Prayer For The Persecuted
Lord, I also ask that you give us a strong sense of your spirit in our church. I ask that you fill our hearts with all that you are and direct us in ways that we are always living in your will. I ask that you bless us in our direction and point us toward how we can do more in you. Lord, I ask that when people enter our church they feel you all around them. I ask that we remain hospitable to each other and to outsiders, and I ask for your grace and forgiveness when we slip up.
Lord, thank you for all you do in our lives. I am truly grateful for all you have provided me. From my friends to my family, you are always blessing me in ways I can't imagine or completely understand. But I feel blessed. Lord, today I lift up to you my church. It is the place I go to worship you. It is where I learn about you. It is where you are present to the group, and so I ask for your blessings over it.
Lord, I lift up the people who work behind the scenes at our church. Thank You for every nursery worker, parking lot attendant, office volunteer, building janitor, etc. who have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Bless them for the obedience and generosity they have displayedmay You receive praise as a result! Keep them in an attitude of humility that comes from wisdom and wholehearted service to You rather than to be noticed by others.
Lord, I lift up my elders church to You. Help us respect and honor them as they direct the affairs of our church. May they wholeheartedly give their attention to prayer and ministry of the Word. Keep them above reproach, devoted to their families, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable and able to teach. May they be gentle and honest as they deal with people. Amen
Lord, You have told us in Your Word that You hear our prayers. We are crying out to You, we are humbling ourselves before You and seeking Your face. We come together as a church body to seek You. We repent and turn from our wicked ways, thank You for hearing us. Thank you for Your forgiveness and healing.Amen
God, help our church body to walk in a manner worthy of the calling You have given us. Help us in all our interactions with one another to have humble and gentle hearts. Grant us patience for one another, bearing with one another in love. Grant the Body of Christ unity. May we walk humbly with You, God, allowing You to show us our wrongs. Amen
God, you know
The plight of people far away
Oppressed by governments and vigilantes
In places
Where Christianity is an unpopular choice.
God, you knew
That the day would come here
When truth-telling would be despised
And siding with the oppressed
Part of the road less travelled.
O God of all the nations,
the One God who is and was and always will be,
in your providence you willed that your Church
be united to the suffering of your Son.
Look with mercy on your servants
who are persecuted for their faith in you.
Grant them perseverance and courage
to be worthy imitators of Christ.
Bring your wisdom upon leaders of nations
to work for peace among all peoples.
May your Spirit open conversion
for those who contradict your will,
that we may live in harmony.
Give us the grace to be united in truth and freedom,
and to always seek your will in our lives.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us.