Pastoral Prayer - He Who Is Worthy

Holy Father,
You are the one who is worthy of all glory and honor and power. Everything that is, came from you. All of the stuff of nature, all of the joys of living, all of the faculties of humanity, all of the discoveries of science, everything that is came from Your hand, was created by Your word and is upheld by Your will. It all came from You, and so ultimately it is all for You. While we are blessed by this creation, its goal is not our blessing but Your praise. All that You have given us and all that You have made us is a showing forth of Your glory, and so we proclaim this to be true: may all glory be Yours.

We pray, Father, that You would be glorified among the nations. Build up your church in all the earth, strengthening it and drawing the lost to the banner of Jesus Christ. Especially watch over those Christians who are suffering persecution for Your name. This morning we are especially mindful of brothers and sisters in northern Syria who are suddenly faced with homelessness or even death. Please bring peace and protection to them, strengthen them to be faithful to Your name, and forgive us for our often-too-little concern for their fates.

We pray for all nations, and we pray for this nation where You have placed us. Be at work to show forth Your glory. Purify Your church from half-heartedness and from the lies of prosperity and unbelief. Forgive us for our complicity and compromise with sin. Build up Your people in the United States and breath new life into their spiritual deadness.

Also be at work among those who govern over us. Though we are exiles and foreigners here, we also long for the good of this country where You have placed us. Teach those who govern to do so with justice, with wisdom, and with grace. Work Your will through the often-crooked designs of human power. Give to our neighbors and to us peace so that we might live lives of humble obedience and faith.

We pray for our church, for Kish, that You would be glorified here. Help us to grow in our call to be disciples, learning to constantly lay down our crowns at the feet of the heavenly throne. Help us to grow in our call to make disciples, sharing the good news of Jesus with those lost in darkness and pain. Turn us from our idols and teach us that our truest satisfaction and deepest joy lies in Your glory.

All of this we pray to You, holy God, who dwells in unapproachable light. We pray it knowing that through Jesus Christ a way is made for us to approach You.

AMEN