Pastoral Prayer - God of Our Fathers
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
We come to You this morning recognizing the story of Your faithfulness doesn't start with us. Even before You made the world, Your plan of salvation was in place. From the moment after the first sin of our first parents, You began the work of redeeming and saving us. You called a people in Abram, blessing them and promising they would become a blessing to the nations. You delivered them from bondage through Moses by Your strong right arm. You built them into a kingdom of priests and gave them the promise of a king like David but greater still, one whose dominion would bring peace and never end. When Your people turned aside to chase after idols, while You disciplined them, it was as correction. Your love for them never wavered, and You were swift to restore them again.
Father, on top of all this, you brought their hope to fruition in Jesus Christ. You drew near to us rebel humans in His birth. He lived the life of righteousness we could never live. He died the death for sin we all should have died. He rose again from the dead for our salvation. He sits now at Your right hand, ruling over us and interceding for us, and He will return at the end of the ages to make all things new.
This story of redemption has continued up until our own day. You have continued to grow Your kingdom until now people from nations as distant as ours call upon Your name. You have continued to build up Your church, disciplining her when she errs and teaching her by Your Word. Your Holy Spirit continues to enliven dead hearts, Your gospel continues to go forth with power, and Your work continues in us despite our weakness and our sin. We come to You this morning in the company of billions of saints stretching across the globe and back through the ages all singing the glory of Your name.
Father, thinking about this great history of redemption, our prayer this morning is that You would continue such works in our midst. May You grow Your church here just as You have through the ages. May the lost find in Your forgiveness and welcome. May those straying come to repentance and faith. May the downtrodden and the struggling find hope in the story of Your never-ending faithfulness. May Your work be made manifest to those who are sick or suffering, bringing healing and life.
Most of all, may we all be grown up together in Christlikeness until the day when He returns. You have worked salvation through Him, and so it is in His name that we pray.
AMEN
We come to You this morning recognizing the story of Your faithfulness doesn't start with us. Even before You made the world, Your plan of salvation was in place. From the moment after the first sin of our first parents, You began the work of redeeming and saving us. You called a people in Abram, blessing them and promising they would become a blessing to the nations. You delivered them from bondage through Moses by Your strong right arm. You built them into a kingdom of priests and gave them the promise of a king like David but greater still, one whose dominion would bring peace and never end. When Your people turned aside to chase after idols, while You disciplined them, it was as correction. Your love for them never wavered, and You were swift to restore them again.
Father, on top of all this, you brought their hope to fruition in Jesus Christ. You drew near to us rebel humans in His birth. He lived the life of righteousness we could never live. He died the death for sin we all should have died. He rose again from the dead for our salvation. He sits now at Your right hand, ruling over us and interceding for us, and He will return at the end of the ages to make all things new.
This story of redemption has continued up until our own day. You have continued to grow Your kingdom until now people from nations as distant as ours call upon Your name. You have continued to build up Your church, disciplining her when she errs and teaching her by Your Word. Your Holy Spirit continues to enliven dead hearts, Your gospel continues to go forth with power, and Your work continues in us despite our weakness and our sin. We come to You this morning in the company of billions of saints stretching across the globe and back through the ages all singing the glory of Your name.
Father, thinking about this great history of redemption, our prayer this morning is that You would continue such works in our midst. May You grow Your church here just as You have through the ages. May the lost find in Your forgiveness and welcome. May those straying come to repentance and faith. May the downtrodden and the struggling find hope in the story of Your never-ending faithfulness. May Your work be made manifest to those who are sick or suffering, bringing healing and life.
Most of all, may we all be grown up together in Christlikeness until the day when He returns. You have worked salvation through Him, and so it is in His name that we pray.
AMEN
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