Prayer

Prayer of the People, 17 July 2020

Heavenly Father,

As with generations before us, you have shown yourself to be our Deliverer and Guide. You are our Provider and our Life. Your glory shines through Jesus and by His invitation we have been brought in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Your wisdom seems foolish to people and so they do not partake — even we who call your name Lord are reluctant. Sometimes we obscure your holiness by calling ourselves innocent and by making you small in our minds. Forgive us Lord. May your Spirit convict us all in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment — for,  Jesus has come, He has returned to You, and the prince of this world now stands condemned. 

When we look to The Cross of Jesus, we recall how the Bread of Heaven was broken for us and how the Blood of the Lamb was poured out for our transgressions. Thank you Lord.

We come to you. Lord have mercy.

When we pray for daily bread Lord, we ask not only for ourselves. We know that humanity was not just created to be consumers. We were created for you and so we live on your life-giving Word. Yet, Lord in our lives we do have trouble. And that trouble flows from our neglect of our your Word and the ever-competing mindset of scarcity.

We lift up to you people under pressure: the people of Yemen, the people of NorthWest China, and the dear men and women of our Province bound up in addiction. Raise up people restrained by your justice; shaped by our equality before Christ the Judge. O Lord, mobilize people to pray, to serve, and to lift up the bruised and the weary rather reject them and snuff them out. Every one is precious to you.

We look to your return and so we say, “Come Lord Jesus.”

We need you now Lord, So we pray as Jesus taught us. (Join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. 
Amen.

Heavenly Father, 

You have a boundless supply of love and yet we only dip our toes into its wide expanse. How wide, high, long and deep is the Love of God in Christ for us! You desire to immerse us into the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus Come. You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we say Thank you. Thank you for this grace; you are changing our lives.

Come Holy Spirit and pour the love of God into our hearts. Let your Presence flow from the life of Jesus into our whole fellowship. May we persevere in this faith, hope and love.

In view of your great mercy our tight grip on the stuff of earth, our lack of contentment, and our refusal to meet the eyes of the suffering, reveals how small are hearts are and how idolatry still clouds our vision.

Forgive us Lord. Free us us to live in the promise of your abundant life so we can join you in what you are doing in our neighbourhoods.

Loosen our tongues to share your Words of life.
Settle our angry hearts so we can welcome the hurting.
Open our hands to impart the ministering power of your Spirit.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong. As your Body grant them courage and wisdom to be your healing Presence in the city and in every neighbourhood even under duress.

We lift up to you university and college ministry leadership teams seeking to love students well this Fall. Grant them a deep appreciation of your Gospel and activate your spiritual gifts for this season of outreach and ministry.

We lift up to you communities in Canada in need of clean water, sufficient housing, and more houses of hope so that youth grow in their capacity to fulfilling the dreams you have put in them. Raise up men and women who have spent time on their knees with you to spend time and their lives with youth in every community.

We need you Lord, So we pray as Jesus taught us. (Join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. 
Amen.

Prepared for the Origin Weekend Broadcast, 3 July 2020.

Heavenly Father,

You have had compassion towards us when we were so weak. You came to us; lifted us up. cleaned us up; and You have made us beautiful. The back stories of our souls are not readily apparent. But we know the grace you have given us. We can say with the Apostle Paul, we were the worst of sinners, but you have shown us grace!

Thank you for this grace. It has brought us from death to life and into the Kingdom of your Son, Jesus Christ. We delight in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Perhaps our love for You has grown cold and we are not doing the things we did at first. Oh Lord we repent of the desires that trample love for you in our lives. 

We repent of the impulse to dominate others. 
We repent of our incessant people-pleasing pursuit of praise.
We repent of our puffed up self-righteousness built on knowing something.
All of this makes us busy and we stop listening to the Shepherd of our Souls.

Oh how we need the wisdom of Jesus. Oh how we need you: the crucified God, Saviour of the World to forgive us and fill us with Your Spirit. Come Lord Jesus.

Our neighbours need you Lord. We lift up to you those who are being crushed under the weight of addiction — bring freedom and healing Lord.

We lift up those who live in the fearful shadow of violence and abuse — fortify them with your love and provide them with a way to safety.

We lift up those who wonder about their next meal and we pray that you would open up the storehouses of heaven locked up in the hearts of those with plenty.

We lift up neighbours who do not have a song in their heart and the joy of your salvation — please grant them new life and the hope of the Gospel.  Come Lord Jesus.

We know we need you and we know you love us. So, we pray as Jesus taught us:

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.   
Amen.