Tag: prayer

It is right to mourn with those who mourn the terrible loss of life in the terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as Beirut the day before and Baghdad last weekend.

It is right that we turn to God in times of sadness and suffering. Psalm 46:1 says that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

The following is a prayer I prayed today at City on a Hill: Melbourne.

God of the nations, whose sovereign rule brings justice and peace, have mercy on our broken and divided world.

We pray especially today for those affected by the terrorist attacks in Paris and likewise for those affected by attacks in Baghdad and Beirut.

Be with those who grieve the loss of loved ones,
Be with those who give and receive medical treatment,
Be with those who live in fear and confusion,
Be with those in positions of authority and give them wisdom in their response.

We long for the day when your perfect justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

But we ask that in wrath you would remember mercy
We know that left to ourselves we are all deserving of your judgment because of our sin and rebellion against you.

And so we thank you that your justice and mercy came together perfectly at the cross of your only begotten Son, Jesus.

We thank you that you made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Thank you for the everlasting life found only in our risen King

We pray to you because you are the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by You.

We ask that, by the power of your Holy Spirit , you would enable Christians around the world to stand firm in Jesus, and shine like a light in the darkness, pointing others to the comfort and care we’ve found in Christ.

As Christians respond with radical love for their enemies, may many find the eternal safety and security found only in Jesus.

In His name we pray,
Amen.

The opening line of the prayer is adapted from Common Prayer book. The various bible passages throughout are adapted from the ESV.

Puritan Prayers is a fantastic site with a solid collection of prayers from the Puritans. I used one of them tonight after the first block of songs at church. I love the movement from adoration to confession of sin and then through to thanksgiving. Here it is:

Thou Eternal God, Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness, super-abundant grace; I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s ‘lip’ as number thy favours towards me; I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise. I thank thee for personal mercies, a measure of health, preservation of body, comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing, continuance of mental powers, my family, their mutual help and support, the delights of domestic harmony and peace, the seats now filled that might have been vacant, my country, church, Bible, faith. But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness, the days that add to my guilt, the scenes that witness my offending tongue; All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without, condemn me – the sun which sees my misdeeds, the darkness which is light to thee, the cruel accuser who justly charges me, the good angels who have been provoked to leave me, thy countenance which scans my secret sins, thy righteous law, thy holy Word, my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life, my neighbours, myself – all write dark things against me. I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess, ‘Father, I have sinned’; Yet still I live, and fly repenting to thy outstretched arms; thou wilt not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near, thou wilt not condemn me, for he died in my stead, thou wilt not mark my mountains of sin, for he levelled all, and his beauty covers my deformities. O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross, hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

Good one, right? (From here)

Each week that I lead the church service I normally do a prayer that involves confession of sin. That is something that is often missing from contemporary church services. We do corporate confession when we share the Lord’s Supper, but that is only once a month at Arvo Church slightly less at Night Church. So after the opening block of songs, I will normally flow off the back of the song, into confession and then onto the gospel and a prayer for the rest of our gathering.

I switch between prayers of confession from: the Common Prayer book; based on scripture; or using the wording from the song just sung. This was the first time using a Puritan prayer. I swapped the personal pronouns from singular to plural (I to we etc). It meant I probably tripped over a few words, but I think it was well received.

Does your contemporary, relaxed church service keep confession of sin type prayers in your gathering? If so, what does it look like? Feel free to leave a comment.

ps – warm fuzzy if you can name the Puritan in the pic above…

I have been preaching from the same Bible for the last 10 years. I probably know the layout of the pages and the locations of different verses better than the back of my hand. However it is currently being phased out as I make the transition from 1984 to 2011 New International Version. This year at KYCK I have been speaking from 2011 NIV. So I decided it was also time to update my 6 year old post-it-note evangelistic prayer stuck in the back of my bible.

The prayer is structured around 3 main ideas: sorry; thanks and please. It was originally an abbreviated version of the evangelistic prayer from the Two Ways to Live gospel outline.

(Brackets) – words that have been removed
Bold – words that have been added

Dear God,
I am SORRY for my sin,
I am SORRY for (ignoring) rejecting you.
I don’t deserve your love.
THANKS for sending Jesus to die (for me,) on the cross,
in my place and for my sin,
so I may be forgiven.
THANKS that he rose from the dead,
to give me new life.
PLEASE forgive me and change me,
help me to love Jesus,
and (that I may) live with Jesus as my (Ruler) King.
AMEN.

A SORRY + THANKS + PLEASE prayer is a good first step in becoming a Christian. Want to consider becoming a Christian? Listen to this talk on how to become a Christian.