The Pastor’s Corner

Prayer: Father, we are blessed with the joy of another Lord's day, which reminds us of the glory we await in the New Heavens and the New Earth. We are thankful that you have provided this day as the marketplace for our souls. From the first week of creation, you set apart this day for man that they may worship you. We know that we do not always regard it as a delight. Instead, we often trample it underfoot, talking idly, and doing our own pleasures. Forgive us, and help us to honor and love this day as you have commanded. We thank you that we have the privilege to worship with your people today and to hear your Word read and proclaimed. We ask that as your people gather, they would behold your majesty and sing your praises. We ask that you would meet with us and bless us, and make your face to shine upon us. We pray these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Prayer: Our God in heaven, your Word tells us that you are the one who sovereignly places men and women in authority over us in civil affairs. We know that there is no guarantee that these people will be godly and righteous. In fact, history has taught us that oftentimes they are not. Yet, your Word also tells us that these people, as given by you, are given for the good of your church. It is through these means that you perfect and provide and protect your church. We also know that your Word tells us to pray for "kings and all those in authority over us." We confess that we often forget to pray for our leaders and, instead, complain about them. We know that your Word denounces a grumbling and complaining spirit. Forgive us and help us to labor on our knees for our government leaders. Please help us to truly pray and plead with you for their good and the advancement of the gospel and the good of the church. We pray this in the name of Christ. Amen.

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Prayer: Father, we know that you have ordained prayer for the good of your children. Yet, we so often are prayerless in our prayers. We do not plead with you for things essential for our souls. We offer platitudes to the God of heaven and approach you casually and carelessly. We often ask you for trivial things instead of focusing on things that are needful and eternal. We confess that our prayers often reflect that our eyes are set on earth and not on the world to come. When we pray, we forget your promises to provide for all that we need and to conform us more and more to the image of Christ. Teach us to pray! Please help us to labor on our knees depending on the Spirit who knows your mind and ours. Grant us praying hearts and minds. We ask all of these things in the name of Christ. Amen.

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Prayer: Our great God in heaven, as your people gather today on this holiest day of the week, we pray that we would see your beauty and majesty. We mourn our remaining sin that prevents us from beholding you in all of your glory. We long to be free from this tyranny and to behold the face of your Son. Yet, in this day, you have given us a picture of what we long for and wait for as we meditate on the promise of the King's return. We ask that you would speak to us from your Word today. We plead with you to thunder from the heavens as you have done in days of old. We beseech you to be compassionate to your people and cause your ministers to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. We desire to see great fruit from your Word proclaimed and ask that it not return void but accomplish all you purpose it to do. We pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Prayer: Lord, we plead our cause with you today as your people who are pilgrims in this world. We are exiles, living in a world that s not our home. We are sojourners, traveling through this life anticipating a better country. We cry out to you, "how long?" When will your Son return? When will this struggle be over? As the people of old longed for their redemption and often cried out to you, we too cry out to you pleading for that better country, the New Heavens and New Earth. We long to see sin eradicated from our lives and your creation. We long to be free from the struggle with sin. We long to see Christ coronated as the Lion of Judah. We are weary, Father. We are tired. Please help us to persevere. Give us more grace, Lord. Be merciful to us and help us in the struggle and the fight. May you be pleased to give to your church the will and desire to fight on until we hear the voice of the King. We pray this in His name. Amen.

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Prayer: Our most holy God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your Word reminds us of your majesty and grace. It reminds us of your divine providence as you order all things according to the word of your power for your glory and our good. As we review the history of the people of old, we note how often they griped, complained, and murmured against your providence. When hungry, there complained. When thirsty, they complained. When troubled from within and without, they complained. As we observe their behavior, we note that we are sometimes no different. We are ashamed of how often we behave as they did. We desire to be content and rest in your goodness, knowing that you guide our steps and guarantee that we will arrive at our heavenly rest. Please help us to trust you today. Whether this day holds difficulty or ease, we pray that we would be thankful for it. We pray this in the name of the Savior. Amen.

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Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank you for your mercies and how your faithfulness to us is new every morning. We praise you for the bounty of your Word and the rich meal we enjoyed in your worship on the Lord's Day. We are ashamed at how easily we forget the things we hear from the sermons. Like the church of old, we are also forgetful people and need to be reminded often of your majesty, beauty, character, and commands. Please help us today to mediate and confer with the Word preached and seek to bring forth the fruit of it in our lives. Grant to us a willing and joyful spirit full of zeal to be doers of the Word and not mere hearers of it. We pray this in the name of the Savior, who was zealous to do your will. Amen.

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Prayer: Father, we often feel the weight of this world and life and know something of the trails of the church of old as they journeyed from Egypt to Sinai to worship you. Like our fathers, we often struggle with the allurement of this world and sometimes turn aside to things that do not satisfy us. As a result, our hearts are numb as we come to worship you. We pray, O Lord, that you would make alive our cold hearts and fan into flame a greater affection for you. Please help us turn aside from the deaf and blind idols of this life and long to behold your beauty and majesty. Help us to see the beauty of the Lord's day as a picture of that eternal joy we will see on that great day when the Lord Jesus returns for his church. We pray this in his name. Amen.

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Prayer: Father, we know that the times and seasons are in your hands. You have ordered our days from conception to death, and we do not know the day and hour of our end. What we do know is that you have told us to redeem the time and use each moment to serve you, pursuing your kingdom and righteousness. Yet, we live in a world with great distractions for your people. We are inundated with entertainment choices, social media, recreation of all sorts, and much more. We know that you demand your children to live godly and disciplined lives. Forgive us for wasting our time on senseless and meaningless pursuits. Help us use the time you have given to us to pray, seek your face, advance your kingdom, and bring glory and honor to your name. We pray this because of Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Amen.

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Prayer: Father, you have told us to trust in your with all of our heart, and we know that we can because you are not a God who can lie. You are faithful and true, and all of your judgments are right and good. There is no shadow of turning in you, and, therefore, we know that what you said yesterday is still true today and will be tomorrow. Yet, we are prone to turning toward our own understanding of things and leaning too much on our own fallen wisdom and knowledge. We desire to rest firmly upon your Word, knowing that it will lead us and guide us as light guides our steps on a dark path. Forgive us for trusting in our own feeble and fallen mind and heart. Please grant us a deeper resolve to trust in you with all of our heart. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Prayer: Our God in heaven, you who have revealed yourself as the only true God. We confess that we are idol factories and often give our minds and hearts to things that are passing away. We fashion these idols out of everything that you have provided. We place our relationships above you. We place our schedules and priorities above you. Money, material goods, and all sorts of things are used to supplant your right to rule and reign over us. Thus, we give our affections to them and forget you. Like the church of old, we too often succumb to this grievous sin.

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