Pastoral Prayer October 18, 2020
Heavenly Father,
We’re so grateful that you incline your ear to hear our prayers. We don’t deserve your attention, yet in your grace, you hear us, and you answer us according to your perfect character. Father you are gracious, righteous, and merciful and because of that, we can call on our souls to rest in you. You have dealt bountifully with us, You have answered our pleas for mercy and you have given us new life in Jesus Christ. So we rest in you because you never change. Your goodness to us is everlasting.
Lord, we thank You for the gift of prayer. Thank you that you have made a way for us to call upon your great name. Thank you for inviting us to pray at all times, to pray all kinds of prayers and to seek You with our supplications. Thank you for giving us the Bible that teaches us to pray your Word back to you. We especially think about the Psalms that give us words of lament, words of confession, words of praise, words of petition, and words of resolution. Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words when we are too weak to pray. Thank you for giving us prayer when we don’t know what to do or where to go. When we’re lost, confused, or overwhelmed, we know that we can always pray. Thank you that you accomplish many of your purposes through the prayers of your people. Your word says that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
O Lord, in light of these truths, we ask that you would help us to be people who are marked by prayer. Cause us to be quick to remember you in every moment, not only when life is difficult. Help us to remember You and pray to You in every triumph and trial, in every joy and sadness, in every season of life.
Lord, we confess that we often stray from prayer. We can pray faithfully for a season, but we are weak and so easily depart from the discipline of prayer, so I pray that You would forgive us for our prayerlessness. Forgive us for becoming lazy and apathetic with our spiritual communion with you. Forgive us for giving up so easily and not even caring at times. Help us to walk our talk in our prayer life and live our lives constantly before your throne of grace.
Father today I pray especially for our church leadership that You, in Your wisdom have provided us with. Keep us from growing cold in our love for You, our love for the sheep and our delight in the ministry. We say with King David, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” Preserve us, O Lord, and help us to run this race faithfully knowing that there is the crown of life at the end. Help us to have a love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
And Lord, we also pray today for the Christians at Uni ministry, for Chris Angel and his team, for Timothy Daniel in Sri Lanka, for Nathan Grills in northern India, for Doug and Amanda MacFarlane in their ministry of evangelism, for Bel and Phil Thompson and for the tireless work of Open Doors as they minister to the persecuted church. Thank you for granting us the privilege to partner alongside these ministries and support them with our money and prayers.
O Lord, we’re so very thankful for your Word that gives us truth to deal with every moment. Your Word is good and it brings nourishment to our soul. As we prepare to hear your Word preached today, help us to open our hearts wide to receive your truth. Father may the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be always pleasing to You.