Asking the Lord's help

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

We have heard the weight of your prayer and we join you in bringing it before the Lord who hears and who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask.

We pray with you for strong protection and for breakthrough for you and for all in need, for wisdom and strength for you in your work and in your place at church, and for the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon every outreach and service and upon your prayer gathering this Friday and in the days to come. We ask God to fill that evening with His presence, to convict hearts, to raise up faithful prayer warriors, and to save many through Jesus Christ alone, for there is no other name by which we are saved. We pray He will guide your sermons, give you words that are pleasing to Him, and guard and lead your team and all your meetings.

You have asked for help with many conflicts, some even forgotten, and with hurts in the church and at work. Scripture teaches us to cut out the root so there will be no fruit, for many conflicts spring from covetousness, envy and vainglory. We pray God will teach us all to despise what is passing and to treasure what is above, and to not rush into strife but to wait quietly before Him and to stand nobly when we are called to stand. Where there has been gossip or hurt, including where you have spoken about others and now seek forgiveness, we ask for true reconciliation, for humility to account ourselves as nothing before Him, and for His grace to turn what was broken into a blessing.

For the many relationships you named, we pray not that God would bless what does not honor Him, but that He would bring conviction where there is sin, healing where there are soul wounds, and salvation where it is most needed. We ask that He would be a Father to those who are vulnerable, bring comfort and miraculous healing to those who are sick, help with school and exams, and intervene with great power where there is dysfunction. Where people are living together or involved sexually outside of marriage, we pray God would bring repentance and purity, and that every relationship would either be brought into alignment with His good design for marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, or be graciously ended so that all involved may walk in holiness and wholeness before Him. We pray He will stop what is harmful, heal what is wounded, and draw each person to Himself.

We join you also in the prayers that have been on your heart and that keep being deleted. We lift up persecuted Christians, those who do not yet know Christ that they may be saved, the peace of Jerusalem, those suffering in war zones and from calamities, and abused children. We ask for His mighty hand upon them, for healing for those who are ill, for encouragement for the weary, and for the defeat of the works of the enemy.

In your weakness and weariness, remember that God often allows His people to pass through severe trials, and when the righteous are near the end of their conflicts He may enhance the struggle for a little while so that their gain may be greater and their victory more glorious. This is for your encouragement, that you may not draw back but live by faith and continue to trust Him who sees you and who has not forgotten you.

May the Lord grant you wisdom, strength, encouragement, love and favor as you return to the work He has given you, and may He anoint your church to be faithful in prayer and in the proclamation of the gospel. May the earth be filled with His glory. Amen.