Sunday morning prayer

Prayer in Preparation for the Word ~ Open our Eyes

/ The Pastor

The following is the prayer that I wrote to be prayed before the sermon on Mark 8:22-30 (Jesus healing the blind man). It’s a prayer of faith; asking God to open our eyes to see Him. So may God open your eyes as you worship today and hear God’s holy Word proclaimed.

Let’s pray…

Oh God, You are holy and awesome and sovereign and worthy and wise. You are love. You are peace. You are hope.

Oh God, open our eyes so we may see; for you are the only one who can. You are the only one who can show us the truth. You are the only one who can show us the way. You are the only one we can ultimately trust with our lives.

Oh God, open our eyes.
Open our eyes to see your glory.
Open our eyes to see your beauty.
Open our eyes to see your love through the cross.
Open our eyes to see the truth that we may echo Peter’s confession and declare that Jesus Christ is indeed Your son.

And may we stand firm in our confession; not allowing Satan to get in between us and You. May we not find ourselves in the position to be rebuked as Peter was, but if we do, may we fall at Your feet in humble confession.

And so grant me wisdom, that only you can grant, as I unpack Your holy Word. May I be faithful, Oh God. Now may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O God, our rock and redeemer. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Preparing for worship ~ Sight

/ The Pastor

This is the opening prayer I wrote for worship this morning and I share it with you as you prepare for worship.

So…

Let’s come before God with thanksgiving and praise; holding nothing back. Let’s come before God in all humility. May God’s name be lifted up and honored. See and believe. Hear and receive. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Let’s pray together…

Sovereign God, giver of life, giver of peace, giver of sight; accept our praise here this morning, even though it is still not sufficient; for You are worthy of so much more than what we give.

Oh God, we are so filled with sin that we can not see Your beauty. And because of our dimness of sight, we get distracted by the powers of this world and seek after other gods, blindly following them. When Satan presents to us the kingdoms of the world, we don’t turn him down as your son did in the wilderness. Rather, we joyful accept the offer thinking we will be happy and fulfilled, but it doesn’t take long to realize that that too is not sufficient.

But only You, oh God, through Jesus Christ, can fill our hearts to overflowing and bring us a peace that surpasses all understanding. So may you grant us the sight to see Your son as our Savior, and not the gods of this world. May we see in Jesus the gateway to eternal life and may we have the faith to turn Satan’s offer down. And not only the faith, but the strength to stare down Satan and send him away.

Father God, restore in your children, here, the joy of falling in your arms and resting in your love. Grant us humble hearts to hear and accept that we are sinners, and grant us the determination to turn away from sin in order to glorify you to the max and to see Your beauty.

Holy God, we worship your holy name and lift our praises to you. Hear us, receive us, restore our sight. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Offering our gifts ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

[Below is the offering prayer I wrote for worship on Feb 15 and it is one I am going to keep and pray as a reminder for myself and so I share it with you.]

Oh God, giver of all things seen and unseen. You have blessed your children to be a blessing to others. You have given us intellect and knowledge and reason so that we may earn a living. You have blessed us with the ability to provide for our families. But all these abilities come from you and therefore all that we have we owe to you. May we not be so selfish to think that we are entitled to anything and may we have the faith to give as an act of worship. So, Holy God, we ask for your blessings on these gifts given here this morning. May those called to leadership here have the knowledge and wisdom to use these gifts to advance the kingdom and to continue the ministry you have ordained us to do. And may you bless all the gifts you have given us: our time, talents and possessions, may we use them for your glory. And so we praise you and thank you, Oh God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The reminder for me is that I own nothing. If it were not for God I would be naked and lost (not a pleasant thought so I’m sorry for that image). So I need to be reminded often to praise God for what I have and to bless others through what God has blessed me with.

So with that, may God bless your day that you may bless others.

Praise be to God!

The Pastor -|—

In preparation for God’s Word ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

[Prayer that I will be using before I preach this morning]

Holy God…

I can’t help but repeat the words of the psalmist when I think of you, O Lord:

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Oh Lord, our majestic Lord, it blows me away that You are mindful of us, miserable sinners. And therefore we so need Your Word. For Your Word, Oh Lord, guides us into all truth and righteousness. Your Word gives life to all who listen and receive it. Your Word is wisdom. Your Word is salvation. There is no other word that can do that but yet we find ourselves drawn away from the path of righteousness, not for Your name’s sake but for all other’s names sake. We listen to those false words and doctrines and are enticed by the false beauty that they maliciously proclaim.

Oh majestic Lord, block our ears from those false doctrines and strengthen our faith. Improve our listening skills that we may hear and listen and receive Your Word. Oh Lord our Lord, how majestic is Your name and Word in all the world. May we be filled with your Spirit so that you may be praised as you ought to be praised. In Jesus we pray, Amen.

God bless you as you hear His Word proclaimed. May faith be created or strengthen in you. And may you be sent to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The Pastor -|—

Let us come and worship ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy Father, gracious and merciful, you are worthy but,

We don’t worship You as we ought.
We don’t bring what we ought.
We don’t look at you as we ought.

For we are filled with the filthiness of sin, distractions of this world, worries of all kinds, anger, hopelessness, pride, jealousy, hatred. It’s a wonder that you put up with us.

But your graciousness and love and faithfulness is unending. You don’t give as we deserve but You give as You desire. So may you remove from our hearts all that impedes our worship and may you receive our thanks and praise. May we hear this morning the living Word of hope from your holy scriptures. If anyone here does not believe in Jesus, may they come to faith. If anyone here is wavering in their faith, may they find a sure foundation in Christ Jesus. If anyone here is standing firm, may they be humbled and know from whom their hope comes from.

Holy God, we praise your name and lift our voices to you. Here us, heal us and send us that you may be glorified in this world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

May your hearts be filled with praise this morning and may you not hold anything back as you gather for worship.

All glory, praise and worship be to God our Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Preparing for worship ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

Your love and faithfulness is grand and majestic.
Your compassion and loving kindness is without bounds.
Your grace is unending.

How this blows me away just think about this. My mind can barely comprehend your glory.

Oh God, may those who hear your Word this morning hear your voice. May those who do not have faith, come to know life in Jesus. May those who come seeking, find true hope and peace. May those who are hurting, knowing true healing that only comes from the hope of the resurrection.

But words here are so insufficient for we do not know how to worship you as you are worthy. We do not know what we truly need.

So may you grant each person, who hears (or reads) these words not what they want but what they truly need; for only you know. Basically, Oh God, may your will be done; may your will be done so that you and you alone receive the glory, and not us.

So now may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, our rock and redeemer, Amen.

So, my friends…

May you come into worship with a humble Spirit; giving all that you are and receiving the Word of Life. May you raise your voice without hesitation in thanks and praise. May God be glorified as you are sent out to service.

Have a glorious and blessed day worshiping, enjoying Sabbath rest and soaking in the Word of Life. Praise be to God this day and always. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Forgetfulness ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Father God, your Word is life and in you we have our being.

Your love is incredible.
Your grace is amazing.
You are faithful and patient and compassionate.

And there is no end to our thankfulness for who you are especially when I consider who we truly are:

Sinful

But even though we lift our praises here and now, it won’t be long before we forget. It won’t be long before we turn away from you through sin. It won’t be long before we set up another god to worship. We hear the Gospel and remember, but our memories are short.

Oh God, we believe, help our unbelief.
Oh God, we remember help our forgetfulness.
Oh God, we want to be faithful, increase our faith.

We humbly come before you seeking your Spirit and longing for your Word. And I ask this, not so that we can have an experience of you but rather to know the truth of the Gospel and a peace that surpasses all understanding. For worship is not about us but rather you and you alone. To experience worship is to be a spectator and not truly worship you.

So…

Turn our hearts towards you that we may not be so forgetful.
Turn our hearts towards you that we may serve you and others.
Turn our hearts towards you that we may glorify your holy name.

Father God, I thank you that you hear our prayers and that we have an awesome God to worship. May your name be praised, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

May God bless you on this Lord’s Day and may your worship be pleasing to God’s ears for He is worthy.

Praise be to God!!!

The Pastor -|—

Holy rest: A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God; gracious and merciful…

Through Jesus Christ we find rest for our souls.
Through Jesus Christ we find peace for our hearts.
Through Jesus Christ we find hope for the future.

And this is all despite the fact that we are unfaithful to you, O God.

Almighty God, the depth of your love is unsearchable and the wideness of your mercy is unimaginable and the joy of your peace surpasses all understanding.

Oh Lord our God, how we desire to see you face to face and to soak in your majesty.  How we desire to behold your beauty and gaze on you for all eternity.  How we desire to sing with all your saints a song that never ends.  Mighty God, you are worthy of all worship, praise and honor.

May we rest in your promises on this Sabbath Day and forever more.

In Jesus name I pray,  Amen.

May this Sabbath Day be more than just rest from a busy week, but rather, resting in the promises of Jesus.  In the words of Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)

Enjoy your rest; now and forever more 🙂

The pastor -|—

You and You alone

/ The Pastor

Holy God…

Today we gather to hear Your Word.
Today we gather to confess our sins.
Today we gather to sing Your praises.

But what ever the reason, may we gather to worship You and not the gods of this world.

May our sanctuary be where other believers are gathering around the Word and not around some sport or activity.

May we find our joy and rest in YOU.

May we be driven by the desire to praise YOU.

For You, O God, are our hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Nothing else can compare.
Nothing else can give life.
Nothing else can fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts.

Holy God, may all people seek You and You alone.

May You be praised always and forever.

Amen!

The pastor -|—

Weakness: A prayer

/ The Pastor

Loving and gracious God,

May I always feel unprepared to preach, lead worship and engage in ministry.
May I always feel inadequate for the task at hand.
May I always feel weak…

…for when I am weak, unprepared, inadequate, it is then that I am strong, for in those moments your Spirit takes over and does something amazing.

May I know your Spirit’s presence this morning, and always, that you may be lifted up and glorified and not me.  For when I feel strong, prepared and adequate for the task ahead it is then that I seek the glory.  May that never be.

So I lay everything at your feet this morning and ask that you use me.

May your Word break through hearts of stone.
May your Word strengthen weak faith.
May your Word give life to dry bones.

This I lift up to you through your glorious Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Amen!

The pastor  -|—