, and even loss for the sake of others and the sake of the Gospel.

Gracious God, who put the world right, who puts creation in order – we ask your power upon us, the faint, we ask your strength upon us, the powerless.  We know that we are weak and selfish.  We fail each other; we fail you.  Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your world since there’s no way we deserve it.  Help us fully participate in your work to put the world right and not be those who would ignore or hinder your plans, your desires.  Align ourselves with your will to bless others and share Your love through Jesus Christ.  We call on you, Lord, to renew our strength; give us the ability to run and not be weary, walk and not faint, persevere in the face of evil, and use every opportunity of sacrifice, service, and proclamation to share the Good News and glorify you.

In the silence, hear our struggles, Father.  Respond to our cries, to our whispered failures and fears.  Let us know you are listening.  Smile upon us and wrap us in your love.

Glory be to you, Oh God, who was, who is, and who will always be.

Now, we specifically ask your blessings on the ETSU campus house – the staff, volunteers, and students as they serve you and share your love as a community on the campus of East Tennessee State University.  Encourage them; give them wisdom and strength; help them persevere even when the responses they seek don’t come as quickly as they hope.

And now we pray together the prayer Jesus taught us:

Prayers of the Church, 6.2.13

Great are you, O Lord.  Your word is upright; all your work is done in faithfulness.  This earth is full of your steadfast love.  We give praise to you, wondrous God.

In the beginning was your Spirit.  Throughout the ages, it has strengthened your servants, guided the faithful, and overcome evil.

When we accepted you through Jesus Christ, you filled us with your Spirit and made our lives new.  There was excitement in the ever-revealing knowledge of you.  There was awe of your greatness as you increased our wisdom.  Our eyes were made open like those of a new baby. 

Remind us about the excitement of being a baby Christian.

Recreate the passion in us when we were new Christians…when we believed all things could be done through you.  We say we believe it and time takes its toll, life takes its toll.  We see evil, we experience hardship, and we forget that you don’t make bad things happen.  We just want you to fix all the evils, all the sickness, all the trouble in the world.

Help us move past being baby Christians.

Create in us the hunger for more, the hunger to be filled with the Spirit, the hunger to do more than let your blessings flow over us.  Create the desire to bless others the way you have blessed us. Create the desire for the world to be made a better place as more people know you, as more people meet Jesus Christ through us, as we work to glorify you.

Deepen our wisdom, our knowledge of you, our faith in you.

As we hear your call and we look at ways to be your church, help us develop our vision, make it tangible, bring it to life in the name of Jesus.  In the silence we ask your wisdom, knowledge and faith on our leaders as they seek to help this congregation do your will in the world around us.

Glory be to you, great and wonderful Lord.

We know that our mission is to reach the lost around us and across the globe.  We pray specifically now for one of our own, Cody Spencer, who serves in a CMF campus ministry in Spain.  Strengthen his spiritual gifts and let the light of Jesus Christ shine through him and his work.

And now, Lord, we pray together the prayer that Jesus prayed and taught us:

Prayers of the Church, 3.3.13

We come to you in this time of prayer, Lord, thankful that you allow us to reach out to you.  We are in awe of your majesty, your omnipotence, your power.  The heavens and the earth, the very universe itself falls subject to your desires.  Turn your face toward us, wondrous God, as we your children, kneel at your feet and call you Father. 

We come to you now, Lord, besieged…besieged by a cacophony of words, images, activities that call to us, invite us, entice us.  Satan imitates the most alluring parts of life.  The evil one uses us ourselves to focus on things other than your kingdom and your wishes.

We are tempted…we experience the temptation to complain, the temptation to draw inside ourselves, look out for ourselves, the temptation to think to highly of ourselves, the temptation to think others will take care of the needs around us, the temptation to believe our lives are about us.  Help us understand our lives, as followers of the Christ, are about the kingdom, being obedient to God, serving others in the name of Jesus.

Help us endure the onslaught of the world that tells us to feed our own needs when the needs of others stand so starkly before us.  Give us grace, give us empathetic spirits.  Help us be tender and kind.  Help us recognize that when we look into the eyes of another in need, we are looking into the eyes of Jesus, who lowered Himself to the position of a slave.  Engender in us the desire to act and the discipline to carry out your commandment to love others as our Savior loves us.

Bless our enemies, Lord.  Help us overcome the temptation to ignore, dismiss, or subordinate those we do not like, those with whom we do not agree, or those who do not like us.  We are all your children, and as your children, we have been made worthy…worthy of each other’s attention, understanding, and time.

In the silence, O God, hear our petitions…for your grace, your forgiveness.  Hear our pleas for mercy for ourselves and for those for whom we care.  Hear our thoughts of gratitude, love, and thanksgiving.


Our victory is in you, great and wondrous Lord.  Our victory is in helping your kingdom be made manifest and spread to the corners of the earth.  Praise be to you, Father.

We ask special blessings today, Father, on the Eldoret Mission in Kenya.  Give them strength, wisdom, and endurance, Lord, as they work to prepare ministers of the Gospel in the surrounding area.

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

Prayers of the Church, 2.3.13

O most holy God, we come before you today in prayer, in awe of your greatness, mindful of your omnipotence, and in humble supplication.  Thank you for your creation.  Thank you for your love.  Thank you that we can call you Father.

As our father, you want us to live good lives, happy lives, loving lives.  You call us to live Christian lives, full of the Holy Spirit.  You are pleased when we worship you.  You also call on us to share the Good News to all who will hear it so they may live fulfilling, worshipful lives, too.

We’re so busy.  There are only so many hours in the day.  We have work; we have family, we have social and church obligations.  Each day is often over before we even realize it’s time for another. 

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Dear Father, help us hear our Savior’s call.  Help us not let our lives get in the way of reaching out to the lost.  While we can’t get away from our daily responsibilities -- and we shouldn’t -- help them not eclipse your command.  Help us weave threads of evangelism and discipleship into all that we do so that it’s second nature, so that it’s as normal to us as breathing.

We’re so busy that we often try very hard to not get inconvenienced, to not be interrupted.  Help us be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by you and your desires.  Help us realize that sharing the Good News IS central to our lives.

Most of us are ordinary, everyday people.  We often live mundane, imperfect lives.  Thank you for using us just as you have used your people all through the ages.  Thank you for trusting us.  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to please you.

Help us show the love of Jesus Christ to all those whose paths we cross, saved and unsaved, likeable and nasty, friend and enemy…for all are your children…and you desire all to be close to you.

In the silence, Lord, speak to us.  Let us be quiet and hear your call.

Praise be to you, wondrous Lord.

Just as we ask your care, mercy, and love on those on our prayer lists, we ask your special blessings today on Warren and Julie Veal and their family as they serve with Missionary Aviation Fellowship, sharing the love of Jesus Christ through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed.

As we prepare our hearts and minds for our time of communion, let us pray together as Jesus Christ taught us to pray…

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: