Prayers for the Church
I sense that the Bride of Christ needs us to pray for her now. Here are some excerpts from The Book of Common Prayer. Will you agree with me on these in the name of Jesus?
For the Church
Gracious Father, we pray for the holy Catholic Church. Fill it with with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it.; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.
For Our Enemies
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Unity of the Church
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may all be of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And here is one more from The Paraclete Psalter:
Eternal and omnipotent God,
you have called us to be members of one body.
Join us with those who in all times and places have praised your name,
that with one heart and mind, we may show the unity of your church,
and bring honor to our Lord and Savior.
We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Yes, Lord. Have mercy. “Where (the church) is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.”
Another prayer topic is North Korea. I don’t understand what’s going on there, but it’s insane and gets craizer every day. In my personal view, North Korea is a cult in the scale of a nation. A cult with atom bombs. Just scary. And about 20 mio people are suffering directly under his regime since decades already. Maybe some of the Koreans here can explain a little bit what the recent behavior means. We know how “saving face” is the worst imaginable thing for Koreans. But how can Kim Jung Un de-escalate this situation and let no action follow all of his aggressive posture without losing face? Yes, we have seen similar rhetorics before. But this time it goes over the top.
Thank you, Chris. Here are two more that seem appropriate.
For Peace
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father, to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
For Peace Among the Nations
Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thanks all for posting these prayers. These prayers are so rich and deep. Reading them and praying through them is so edifying. I may have mentioned before that my upbringing was in a church that was not very liturgical and UBF also didn’t make much use of the historical prayers or church traditions. In my current church, however, I’m discovering the rich heritage of the church in books of prayer, the liturgical calender, and it is very edifying.
I welcome more of these prayer-posts, Joe. Thanks!
Thanks, Joshua.
I used to limit myself to extemporaneous prayer. But compared to some of these — and the psalms — mine are sounding rather trite. These days I’m happy to rely on lots of prayers composed by others. Prayer shouldn’t be an exercise in trying to move God’s heart. These prayers can be received as a gift.
Yes, thanks for the prayers. I too am appreciating the rich, long history of Christianity these days much more than ever before.
Peace, yes pray for peace. So perhaps my “no hope” and “no mercy” comments were too harsh. Sometimes I just don’t know how to express the feelings invoked by legalism, elitism, cultish behavior or moralism, especially when they are passed off as being the gospel or God-pleasing.
I find that I feel a lot like many ex-Evangelicals these days. This blog is excellent, for example, and explains almost all of my feelings:
“It is the disdain for and mistrust in me as well as their fear that they will not be seeing me in their Heaven by my friends and family that bugs me. They, who are still clinging to their fundamental biblical beliefs and judging me while I still love them and still am the same person with the same moral make up, makes me sad and often to feel as if I am an outcast of the most horrible sort. I am so happy to have found this blog and will follow it!”
Suff that matters