Sunday’s Congregational Prayer
In today’s congregational prayer we will be praying for our missionary partners Marco and Fede Saillen. Marco and Fede both serve in leadership roles at Nuova Vita church in Bologna, Italy. Marco is a teaching pastor and the pastor of ministry oversight at the church. Fede helps lead the anti-trafficking ministry Vite Trasformate, which serves women recovering from enslavement in the sex-trafficking industry.
Our prayer today is based on the words from Psalm 33:12 and Psalm 68:4-6.
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord,
Whose people He has chosen as His inheritance.
Sing praises to God and to His name!
Sing loud praises to Him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord - rejoice in His presence!
A Father to the fatherless, and a defender of widows -
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
He places the lonely in families; and He sets prisoners free and gives them joy.
Let us pray.
Dear Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, and Glorious Redeemer,
We praise You as the sovereign King over all nations, all people, and every generation. Today we thank You for Your gracious providence in granting our nation of America its 250 years of independence. We proclaim that every good gift, including our country, comes from Your gracious hand, and we acknowledge that all of our freedoms—to worship, to govern, to speak out, and to defend justice—are blessings from You alone.
We confess that our hope is not in this earthly nation, in our government, or in any political party, but in Jesus Christ, Your Son, whose kingdom will never end. Forgive us as Your chosen people for all the ways we illegitimately place our hope and our trust in created things, confusing rebellion and license for freedom and liberty. Grant us repentance, humble hearts that honor you, courage to stand for truth, and wisdom to seek justice, love mercy, and walk faithfully before You. Today, we prayerfully confess our declaration of dependence on You.
We pray today for our nation, that you would bless and guide our leaders, strengthen Your church, and bring many to repentance and saving faith in Christ. May our country grow into a nation that overcomes its spiritual blindness, treasures righteousness, protects the vulnerable, and gives glory to Your holy name.
We thank you, Lord, for our New Covenant Church family. You have gathered us into a community of believers and united us into a loving family. Here, we witness and experience how You father the fatherless, defend the vulnerable, and redeem the broken. Thank you for Your gospel of grace.
We pray for our church family members, especially those who feel estranged and lonely, who are hurting, grieving, seeking life purpose, or struggling with broken relationships. Father, be their comfort, their strength, and their refuge. Guide them to hope and purpose. Use this congregation as an instrument of Your grace, that no one would be forgotten or left without loving care.
We pray for our missionary partners Marco and Fede Saillen. We pray that You would continue to use their faithful ministry efforts to bless and bring others to faith in Christ. We pray for success in all their church summer programs, camps, and activities. We pray that You would protect their marriage and their children. We praise You for the work of Vite Trasformate in rescuing the enslaved women from bondage to sex-trafficking. We pray that You would bring them to faith in Christ, giving them renewed purpose and granting them joy.
We pray for Pastor Chris today as he continues preaching from the Book of Malachi. May the Holy Spirit inspire and guide him to preach Your Word with illumination, clarity, and conviction, that we would all think with Your mind, see with Your eyes, and respond with Your heart.
Father, we confess that we have all failed to live and to love with You in mind. In so doing we have sinned against You and the very others in our lives You have called us to love and serve, both in our actions and our inaction.
We confess silently now our individual sin.
Lord, we ask for Your forgiveness and for Your mercy.
We pray now aloud together 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 this day 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 evil.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory,
Forever, Amen.