A prayer giving thanks to God for His goodness and to plead with Him to protect us from evil and to bless His church.

God of gods, Lord of lords,
We give You our thanks
for Your love endures forever.
We thank You for Your spectacular kindness in lavishing grace upon undeserving sinners;
for showering mercy upon rebels;
those who seek security and satisfaction outside the abundance of Your gracious hand.
We thank You for Your goodness,
for Your compassion,
for Your slowness to anger.
You have told us that You do not delight in afflicting the children of men.
You take no delight or pleasure in the death of anyone.
Instead, You take no delight or pleasure when sinners repent;
when men and women, boys and girls fear You and put their hope in You.

Father, through Your Son, and by Your Spirit,
You have removed sin’s guilt from us.
Now we pray that You would break sin’s power in us.
Graciously keep us from allowing sin to control us.
Strengthen us in our struggle against it.
Help us to crucify the flesh with its insatiable desires and lusts.
May we increasingly depend upon the power give to us to keep in step with the Spirit as we obey all Christ has commanded us.
May it be evident in our lives that the old self is being put off and the new self, which is being re-created after Your image in true righteousness and holiness, is being put on.
We pray that in our weakness, You would not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Reassure us that the tests we face are not extraordinary but are those which are common to man.
Do not allow us to be tried beyond what we can endure.
Help us to put on the whole armour of God, so we can take our stand against the schemes of the devil.
Let us fasten on the belt of truth.
Help us put on the breastplate of righteousness.
As shoes for our feet, let us move forward with the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Enable us to take up the shield of faith in all circumstances.
Let our heads be guarded by the helmet of salvation.
And may we use the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God – to resist the devil because when we do He will flee.

We pray for Your people wherever they may be found.
As local churches meet openly or in secret, behind closed doors,
would You bless them;
would You nourish them with Your Word;
would You strengthen them.
Do good to them by assuring them of Your pardon, provision, and protection.
May Your Spirit help the members of each local church to use the gifts they have been given for the common good;
to serve one another,
that each body of believers is built up, numerically, in unity, and in maturity;
so that glory is given to Your great Name.

Amen.

[Inspired by Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer]

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A prayer based on 1 Chronicles 4:9.

Lord Jesus,
We praise You that Your coming was worth the wait for Your people of old;
and now that You have come into the world:
being born to a virgin named Mary,
living a perfect life of obedience to God’s law,
suffering and dying in our place to save us from our sins,
rising to give us victory over death,
and ascending to prepare a place for us in the new creation;
we can say:
You are worth trusting in.
You are worth following.
You are worth putting all our hope in.

Lord, we know that this world is cursed.
Creation is groaning.
The evidence is all around us.
It is announced at the birth of every child.
The words of Jabez’s mother “I gave birth in pain” ring true.

We praise You that You have reversed the curse upon creation;
that You are the offspring of the woman who would come and crush Satan’s head;
who would undo the damage done by the Fall;
who would restore creation back to the way God intended it to be.

We praise You for the proof You gave that You are this King and You can undo this curse, as you:
stilled chaotic waters on a lake;
restored sight to the blind;
speech to the mute;
movement to the paralytic;
hearing to the deaf;
health to the sick;
freedom to the demon-possessed;
and gave life to the dead.
But more than these, we know You can reverse the curse because you have dealt with the reason for the curse in the first place.
Sin.

We are amazed that You would take upon Yourself our sin and the sin of all who trust in You,
and be made a curse.
We thank You that You did this so that the curse of hell over us could be lifted.
Why then would we not trust in You?
Why then would we not follow You?
Why then would we not put all our hope in You?
Only You can give us an eternal future in a world no longer under the curse.

Yet we confess that though we have this hope:
We don’t love You as we should.
We don’t obey Your commandments as we should.
You have given us Your Spirit to help us, yet we don’t depend upon Him.
And we don’t bring glory to Your Father and our Father in heaven.

As we confess our sins to You now,
help us to turn from them,
and to show your worth to others by our lips and our lives,
so that they may honour and worship You.

Amen.

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A prayer giving thanks to God for His presence with us and to plead with Him to keep His promise to save His people from their sins.

We give to You, our God, our thanks.
We thank You for Your presence with us.
For the promise of the Lord Jesus, that He will be with us always to the very end of the age;
that we can live every moment of our lives knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us, if we are His, because His Spirit lives within us.
So, we thank You that You are the God who is near to Your people – Immanuel – God with us – and the great blessing that is to know, especially during those times when it feels to us like You are so far away.

We give You thanks for the many blessings we enjoy as Your people.
May we not forget how blessed we are because of your love and faithfulness to us, and what a joy it is to praise You for them;
that it is good for us to sing to You and exalt You our God the King;
to praise You, O Most High God;
and to do so together.
To lift our voices and praise You in the assembly on the saints – with those who love You and have been saved by Your Son.
May we continue to do this while we have life and breath.
For as long as we live to bless You Lord God Almighty.
To offer through Jesus a sacrifice of praise;
to present to You the fruit of our lips,
as we recall all the good You have lavished on us;
the many mercies You have poured out on us.

Faithful God, keep all the promises You have made, which are “Yes” and “Amen” in Jesus.
Act according to Your Word, which You have spoken, and save all Your people.
Give us what we need for life and godliness.
Supply all our needs according to Your riches in Christ, so we can faithfully follow Him each day.
Lord Jesus build Your church;
Make alive those who are dead in their transgressions.
Open their eyes and turn from darkness to light.
Deliver them from the power of Satan that they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified.
Be merciful to those who are still lost and perishing,
Add to our number those who are being saved.
We pray this especially for those who gather with us Sunday by Sunday but who have yet to repent of their sins and come to Christ, and for the children as they grow in their understanding of what Jesus has done for them.
Holy Spirit draw back those who have backslidden to the One they once professed faith in.
May our friends and neighbours we are witnessing to find safety in the great Saviour of sinners.
Lord, would today and the days ahead, be salvation days.
We plead with You, to act by Your Spirit;
to show grace and mercy.
We long to rejoice with the angels as sinners repent;
to see people turn from their rebellion and find hope in Jesus.
In whose Name we pray.

Amen.

[Inspired by Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer]

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A prayer praising God’s existence and confessing to Him our sinful nature.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic You are.
You are the true God.
The God who exists.
The One who is there.
The heavens declare Your glory.
The skies display the works of Your hands.
Every day in creation, Your eternal power and divine nature is being made known.
So, to say there is no God is the height of foolishness, because clearly there is.

You our God deserve our worship;
and the worship of all creation,
because You are the Creator of all and Ruler of all.
The One to whom we will all give an account,
and who will one day judge the wicked,
and reward the righteous – those who diligently seek You.

Father, we confess that by nature we don’t seek You,
and we behave as fools because we act so often as if You do not exist.
We confess because of Adam’s disobedience we are all born sinners.
We are rightly called rebels.
We have been sinful since the time we were conceived.
We are children of wrath, and all with everyone else, we are sons of disobedience.
We have all turned aside from Your original purposes for us.
We have fallen short of Your glory – the glory You intended for us to display as those made in Your image.

God be merciful to us, sinners.
Our hope is in You,
Because salvation is from the Lord and the Lord alone.
Deliver us from all our transgressions.
Cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.
Graciously forgive the great debt we owe You as we trust in Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ;
the One who came to save His people from their sins;
the Promised One who would bring God’s blessing to those from every nation and people and tribe and language.

We thank You that He always sought You;
that He never sinned;
that He was the true image of God, who kept the law, and He did so on our behalf.
We thank You that He died in our place;
that He did so for our sin;
that He experienced the wrath of God, so that we never will.
Rising again on the third day to assure us of this.
Lord Jesus, we are amazed, that while we were still sinners You died for us.
May You be praised by our lives and by our lips.

Amen.

[Inspired by Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer]

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A prayer praising our glorious God and confessing the many ways that we have rebelled against Him.

We lift up our hearts to You, O God.
You who are in heaven.
We seek Your face.
We want to give You the glory due to Your Name.
To worship You who are spirit in spirit and in truth;
because we know Father that these are the kinds of people You are seeking,
and we want to be like them.
Help us to give You our full attention.
To be undistracted in our devotion to You.
Keep our hearts from being far from You now, as we honour You with our lips.

We thank You that we can come to You with confidence.
That we can boldly draw near to You and enter into Your holy place.
Because by His blood shed on the cross;
His death in the place of sinners;
Jesus has made it possible for rebels like us to approach You.

And so, we praise You.
For:
You are the Holy One – Holy, holy, holy, are You, Lord God Almighty.
You are the eternal One – the One who is, and was, and is to come.
You are the Great I AM – the everlasting King; the Most High over all the earth.
You are light and in You there is no darkness at all – You are the Father of lights and in You there is no inconsistency.
You are the true God and the living God – the one only living and true God.
You are the unchanging Lord – You do not change like shifting shadows.
You alone are immortal – Your Name shall endure forever and Your fame across the generations.
And incredibly we can say You are our God and You love us.

How we long to know You more.
Our souls thirst for You and long for You as in a dry and weary land where there is no water, for only You can satisfy.

Yet we acknowledge before You there are times when we are foolishly drawn to the idols of this world.
The idols that are worshipped by millions of people, but which are no gods at all, and which will one day perish from the earth.

O our God, we are ashamed of our folly.
We cannot hide from You our many iniquities and our many transgressions – all the ways in which we break Your laws and commands.
We confess that we have sinned against You.
Like the leper we are unclean in Your sight;
and we deserve Your just punishment.
The only hope we have is to plead for You to show us mercy and not wrath.

How grateful we are that You can for those who are trusting in Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who have called on His Name to be saved.
It is amazing to know that in Christ, there is no condemnation for us;
that in Christ, You are for us and not against us;
that in Christ, You will graciously give us all we need to ensure that we make it heaven;
that in Christ, nothing will separate us from Your love.
We adore You our God.
In Jesus’ Name.

Amen.

[Inspired by Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer]

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A prayer based on Psalm 127:1.

We praise You our God.
For You are the God who is life and You are the God who gives life.
You are the One who because of Your great love for us;
and because You are rich in mercy has made us alive.
Giving us life when we were lost in our sins,
dead in our transgressions,
and objects of Your wrath.

We praise You that by Your Spirit,
You have enabled us to trust in Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ;
to turn to Him in repentance,
to come to Him for salvation.
If You had not worked in our lives, where would we be?
We would have remained dead.
We would still be facing Your wrath in hell.

How grateful we are Lord Jesus, for your life – your perfect life – sinless, righteous – which You give to us.
Thank You that Your righteousness has been credited to us who believe in You, so that we can be accepted by Your Father.
How grateful we are Lord Jesus, for your death and resurrection – that You have paid the penalty our sins deserve so we can be forgiven and have eternal life.

All glory be to You.

And Lord God, it our desire that You would do this great work which You have done in our lives, in the lives of others.
We don’t want anyone to perish.
We want all to be saved.
We want to see people respond in repentance and faith as they hear the gospel.
We want to see family and friends and neighbours trust in Christ when we tell them of Him.
Yet we know that unless You build the house, all our labours will be in vain.

We affirm our trust in the promise of Jesus who has said that He will build His church;
that He will grow and increase His church.
that He will bring many sons and daughters to glory.
that He will lose none of those He saves.
Father, help us to keep believing His Word,
to trust His promises.

Forgive us for our doubts and unbelief.
For those times when we are tempted to lose heart.

Holy Spirit, strengthen our confidence that Jesus really is seeking and saving the lost.
Increase our dependence on You.
And may we show this dependence by striving, labouring, working for You by making disciples;
by telling the good news to those who so desperately need Jesus as their Saviour;
by speaking the truth in love to one another.
Believing that as we do:
You will open blind eyes;
You will grant repentance unto life;
You will bring people to the knowledge of the truth;
You will sanctify and change and make us more like Christ.

And may we be quick to give You the glory for all the great things You do in our lives and the lives of others, and the life of this and other faithful churches.
To give You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all the praise that You deserve.
Because You are the great builder of the church.
The only Saviour of sinners.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Matthew 1:1-17.

Our faithful God,
We praise You that You are absolutely trustworthy;
That the promises You make to people, You really do keep.
You promised King David, that one of His offspring would rule from his throne for ever.
Through Isaiah we learn that this child will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace;
that His reign would be marked by righteousness and justice.
You also promised Abraham that from the great nation which his family would one day become, would be a Son who will bring blessing to all the nations on earth;
who would undo the curse that came upon humankind at the Fall when sin entered the world, by bringing lost people back into relationship with their Creator.
Thank You that these promises were kept with the announcement that the Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the son of David and the son of Abraham;
that Jesus is this righteous King and Rescuer.

We recognise that this relationship with You that Jesus makes possible is not something we deserve.
We have all rebelled against You, the God who is just and holy and who must punish sin.
We are all sinners.
Even the great king David was a sinner too, committing adultery with Uriah’s wife, and orchestrating his death.
How we all need Jesus to save us.
For His death on the cross to take the wrath our sins deserve so that we can receive the blessing of being in relationship with You.

Thank You He will if we have repented and put our trust in Him, because He has promised that He will save all who do this.
Jews and Gentiles.
Men and women.
Not just the good guys – those who have shady pasts as well – prostitutes and murderers and adulterers and those who come from the wrong part of town with messed up parents.

Thank You that no matter who we are and where we are from and what we have done, He can be our Saviour if we believe in Him.

Help us, by Your Spirit to trust in the King You have sent to save us.
Help us, by Your Spirit to follow the King You have sent to save us, by obeying everything He has commanded.
Especially help us, by Your Spirit, to take the news to people of all nations and of all backgrounds, that the King You have sent to save sinners is here, and that He will save all who ask Him to.
Forgive us for so often faltering and failing to do this.
Thank You that because of Your love and faithfulness You will.
Give us a fresh awareness of this today we ask.
In the Name of Jesus.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Romans 9:1-29.

Gracious and loving Father,
We are amazed at Your kindness to us.
That for those whom You have saved, nothing – not death or life, not angels or demons, not the past or the future, not anything in all creation – will be able to separate us from Your love for us in Jesus.
But it grieves us to know that there are many who do not have this certainty.

Our hearts are filled with great sorrow and unceasing anguish when we consider that the majority of Jews have rejected Him and are facing His punishment.
They were God’s people;
adopted by Him.
They had seen His glory.
They were in a covenant relationship with Him.
They had the law which showed they needed a Saviour.
In the temple worship, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the festivals, they had Christ pictured for them.
They had all the Old Testament promises.
And yet they still rejected Him.

We recognise as well, that they are so many more Gentiles who do not believe in Jesus.
Including many in this nation, and even in this community.

How we wish that this were not so.

Yet we praise You, that we can be confident that You will keep Your promise to save Israel – the Israel made up of people You have chosen to be Your people.
An Israel made up of both Jews and Gentiles, which includes us, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are truly astonished that You would choose to save us.
There is nothing about us that makes us better than those who are not saved.
You made Your choice before we had done anything good or bad,
which means that our salvation has nothing to do with us –
Not our birth, our desires, our actions, our merit, our knowledge, or our connections –
You chose to save us, because You chose to save us.
How grateful we are that You have, because we have sinned and deserve Your condemnation.
If You were giving us what we deserve, we would already be in hell, with every other human;
That You rescue anyone, not leaving them to be held accountable for their guilt, shows just how merciful You are.

We ask that by Your Spirit You would be at work in us.
Cause us to plead with You to show us mercy by enabling us to turn from our sins and believe in Your Son, and in Him alone.
Cause us to be overjoyed that You would save us;
to be awestruck that You would rescue us.
Cause us to trust in Your promise to save all who have faith in Jesus and to know for certain that a glorious future awaits us if we hold fast to Christ ourselves.
And cause us to be compassionate.
To be concerned for those who are still lost and stubbornly rejecting Jesus.
The many Jews and even more from the nations.
To be grieved that many people are at present drowning in their sins.
To believe that there are still a vast multitude whom God has chosen to save.
And to take seriously our responsibility to speak the gospel, knowing that faith comes from hearing this message.

We thank You that salvation is all of You.
And so, to You be the glory for ever.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Romans 5:6-8.

Our God,
It is truly amazing to know that You love us.
It is incredible that we can hear You say to us, through Your Word, “I love you”.
Especially as there is no reason for You to.
By nature, there is nothing loveable about us.
There is no reason why You should feel this way about us.

We were ungodly;
those who had no time for You;
who wanted nothing to do with You.
We were sinners;
rebellious to Your will and way;
constantly failing to hit your target for our lives;
missing the mark;
breaking Your law;
transgressing Your boundaries.
We were powerless;
facing Your judgment;
heading towards the fires of hell for eternity;
and there was nothing we could do about this.

We were helpless, and without hope.
Yet You chose to extend Your love to us;
You so loved the world.
Not just the polite people of the world;
the nice people;
the respectable people.
You so loved all kinds of people, even the vilest offender,
and demonstrated this by giving Your only Son.

We praise You that Christ was willing to die for every kind of person in the world.
For the ungodly.
For sinners.
We thank You that He was willing to die for us.
To save us.
To bring us out of the place of danger.
To rescue us from the wrath to come, so that we do not need to experience for ever God’s anger.
We thank You that now through faith in Him we can have our sins taken away;
we can have a relationship with You the Holy God, and be adopted into Your family with eternal life.

Father, forgive us for those times when we doubt that You really do love us.
For when we think you couldn’t love us,
because we’re too bad;
because we’ve done too many awful things.

And Holy Spirit, help us when we feel this way to look to Jesus.
To fix our eyes on Him, the God-man.
Who having been betrayed, abandoned, arrested, slandered, beaten, punched, kicked, whipped, heard the crowd shout crucify him, felt flesh torn from his skill, suffered exhaustion, experienced nails bashed into His hands and feet, is left hanging on a cross.
Who is exposed, naked, mocked, bleeding, dying, and punished by God until there was no more penalty left to pay for our sins.
And would this strengthen our confidence that You really do love us.
Help us to grasp more and more, to comprehend Your love in Christ, to delight in it, to appreciate it, and to adore You for it.
And most of all to love You as those who have been first loved by You.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Psalm 2.

Our great God,
when You look down upon the world, You see the entire human race;
the nations, the people,
the kings, the rulers,
the great, the small,
conspiring and plotting, uniting to fight against You and Your anointed One, the Lord Jesus.
They do not want to be ruled by You.
They hate the boundaries and limits You have given for their good.
They don’t want to obey Your laws.
And they will not have Your Son reigning over them.

We confess that we still see this tendency in our lives.
How foolish we are.
We should know better, because we know that Jesus has been exalted to the highest place.
You have installed Him as King to rule on Your behalf.
And His reign is not just over Israel, but over the whole world including those who have rebelled against You.
We praise You that one day You will justly punish all who oppose Your rule, when You unleash hell upon them.

How grateful we are that before this day comes, we have heard Your gentle, loving, tender voice speak to us, calling us to come to our senses, and trust in You,
Thank You our God that You are willing to take rebels back.
Thank You that salvation from the wrath to come is available, because the One You installed as King came first to save sinners by His obedient life and sacrificial death.
Thank You that because we stand with Christ, and have kissed the Son:
with a kiss of agreement, by acknowledging that He is King,
with a kiss of allegiance, by submitting to His rule,
and with a kiss of adoration, by loving Him above all others,
we have been sheltered from His anger and have been blessed with eternal life.

Our God, it is our great desire that our friends and family,
neighbours and colleagues,
those who live in this community,
and those who live further afield, right to the ends of the earth,
would know this too.
That they would stop siding with the world and start siding with Christ,
so that when they meet Him,
they will do so not as His enemy but as His friend.
Please by Your Spirit bring them to their senses so they fear Him, and then flee to Him, and be blessed.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Matthew 5:21-48.

Lord Jesus,

There is no other name apart from Yours by which we can be saved from our sins;
by which we can be rescued from the punishment of hell we deserve for our rebellion.
We praise You, that in Your life, death, and resurrection, You have saved all who turn from their sins and trust in You;
that You have forgiven us and given to us Your perfect righteousness, so that we are now acceptable before God.
If You had not done this for us, we would be helpless and without hope, as we have not and could never obey God’s law enough ourselves for Him to accept us.
Our righteousness does not surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, and so there is no chance we can enter the kingdom of God.

How grateful we are Lord Jesus, that You have done for us what we cannot do for ourselves;
that we are now part of Your kingdom, and with the help of Your Holy Spirit, we can live in a way that shows we are.
Both in our actions but also our deeper heart attitudes.
That You help us to put to death anger and bitterness.
That You help us to resist the temptation to give into lust.
That You help us to be faithful in our relationships.
That You help us to speak words that are trustworthy and true.
That You help us to show restraint when we are wronged and not get revenge.
And that You help us to love our neighbours, including those who we might see as our enemies – after all this is the love which You have already shown to us.

Yet we confess that though we are able to, with Your help, live out this new life we now have, we frequently fail to.
Instead of being marked by peace, we get angry.
Instead of being pure, our eyes are drawn to what is out of bounds.
Instead of being faithful, we have let others down.
Instead of being truthful, we are dishonest.
Instead of exercising self-control, we give into our passions.
Instead of being loving, we find hatred towards others rising up from within.
And because of all this, we fail to reflect what You are like.
Forgive us again we pray, and continue to bring about the change we desperately need within us that is evidence that you have saved us, and so that we might bring glory to Your perfect Father in heaven.

Amen.

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A prayer based on Ezekiel 47-48.

Our God and our Saviour,

We praise You for the hope we have.
For the life of blessing, abundance, fruitfulness, order, enjoyment, plenty, beauty, community, and access that is ours when we live with You as our God and we as Your people for all eternity.

We praise You that one day when Jesus returns, all of Your people and all of Your creation will be as they were created to be.
Beautiful, majestic and glorious as the curse is reversed.

We praise You that this incredible hope we have is already coming to pass, as the Holy Spirit, the streams of living water that Jesus spoke about, flows within us bringing new life, and transforming us so that we are not what we once were.

We praise You that the Day is coming when all Your people will be at home with You in the place Jesus is preparing for us.
And that Your people will be made up of both men and women and both Jews and Gentiles.
That there will be room there for everyone who turns to and trust in Christ for salvation.
That no-one who does that will miss out.
That everyone who believes will be welcomed in.

How grateful we are for these blessings and benefits that are ours.
Not because we deserve them.
We deserve to be punished for we haven’t lived the way You created us to.
But because You have been so gracious to us by sending Your Son to save us.

We thank You Lord Jesus, that You have secured salvation for us – by living in our place a holy and righteous life and by dying in our place to satisfy God’s anger against us – and which You now give to us as a gift.

Lord God, we long to show how much we love Christ and how grateful we are for what He has done for us by obeying everything He has commanded.
To be holy and blameless in your sight as you chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be.
To live as those whose hope is in God and whose home will be with God forever.
Yet we confess that we find it hard to live lives of godliness in the face of the pressure that comes from the world, our sinful flesh, and the devil.
We are prone to wander from your way.
To our shame, we do stumble and fall.
We lose heart and doubt whether Jesus really will return.
We wonder whether we are doing the right thing by turning from our sins and trusting You, as the alternative seems much easier to do.
Forgive us for our unbelief and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness we pray.

And we ask Holy Spirit that you would strengthen our faith and convince us that all God’s promises will be kept.
That one day we will take our place among all of God’s people in God’s promised land enjoying God’s presence and being eternally blessed by Him.
So that we do keep loving God with all hearts, soul, mind, and strength;
that we keep trusting Him;
that we keep obeying Him and living holy lives;
that we keep spreading the offer of new life in Christ to those who are yet to receive it;
And so that we keep looking forward to the city whose designer and builder is God and keep pressing on until we reach there.

Amen.

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