Pray 131013 Sacrifice

Heavenly father,

We call you worthy, and you truly are worth everything, since you have made everything, and we would have nothing without you. Often we are so full of praise for you, we just want to give everything to you, but you already own it all. Thankfully, Lord, you have given us the power to make things that we can give to you - we can give you our praise, we can give you our thanks for all that you have done for us. We can give you the glory that you so rightly deserve. You're worth it all, Lord, and we want to send back to you the blessings you have showered on us. We are so grateful for your love and mercy, thank you.

But sometimes, father, we can forget that you are God, and that you sit in such a place above us, being so worthy, and we can let other things become more immediately important in our lives. Sometimes things get urgent and just grab our attention, and so we try to deal with them immediately without first thinking of you, as we should in all things. Sometimes it has to do with our comfort and wellbeing, and we like being comfortable and secure, so we elevate those things and give them our time and effort and thoughts. Sometimes it is authority - we want to be in charge, we want to have power, and so instead of accepting that you are Lord, and seeking to serve you, we put ourselves in that spot, and try to run things our own way. We're sorry for that, Lord. We want to take this opportunity tonight to take anything we have put ahead of you, and lay it at your feet - use everything we have, and everything we are, to bring yourself more glory, and to fulfil your will of seeing every person brought into a loving relationship with yourself.

We pray now for those who are suffering because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These people really are putting you first, and are prepared to make some big sacrifices in their lives to ensure that you are glorified no matter what. Help them to be an encouragement and an example for us, and as we are blessed by the way they stand up under these trials and continue to glorify you, help us to stand with them by supporting them in prayer, and with the finances you've blessed us with, and by ensuring they have access to the word you have provided us in the Bible. *Pray for persecuted church in booklet thing.*

Closer to home, we bring to you, Lord God, those in our midst, and in our greater Christian family here at Waitara Anglican, who are suffering through loneliness, hardship, loss, sickness, stress and the general troubles of life. For them it can be easy to focus on these worries, and not on the unshakeable truth of your glory, and so we pray you will help them to remain in your strength throughout their troubled times, and help us all as Christian brothers and sisters to rally to their needs, and to be there for them even when we don't know we are. We take a few moments to pray silently for those that burden our hearts.

You give us everything, Lord, and we seek to devote it all to you. In your Son's precious name we pray, Amen.