Pastoral Prayer by Paul Meeks # 27

Pastoral Prayer by Paul Meeks # 27

Our gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we come to you today in the name of Jesus. Your Word tells us that if we ask anything in his name, we know that you hear us, and if we know that you hear us, we have the petitions we desired of you. What a comforting word that is.

I want to thank you today for your everlasting love that goes beyond all of our human comprehension or understanding. You love us all right where we are today and you love us for who we are. Our circumstances change so drastically as time passes and life is real. Problems and difficulties are not imaginary, they're real and we don't understand them and why things are happening. We're sometimes tempted to wonder if you know and we wonder where you are. Circumstances seem to defy all human logic, they just don't seem to make sense to us. How comforting it is to know that we don't have to pretend to be something we're not or prete nd to be stronger than we are. You know us anyway, so we don't have to pretend with you. You know all about our humanness and our weaknesses and, wonder of wonders, in spite of all of that, and maybe even because of it, you love us anyway. We're your creation, you made us, and you know all about us, so you know about our needs and how to help us. You can do something about it all. So, here we are, Lord, confessing our needs. You already know all about them, but we need to tell you. That's what you want us to do. Please, Lord, meet each person in just the very way we each need y ou right now. May your love for us and our faith in you hold us steady and steadfast. You said that we could be more than conquerors through him that loved us. Thank you for hearing us.

(And now, Church, before we continue and conclude our corporate prayer, I invite you, there in the solitude of your own heart and mind to talk to the Lord by yourself. We have all kinds of needs, for healing, forgiveness, encouragement, comfort, guidance. It's highly personal. Whatever it is, just tell him, he's right here, right now and he wants to answer your prayer.)

Thank you, Lord, for hearing us. There's nothing too hard for you. You're still on the throne. You're still in control. Thank you, Lord, for hearing us. You're answering our prayers right now.

And, now, Lord, we want to broaden our prayers today because we're concerned about more than just ourselves here this morning. We pray for your Church around the world. They're all our brothers and sisters and we care about them. Many are meeting in difficult circumstances, not having the freedom to meet openly because of threats they live with. Please encourage and uplift them today and help them that their faith will remain strong. May they not fail you. We pray for the wonderful ministry of the Jesus Film and for those that are ministering with that medium around the world. May th ousands more come to know you even this very week.

We pray for our president and the men and women in government and in the Supreme Court and all the courts of our land. We pray for the influence of the Holy Spirit on their hearts and minds. May they all make decisions that they don't even understand to be the result of your powerful influence.
We pray for the military actions particularly in the middle east and the precarious situations that are continuously being confronted there between righteousness and evil and freedom and bondage. We pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done.

We pray for Pastor Steve as he brings the messages in the different venues today. Speak to all of us through him. And may your special anointing be upon him.

We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Paul Meeks
College Wesleyan Church
Marion, IN

Pauldarmeeks@aol.com