Corporate Prayers January 2024

1.7.24

Father, thank you for this time to gather together on this first Sunday of a new year. To join one another in exalting you and encouraging one another in singing and celebrating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The thought of a new year brings with it the hope of a fresh start. The end of the old and the beginning of the new. And as we look forward to the days ahead of this new year, may all our hope and trust be in Christ for all things. Help us to be a people who rather than trust in the world, as we often do, we trust in Christ. Father, let us take a moment –each of us in our own hearts, in our own space– and Lord hear petition for what is on our hearts as we begin this new year.
Lord, we thank you again for this time where we can gather and be reminded of the hope and treasure we have in Christ. And Spirit, we ask that you lead us into this new year, guided by that hope we have in Christ. Trusting in him for all things. 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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1.14.24

Father God, we thank you for this day and for the beautiful joy that it is to gather as your church to worship you, our Lord and our King. You, God, are holy and awesome, and you alone are worthy of all blessing and honor and glory! How blessed we are that the same God who created the mighty sun, unique snowflakes, and the towering mountains is the same God who loves us and cares about the tiniest details of our lives. Time after time, you have shown yourself to be faithful to us, but as we face difficult or unknown circumstances, so often we panic or simply try to do things our own way. We get anxious, we take our eyes off of you and allow ourselves to worry about what is in front of us. Lord, please soften our hearts and open our eyes to our sinfulness. Please forgive us, Jesus. Father, you invite us to draw near and confess our sins. Hear us now as we offer up these burdens that are on our hearts today. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you… as far as the east is from the west, so far do you remove our transgressions from us. Thank you, Jesus, for hearing our prayers, and for willingly going to the cross to conquer sin and rescue us from the depths of hell that we truly deserve. We ask now that you would grant us the freedom and peace that comes with confession. Spirit, help us to be your love and light in this broken and dark world. It is in the wonderful name of Jesus that we have gathered, and in his beautiful name that we pray. And all of God’s children said together. Amen. 

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1.21.24

Father God, thank you for this day. Thank you for a safe place to come and worship. Thank you for a warm building and warm friendships. Thank you for sending your one and only son Jesus to earth to live a perfect life that we could not; to die the death that we deserved; and to be raised from the dead, closing the chasm between us, and allowing us to be adopted into your family forever. For that and so much more, we love you and we thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord, we sing hallelujah to you because our hearts are full of praise and thanksgiving for who you are and what you have done. We pray that our words and songs would rise up to you as a pleasing aroma. Our hearts are our offering to you & we ask that you would hear our prayers and shape our desires as we come before you. Lord as we prepare to receive your word today we confess that oftentimes our hearts are too hard to allow the sword to pierce us and do its work. Our love for you is often too dull to ignite a passion for worship. We struggle to listen and our minds wander to what the rest of the day holds. To do lists linger, the game that starts at noon, where to meet for lunch. All these good things you have given us make their way to the front of our minds and we even find ourselves annoyed that we are called to gather for it feels as though there are more important things to do. Forgive us. Lord give us warm, moldable hearts that are shaped and conformed to your will. Holy Spirit, awaken us to the wonder of the Gospel that we would be in awe of you and that we would believe that truly one moment in your presence is better than anything that fights for our attention right now. Clear our minds, and fill our hearts now for your glory. Amen

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1.28.24

Father in Heaven, we glorify your name, the name that is above all names. We lay our crowns at your feet and offer you all our praise, for you alone are Creator and King of kings and Lord of lords. You reign on your throne forever and ever. All of creation points to you. Legions of angel armies obey your every command and darkness and evil flee at the sound of your mighty name. Lord, we confess that we often forget these truths. Our near-sightedness has such sway over our lives that we are completely blinded by our immediate problems and sinful desires. The enemy easily rules over us with fear, pride, anxiety, depression, envy, lust, hate, jealousy, indifference and even laziness. Father, help us to crowd these things out of our lives with more of you. For Lord, it would be ignorant of us to think that we could just stop our sinfulness and not replace it with anything else . . . no, we need more of you in our lives to push the darkness out. Please increase our desire for you more and more every day and shrink the darkness in our lives. Help us to become disciples who emulate Jesus and make every moment of our lives holy as we strive to live unto you. Lord, only you can do this, we cannot do it by our own strength. Thank you for being steadfast in your love for us and giving us your grace and mercy which we do not deserve and for sending your son as a perfect sacrifice who died on our behalf. Now, please impart to us wisdom from your word and grow in us our love for you and for others. In your precious name we pray, Amen.