God, You are.
We pray this prayer to You for ourselves and our families, and over the entire household of God, which is the church of the living God.
Oh Lord Jesus,
We pray this prayer to You for ourselves and our families, and over the entire household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.
Bless us and keep us. Cause Your face to shine on us and be gracious to us. Let the light of Your countenance be upon us. Give us peace.
These words seem almost too much to ask, and yet we ask humbly and in confidence.
Let our reverence be our confidence and the sinless blood of Your Son be our boldness.
Give us a greater reality of Your Kingdom. Help us to see the unseen more clearly than we ever have before. May this perspective lead us to purity. Give us clean hands and a pure heart. Purge from us dishonor, that we may be useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
May we live as foreigners, temporary residents, not seeking to store up for ourselves treasures on earth or to be honored by men. Instead, let us consider the reproach of Christ to be of greater wealth.
Let us truly look ahead to the reward!
Fall upon us afresh. Fill us again with Your Holy Spirit. Baptize us with fire.
Let us hunger and thirst for righteousness, and may this become our chief pursuit. Let us pursue you fervently, even if it means in an undignified way.
Root and ground us in Your truth, not our own opinions or feelings. Give us a hunger for Your word. Place in us a burning desire to consume the things of God.
May we not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or deceived by strange fire or false spirits, who, by their cunning, seek to deceive, even if possible, the elect.
Our enemies lie in wait for us Lord, yet You are our hope. So we make our cries known to You, we will not be silent, lest the rocks cry out in our place. May our prayers of faith testify to Your existence.
God, You are.
You exist. You are real, far above, eternal, present, and personal. You hold all authority; everything rises and falls by Your command. Your breath is our life.
You are a rewarder of those who diligently seek You. So we raise our voices to You. We seek, ask, cling, send for, wait, and at times we even, as the Gentile mother, come, kneel before You, and cry out in desperation, ‘Lord, help us!’
Jesus, You are our life. We have exchanged our life for Yours, our pursuits for Yours, our fleshly desires for Yours, that we may join with all the created world to be, in all things for You, in You, through You, and to You.
Therefore, let everything we do be done from the heart, as unto the Lord, and not to be seen before men. Let our work not be as people-pleasers, but as those who wholeheartedly fear the Lord.
Help us to see, even in the roles we have right now, the holy calling and the sacred commission. And since we have this ministry, and as we have received such mercy, do not let us lose heart!
Strengthen our weak hands and our feeble knees. Make straight the way before us. Carry us by Your Spirit, even as Phillip was carried away on his way to Caesarea, that we may walk by the Spirit, be led by the Spirt, live in the Spirit, and be sealed by the Spirit.
Truly, the mystery of godliness is great.
He was manifested in the flesh,
Vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.
Give us great confidence in this mystery Lord. May we stand in reverent awe of Your greatness, Your glory, and the hope of our own, soon-to-be appearing glory.
Just as the creation eagerly waits, so too, give us such an eagerness. Even as we face momentary sufferings, may they pale in comparison as we fix our hope on the greatness of the mystery of glory that is soon going to be revealed to us.
And even as we wait in great anticipation, eagerly awaiting this adoption, the redemption of our bodies, we also groan. Help us in our weakness and in our longings Holy Spirit. Intercede for us when we do not know what to pray for as we should. Give us the strength to endure in patience, staying steadfast until the end, so that we may not be ashamed at His appearing.
His glorious appearing! Oh, come quickly Lord Jesus. Come quickly.
In Your name, we pray,
Amen.