Corporate Prayers August 2024

8.4.24

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you alone are the one true, living God and it’s you alone that is worthy of our praise today and every day of our lives. You are awesome in power, perfect, holy, and pure and in light of your majesty and holiness, we can’t help but see the sin in our lives illuminated. We confess that we fall short of your glory and standard you have set daily. Jesus, thank you for leaving your throne in heaven and stepping into our broken world to defeat sin, death, and the curse–to pay the price we could never pay on our own and live a life of perfect righteousness on our behalf. We thank you for your mercy and grace that’s new each morning for those who have placed their faith in you and for the confidence we can have to draw near to you, knowing that there is mercy, grace, and forgiveness in abundance for those who truly repent of and turn from their sin. Spirit, we pray you would help make us holy in every way. Lead us, guide us, and teach us to be more like you each and every day of our lives. We pray now that you would open our hearts and minds to receive your word this morning–that your word would not only fall on our ears, but stir our hearts to action and it’s in your holy and precious name we pray these things, Amen.

Father God, we thank you for this beautiful day and for the great joy that it is to gather as your church to worship you. You, God, are holy and awesome, and you alone are worthy of all blessing and honor and glory! How blessed we are to be your children! Time after time, you have shown yourself to be faithful to your people. You rescued our ancestors from the wilderness… And you rescue us from our current wilderness as we pursue our own selfish ambitions and idol worship of this day… Please forgive us, Jesus. Jesus, you invite us to draw near and confess our sins. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your steadfast love for us… as far as the east is from the west, so far do you remove our sins from us. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would soften our hearts and draw to mind any sin in our lives that is keeping us from a closer relationship with you. We pause now to bring these things before you now… We pray that you would move us to true repentance so that we may live in the freedom and peace that you have promised us. Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence here with us today. Thank you that we can gather as your church and celebrate lives dedicated to you, today! We rejoice with your angels! For you are our only hope in this sinful world and we thank you and praise you for who you are and for your saving grace. We ask all of these things in the beautiful Name of Jesus. And all God’s children said together, Amen!

Gracious and Holy Father, thank you for bringing us together today to worship you, the One True God, three in one. This time we spend together is so, so sweet because it reorients us to the reality of your supremacy. Every day there are forces and entities, brands and personalities that vie for our attention. They’re distractions in a world full of other distractions and their influence is overwhelming. We end up turning them into little gods we allow to rule us. To have undue influence over our thoughts and how we view the world around us. They shape us in small ways, little by little at first, but dramatically over time. And we stray from you, the one true and living God. Forgive us. Forgive us for allowing, whether passively or actively, the things of this world to shape us. Forgive us for forgetting the Triune God who loves us deeply: the Father who loves us, the Son who saves us, and the Spirit who leads us. There is only one God, holy and unending, and it is you. Spirit, help us to remind ourselves who created us, who loves us, and who holds us fast. Help us to remember who it is that carried a cross, died on a tree, and was resurrected to conquer our sin and pay our punishment. And help us to feel and to know your nearness to us. Help us to trust you in every step you mark out before us. We’re deeply loved with a true and eternal love, one this world could never offer us, let us rest in this truth. It’s in the glorious name of Jesus Christ we have gathered and in his name we pray all these things, Amen. 

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8.11.24

Heavenly Father, you truly are a mighty fortress–a refuge and ever present help in times of trouble for your chosen people. Time and time again, starting from creation until now, you have proven your power, strength, and ability to provide for and protect your children. But despite your proven record, when we come face to face with our own storms of life or schemes of the enemy, we trust in our own strength instead of you, thinking we can handle it on our own. Instead of turning first to your word for direction and comfort, we turn to self help books and podcasts. Instead of coming to you first in prayer with our needs, we turn to other people. Forgive us. Forgive us for not trusting you and for our pride in thinking we don’t need you to help us fight our battles. We confess that we are weak people in need of your strength, grace, and mercy daily. Holy Spirit, we pray you would help us turn to you first when life gets hard. Increase our faith in you–remind us of the times you have shown your strength and power in our lives. Help us clothe ourselves with the full armor of God as we face each and every day. And Jesus–we thank you for your example to us in how to fight the schemes of the enemy and trust our father in heaven with steadfast devotion. Thank you for winning the ultimate battle, defeating the power of satan, sin, death, and hell on our behalf and allowing us to inherit the protection and promises of God. Help us to be faithful to you while we wait for your return when you will defeat satan once and for all and bring total restoration to all things. In your mighty name we pray, Amen. 

Heavenly Father, we worship you this morning for you are greater! Greater than any man made idols or any earthly kings or rulers. You are the Creator of ALL things. All things bow to your authority and power and tremble in your presence. We gather here this morning to ascribe to you the honor and the glory that only you deserve. Human vocabulary fails to capture the vastness of how great you are! Yet, we pray that our words and our songs this morning would bless you and would bring you and you alone glory. Please forgive us, Lord, for the ways that we fail to stand in the strength that your greatness affords us as your children. In you we have hope. In you we have the strength to withstand the trials of this world but we so easily allow ourselves to be distracted or forget. Like our ancestors in the wilderness, Lord, we wander through our lives worshiping the created rather than the Creator. The consequences of sin in our world has lead – whether directly or indirectly to pain and trials in our lives. So many of us come bearing our own brokenness, our own hurts and struggles this morning, Lord. We bring fears, anxiety, depression, addiction, broken marriages, broken families, bitterness, and hardness of heart. Your Word says to bring you all of our burdens….and you will give us rest. In Matthew 11:28-30 you told your people, “ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” We pause now and take this time to lay these burdens down this morning – for the first time, for the 50th time. We lay them at your feet and ask for your forgiveness… Jesus, thank you for dying the death that we deserve for the penalty for our sins. Spirit, thank you for your presence with us this morning. We pray that you would wash over us and grant us the perfect peace that only you can provide. And we pray that we would learn from you and hear your voice as we study your Word this morning. We ask this in the Name above all names- Jesus Christ our Lord. And all God’s children said, Amen. 

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8.18.24

Father God, you created the earth and all that is in it. It was good. And since creation you have been nothing but good to us. Beyond what we deserve, each and every day, faithful. You provide for us, sustain us, protect us, and ultimately give us a reason to live. All the while, we turn our backs from you each and every day, seeking the fleeting joys of this fallen world over what you have called us to do. Forgive us. Wash us. Cleanse us from the sin that separates from you. Thank you for sending Jesus to live the perfect life that we could not. To die the death that we deserve. And to be raised from the dead defeating Satan, Sin, and Death, forever securing our eternal home with you. Let our lives be even a small reflection of our gratitude for what you have done for us. We love you and we thank you. In Jesus’ saving name we pray, Amen.

We praise you Lord for truly your love endures forever and we are the undeserving recipients of your gracious, steadfast, perfect love. Your love endures despite our faithlessness, our shortcomings, and our lack of love. Nothing we have done merits your affection and may that be a sweet comfort to our souls. For it is only because of who you are and the fact that you chose to make us your own that we can be called children of God. And so now we come before you as your children, to confess, to ask, to weep, and to listen. Lord we seek forgiveness for our prideful hearts that keep us from fully surrendering, fully obeying, fully acknowledging your authority over us and all of creation. Humble us, keep us close and reliant on you for that is where we are meant to be, under the shadow of your wing. But we want to find our own way or we think we can manage the little hills and we only need you for the mountains. Forgive us. All of life belongs to you. Every detail of our life is in your sovereign, perfect hand. Help us to find rest and peace in that knowledge as we look to you Jesus. Thank you for perfectly submitting to the Father on our behalf. Spirit, remind us now of the grace we have through Jesus Christ. Jesus you are our joy and our salvation. We praise you and love you. Amen

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8.25.24

Almighty Father, who reigns and rules from your throne in Heaven, great and magnificent is your name above all names. May our praise be a pleasing aroma to you as we lift high the name of Jesus and sing of your goodness and love. Father, we confess that there are often times when we question your goodness and love. Many times all we can see is the evil that surrounds us. There is sin that others commit and that we commit. There is sickness that makes us question whether life is worth living. There are broken relationships that cause sadness and hatred to build up in our hearts. There are countless possibilities of danger and hurt that produce anxiety and stress within our minds. There is fear of unknown outcomes that can cause worry take over our lives. Lord, there may even be lack of basic necessities like food and clothing and shelter. And all of this makes us wonder, how long oh Lord, how long must we endure the brokenness of this world? But then we remember the words of Jesus, when he encouraged his disciples to consider the sparrow and the lily and how if God takes care of even these parts of his creation, how much more will he take care of his children? And in the same breath he reminded his disciples to seek what really matters in this life, the kingdom of Heaven. And so we pray as Jesus taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

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