A prayer based on Acts 14:1-20.
Almighty Creator,
who made the world and everything in it,
and who shows His kindness daily by giving rain, fruitful seasons, and who fills us with food and our hearts with joy.
We praise You.
We acknowledge before You now, that this world we live in is Your world.
And yet it distresses us that this world is also one,
where people don’t give You the honour that You deserve,
where so many people, not just in our nation, but in our community, choose to worship things that are created, rather than You their Maker.
It distresses us, not just because they are robbing You of the glory You deserve,
but also because of the danger that places them in,
a danger we at one time were facing,
of being punished for our sin and rebellion against You.
Merciful Lord,
We thank You that there is good news for them as there is good news for us.
And we desperately want them to hear of it.
To hear that Jesus Christ is the Saviour.
That He can offer forgiveness for every single thing they’ve done wrong,
and that He can remove all their guilt before You and give them eternal life,
if they turn from worshipping worthless things and trust in Him.
We thank You that You have graciously opened our hearts to believe in Him,
that we know the joy that having our sins washed away brings,
the assurance the hope of heaven provides,
and we want our friends, our family, and those who live in this community, to know this too.
The responsibility of making Jesus known we feel as a church.
We want to be good witnesses.
We want to speak of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.
We want to warn them of how awful the day of judgment will be for those outside of Christ.
But we confess we don’t find this easy.
We are fearful.
We worry about what to say and about saying the wrong thing.
Lord, we need Your help, we need Your Spirit, so fill us we pray.
Holy Spirit,
Give us a boldness so that we can speak fearlessly of our Saviour.
To be unashamed of Him.
Give us the wisdom we need to speak in a way that those we are talking to can understand.
To proclaim the wonder of what Christ has done clearly,
especially as many have little or no knowledge about what the Bible says or about who Jesus is.
And give us the perseverance we need to keep going in spite of difficulties and disappointments.
To remain faithful to the task our Lord has given to us when setbacks happen.
We pray that through our witness as a church, Jesus would extend His kingdom by seeking and saving those who are lost.
And by doing so, would bring glory to His great Name.
Amen.
(Photo: Freely)