Corporate Prayers for June 2023

6.4.23

Father in heaven we are grateful for the wondrous gift it is to be together as your people in worship today. It’s a gracious and necessary time for stirring up our affections for Christ and encouraging one another in the faith. The demands of this cruel and fickle world are great, and so often we are left exhausted and confused and feeling as though we’ve gone too far and our sin is too great. We’ve allowed our perspective to be framed by a world that has no concept of grace or rest. Father, forgive us. Forgive us for adopting measures that have no validity in your eyes. Forgive us for forgetting that our debts are paid, for those who are in Christ our sins –past, present, future– are forgiven. We no longer live under the stain and burden of sin and shame. Forgive us for believing that we are just too deep for Christ to love us. Whatever sins we’re holding on to, whatever is weighing in on us now, Father we come before you, hear our prayers...

Spirit, we ask that you would help us to grow. We pray you would give us the strength and the desire to be more like Christ. To rest in the knowledge Christ paid the penalty for our sins with his blood and his body. To seek to genuinely and faithfully imitate Christ in all things. And help us to know your nearness to us and to feel your leading in our life. It’s in the wondrous name of Jesus Christ we have gathered and in his name we pray all these things, Amen.

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6.11.23

Loving God,
We thank you for this day and the opportunity to freely gather in your name to worship you, our Redeemer, Creator, and our King. For you are Lord over it all. You and you alone are worthy to be praised. One glimpse of your Creation: the beauty of the coming summer… a bright blue sky, a pillowy cloud, the golden sun, the bird’s song, the quiet beauty of the sunrise, a flash of lightning, the whisper of the breeze. All of these good gifts point us back to you and cause us to marvel at what beauty and goodness that the work of your fingers displays. Jesus, help us to learn that the physical delights of the created world were not designed to be the source and hope of our confidence. That the allures of this world and temporary treasures it offers lead only down the path of destruction and death. Lord, so much around us is biding for our affection and allegiance. Help us to not allow ourselves to elevate anything in our lives, good or bad, to the level that we worship it more than you. Help us to be intentional with our lives and run towards you in all that we do. Please forgive us for failing to love you with our whole hearts. For falling for the schemes of the evil one and finding greater treasure in anything other than you… we take this time now and pause to call to mind those areas of our lives that we may be loving the world more than loving you. Spirit, help us to fix our eyes upon you and to live our lives with an eternal perspective, striving for nothing else but to better know you and to make you known. Lord we love you, we thank you, and we ask all of these things in the Name of your beautiful Son, Jesus…..and all of God’s children said together, Amen!

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6.18.23

Our Heavenly Father, you are glorious and beautiful and may your name be proclaimed holy both here and to the ends of the earth. As we gather today, together, give us hearts of gratitude for we are loved and cherished by you and that is all we need. Lord, we ask now that you would hear our petitions, our desires and our pleas. For those here that are seeking guidance in a major decision, we ask that you would give wisdom. For those here today that are lamenting their life situation, we ask that you would give comfort. For those here today that need provision, we ask that you would see that need and supply. For those unspoken requests that only you know, we ask that you would hear them and that your will would be done. Lord, we acknowledge that we have no right to come before you and ask anything. For we are rebellious, faithless, unable to grasp your holiness and power. And yet, you call us sons and daughters and extend your hand of love and grace through your Son, Jesus Christ. The fact that we can speak to you as a child does to a father should awaken and stir our hearts. Forgive us for when we don’t acknowledge your glory, your goodness, your almighty power. Lead us down paths of righteousness for your name's sake because the paths that we choose are often selfishness, deceit, independence and pride. Teach our souls to rest in you and sing your praises till you return. Lord, your kingdom come and your will be done in our lives and on this earth. Be with us and speak to us through your Word today.

Father God,
You are the mighty creator of the universe. You are the father to the fatherless, defender of the weak, the
beginning and the end. The one true God.  
We confess that we continually fall short of your perfect and holy standard. Time and me again, we choose the ways of this world instead of yours, only to be disappointed when we are left empty.
We thank you today for so many things. We thank you for being our heavenly father, we thank you for the blessings of earthly fathers.  
We thank you for the selfless decision to send your one and only Son Jesus to come to earth, to lead a holy life, one we were unable to, and to die the death we deserve on the cross for our sins. You then raised him from the dead 3 days later, defeating Satan, Sin, and death.
We ask that you be with us today. Help us to worship you well. Help us to love others as you have loved us. And change our hearts to be more like yours today.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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6.25.23

Heavenly Father, you are king over all things . . . Lord of the universe, the great creator, the designer of life. Without you, we are nothing. Without you, we would cease to exist. But in your loving kindness and infinite wisdom, you created us in your image. We are here to worship and enjoy you. We were made for you. Holy Spirit, remind us of that and draw us into your presence this morning. Let us authentically commune with you and with our fellow believers. Connect us in a real and tangible way. Jesus, we admit that we do not always live up to our created purpose. We fail to worship and adore you. Our attention and focus often get caught up in the petty and insignificant things in this life and we miss the bigger picture of what you are doing for us and through us. Father, open our eyes to your purposes. Let us see the world as you see it. Give us love and empathy for our fellow sinners in this broken place. Help us to be a light in the darkness rather than just another part of the darkness. Lord, give us the courage and ability to be different . . . to love unconditionally, to give generously, to help graciously, to serve willingly, to lead wisely. God, soften our hearts so that we can be moldable clay in the potter’s hands. Thank you for sending your son Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to die for our sins. Thank you for sending him so that we might know you and know your heart. Thank you for sending him so that our lives can be transformed into what you desire. Lord, continue to transform us as we feast on your word this morning. In your name we pray, Amen.