FM Leadership
A Prayer for the Congregation


Heavenly Father,

Come quiet our hearts from life’s distractions. Settle down upon us. Draw near to us as we draw near to you.

You, Oh Lord, are the Creator of all things. You hold all things together. (1)
You are the Giver of life. Every good and perfect gift comes from You. (2)
You give us everything we need for life and godliness. (3)
You are preparing a place for us to be with You forever. (4)

Our words are not adequate to express how our hearts have changed since we first started loving You. You’ve made all the difference in our lives. We love you. We praise You and give You thanks for your unending love. (5)

There isn’t anything in us or about us that You don’t completely understand. You know us completely. And so if we’re honest with You, You know that we need to admit our weaknesses, asking You for help and strength and courage. We can’t rescue ourselves. You’re our only hope.

Lord,
We confess the busyness of our schedules that leave only leftovers for You. Would you, in this moment …

  • Give us the courage to push away from busyness, helping us find our true identity in You?

    • We confess our critical, always-critiquing attitudes that lead us away from contentment and gratefulness.

  • Cleanse us from being critical and put a spirit of gratefulness in our hearts?

    • We confess our half-hearted devotion that leaves us with an unsatisfied relationship with You.

  • Replace our cold half-heartedness with a fire for You and whole-hearted devotion.

    • We confess our rebellion to Your ways and our bent to rely on our own cleverness.

  • Show us the knowledge of Your will, give us spiritual wisdom and understanding?

    • We confess the fear that we secretly carry, that cripples us in so many ways.

  • Save us from the great opposer, Satan, who threatens us with fear?

    • We confess the sin that is unique for each of us that holds us back from being truly free.

  • Set us free somehow, someway, from the sin that has gripped our hearts and chained our spirits?

    • Thank you for being the Friend who will never leave us or forsake us. (6)
    Thank you for being our Teacher, showing us the way we should go. (7)
    Thank you for being our Protector, helping us stand firm in You. (8)
    Thank you for being our Savior, rescuing us from the chains of our sin. (9)

    This we pray for the sake of Your name,

    Amen.

    (Written by Beth Cullison, June 2008)