Sunday’s Congregational Prayer
Please join me in prayer as we pray words from the book of Daniel, both from Daniel and the secular kings for whom he served…
O God, we come to you this day in praise. For you are the living God, enduring forever; your kingdom shall never be destroyed, and your dominion shall be to the end. You deliver and rescue; you work signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, you who saved Daniel from the power of the lions, are the same God we serve today. [Daniel 6:26-27]O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love you and keep your commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules….We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. [Daniel 9:4-5, 18]
As we have confessed our sins, we thank you that “as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” We thank you that as the angel Gabriel spoke to Daniel and said, “At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.” We rest in that assurance, that we too are greatly loved by you, the Almighty Creator.
- We pray that your steadfast love would be real to church members with special needs right now. We pray for those struggling with sickness and other physical needs, for those with hurting marriages, for our prodigal children, those with mental health challenges and more. We pray that you would meet those needs and we as a church would be the hands and feet of Christ in caring for others.
- We continue to pray for Bob and Ed who are dealing with terminal diseases that only you can cure. We continue to pray for Elizabeth dealing with her back problems. Please encourage and comfort them.
- We also pray for peace in this time of war and conflict around the world. We pray that you would “work righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” And we pray for our political leaders, that they would be guided by truth and righteousness.
We long for the day when the secular rulers of this world will declare as King Nebuchadnezzar did, “How great are your signs, how mighty your wonders! Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures from generation to generation.” [Daniel 4:3] - We pray that you would bring revival to your people and your churches, in this nation and globally.
- We pray that we would love you, love one another and love our enemies, as you have called us to do, seeking unity in the body, as you have called us to do.
I pray all this in the name of Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lamb of God, Amen.