Our Holy Father and our God, we give You thanks for this day you have given us, for the beauty of this land that surrounds us, for the change of the seasons that puts the stamp on Your covenant faithfulness. Thank you for the great mercies You show forth to us day by day, food and clothing and shelter, family and work and rest. Of all that You have blest us with, the greatest is that You have given Your Son for us, and given us to Him. We thank You for the salvation wrought through the atoning sacrifice and glorious ascension of Jesus Christ and the benefits that are ours in adoption as Your children in Him.
We give You thanks, O God, for Christ’s body and bride, the church. We thank you for our denomination, the CREC, for brothers and sisters who stand with us shoulder to shoulder in the service of the Gospel, in Presbytery and over the face of the globe. We pray, O Father, that in Your shepherding we and they might be found faithful. We ask that Christ’s church, wherever she may be found, would return to the faith once received, and that You would exact the discipline necessary to bring that about.
We thank You for faithful elders and deacons. We pray for their wisdom in service, that they and their families would be protected, that we, as a congregation, would be a light and joyful burden for them to bear.
We give You thanks, O God, for the children placed in our midst, that our worship is accompanied by gurgles, cries and screams. We pray that these would be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and that those carrying babies in the womb would be protected and they would carry them to full term and we would see healthy mother and baby among us.
We give You thanks that You have given us a Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We pray that You would move us, like Him, to seek the lost sheep. Place in our pathways those who need to hear and embrace to Gospel, give us boldness, wisdom and winsomeness to communicate to them the Gospel of eternal life in Jesus Christ. And we pray, O Father, for the lives and souls of those connected to this congregation who have strayed or have never been a part of Christ’s church. In all these things You are sovereign, and we entrust them to Your care, asking for them to be blest with repentance, forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ.
We give You thanks that we live in a land of freedom. We pray for those at all levels of our government, whether elected, appointed or employed, that they would govern and administer in keeping with Your holy character. May they govern in righteousness, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives. We pray that You would bring revival upon our land, that our government and people would be a people of the Lord. We pray that the abomination of abortion would cease, here and over all the earth.
Father, the Apostle tells us in Your word that we do not even know what to pray for. By Your Holy Spirit, may our prayers be made complete. As He plumbs the depths of our hearts may He present to you our deepest and even unknown concerns and longings. May our thanksgiving and our praises be made complete until that day when Your place is among men, ever tear dried and every wound made whole.
And we ask that the remainder of our worship would be superintended by Your Holy Spirit, that what we do here may be pleasing in Your sight. May Your Word be faithfully preached and Your sacrament be faithfully administered, equipping and preserving the saints of Valley Covenant Church to Your praise and glory.
All this we pray in Christ’s Holy Name.
Amen
Livin' in the foothills 