Prayer

To Think of You

/ The Pastor

To think of You,
oh God,
is to be reminded of my sinful estate;
my fallen nature;
and my constant disobedience.

To think of You,
oh God,
is to run to You in confession;
to seek Your mercy;
and to fall at Your feet.

[Enter Jesus]

To think of You,
oh God,
is to hear forgiveness;
to know grace;
and to feel Your love.

To think of You,
oh God,
is to know peace in chaos;
hope in despair;
and tranquility in upheaval.

To think of You,
oh God,
is to know everything will be alright;
to be reminded that You are in control;
and to be filled with joy.

To think of You,
oh God,
is to know that I am Your child,
wrapped in Your arms,
and keep safe for all eternity.

To think of You…
🙂

The Pastor -|—

Through YOU, oh God

/ The Pastor

As I think about this world,
oh God,
I shake my head in frustration;
not because You have fallen short,
but because we have.
Politicians make empty promises;
people spew words of hate,
racism runs unchecked,
people listen in order to respond not to understand,
we speak about people not with them,
the homeless have become a political issue not people to love.

How have we gotten here?
Why have we gotten here?

Oh God, it is too much to think about.

But all praise be unto You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus my Lord;
for You continue to reign.

May my thoughts not leave this world,
but may my thoughts be filtered through You;
through Your love for us.

May my promises to others NOT be empty.
May I speak words of LOVE.
May I accept ALL Your children.
May I REALLY listen.
May I speak WITH people.
May the homeless be HUMANIZED.

This is YOUR world,
oh God,
and therefore may I live in it for Your GLORY.
May people see and hear CHRIST in me.
May I be a witness unto others of Your LOVE.
May I not grow frustrated but rather remain HOPEFUL.

All praise be unto You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus my Lord;
for you continue, and will ALWAYS, reign.

Amen!

The Pastor -|—

My Abba

/ The Pastor

Holy Father,
Jesus said, “let the little children
come to me and do not hinder them,
for to such as these belongs the
Kingdom.”
Oh God,
may I have the child-like faith
to run into Your holy arms.
May I receive Your Gospel as a baby excitedly receives their milk.
May I cling to Jesus as tightly as my children do to me as I try to leave for work.
May I gaze upon You as a newborn does unto their parents.
Holy Father,
I thank You that You do not hinder me coming to You.
I may stumble and fall along the way,
but You are quick to scoop me up.
Loving Father,
here I am; hold me.
My Abba. My God.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

For Your Glory

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
we humbly come before You
to praise Your holy name;
to lay our petitions at Your feet,
and to confess our sins.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
receive our praise,
hear our petitions
and grant us forgiveness,
so that,
our lives may be refreshed and strengthened
to live for Your glory.
Send now Your Holy Spirit,
oh God,
to fill us and lead us along our way.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Solomon’s Request

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
1 Kings 3:9 (ESV)

Solomon was wise in his request and thus God gave him a discerning mind (wisdom) to lead God’s people. And this request is also my request, not because I am wise in asking for this but rather I am realistic. I look at the congregation God has called me to lead and I am not so vain to think that God called me here because I am so wise. On the contrary, God called me here because God wants to use me to do something great for His church, and thus all glory goes to God. Yet, I am overwhelmed and scared silly at the task at hand. As I pray each week, Oh God, I am not a good speaker or preacher and thus if this task were left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin, I also plead with God using Solomon’s request:

Oh God, give your servant an understanding mind to lead your church, that I may discern between good and evil, and what your will is; for who is able to lead your great church.

This is my prayer.
This is my request.

And may this be the prayer for all pastors and leaders in the church. May we never be so vain as to think that we are good enough or talented enough to lead in the church. The day that vain ambition takes over in a leader’s heart is the day the church heads down the road to destruction; following a leader that has lost their way. Learn and study Solomon’s request and make it your own.

Grant me a discerning mind, oh God, that I may lead your church rightly;
Grant me wisdom, oh God, that I may seek Your will;
Grant me understanding, oh God, that I may teach others rightly;
for this call is too great for me to do alone.
All glory be unto You, oh God, through Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen

The Pastor -|—

 

Your Will, We Pray

/ The Pastor

Father God,
full of love and mercy,
You have promised to hear us as we pray
and to give us each day our daily bread,
and for that we praise You.
Teach us to trust You better
and to seek Your will,
so we may see each prayer as answered according to Your holy will.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Blessing Others

/ The Pastor

Oh Lord our God and Shepherd,
You feed us
and restore us
and guide us into all righteousness.
You give us hope in the midst of death
and lead us with Your mighty right hand.
You have chosen us
and have blessed us to overflowing.
You have given us a home through faith in Jesus Christ.
May we bless others with the blessings You have given us.
May we not hold back
as we joyfully bring glory to Your holy name
through our giving.
It’s in Jesus name that we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Holy God

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

As the full moon brightens the night sky,
may Your Word shine (brighter) in my life.

As the morning dew covers the ground,
may Your Holy Spirit cover me (more completely).

As the sun rises high in the sky,
may Your majesty rise (higher).

As Your Son has risen from the grave,
may I, too, rise with him.

Holy God,

You are
awesome,
glorious,
magnificent,
loving,
compassionate
and mighty to save.

And so I worship You,

Holy God.

In Jesus name, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Stewards

/ The Pastor

Creator God,
giver of all things;
You have set us up as stewards
of Your beautiful and wonderful creation.
You have gifted us in so many ways
to bring You praise and honor.
You have sent us out into the world
to bless one another.
May we be found faithful;
being good stewards of all we have.
And,
may we never forget
that all we have comes from You.
Oh Lord,
You are worthy and we thank You.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

For Jacob

/ The Pastor

The Pastor’s heart is breaking and so this happened last night for Jacob Wetterling…

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We know that Jacob is never coming home now and so I pray that Jacob’s family may have a peace that surpasses all understanding that can only come through Jesus Christ. It is still going to hurt but I pray that the hope of the resurrection gives them hope in this life. Jacob is not gone or lost, just resting in God’s loving arms.

Rest eternal grant Jacob, Lord Jesus, and let light perpetual shine upon him. Amen

The Pastor -|—