Prayer 3/05/15 1 Peter 3:8-22 "Suffering As Christians"

Heavenly Father,

You are of inestimable worth. How can we even begin to put a value on the one who creates and owns everything? How can we put a value on our own lives, and the lives of all people, who only live by the breath you have breathed into our lungs? What price can we put on our eternal future, that you have secured for us by the blood of your son, Jesus Christ? We are absolutely blown away by your infinite worth, and even though we can only begin to comprehend it, we understand enough to know that you are amazing.

Nothing else can stand as even remotely of the same worth as our lives, our salvation, and our relationship with you. And yet you give us so much more! We have amazing wealth, we live in a rich country, and we are blessed with a whole bunch of material stuff. We have rooves and cars and electronic gizmos, we have abundant food and money left over to spend on entertainment and charity. We have loving family relationships, strong friendships and a wonderful congregation of like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. And we have a stable and safe country, far from danger, far from threats, and full of freedom, where we can worship you in public, learn about you at state funded Bible colleges, build churches that advertise your son's glory, and teach about you in schools. Help us to be thankful for all that you give us, because we have a lot of opportunity.

And you have commanded us that as we have opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. And so we pray now for our brothers and sisters who live in places where these opportunities do not exist, and where instead they suffer from all sorts of persecution and injustice. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria who have lost their homes, their families and their churches as their communities have been decimated by ISIS. We pray for our Christian family in Central Asia, where Christians are regularly imprisoned and fined huge amounts for handing out gospel tracts, having prayer meetings in their homes, or owning a Bible. We pray for your people across Africa who face death at the hands of Al-Qeda, Al-Shabbab and Boko Haram. We pay for Christians in Nepal,  whose churches and homes have been destroyed, and will be difficult to rebuild, and who may not receive aid from their government because they are Christian. We pray for Christians in North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Myanmar who face tragically unjust punishments for bearing your name. Give all of your people courage and strength in the face of these trials. Assure them on the amazing value there is in sharing in the sufferings of Christ in such ways. Let them know our support, in prayer, in finance, and in public advocacy. And help us to be encouraged by their strong stance for you, and to receive the same courage when we face shame from family, friends and workmates who find our talking about Jesus embarrassing or uncomfortable.

And so we also pray for those closer to home who are suffering in your name. Despite the many blessings you have given us, there is still a lot of pain in our midst. We pray for those who face rejection from their families because of their stance of believing in God. Give them a strong sense of the many brothers and sisters you have given them in Christ. We pray for those whose suffering is silent, and invisible to us, who hide their pain. We pray for those who suffer doubt about you, or aren't sure about their relationship with you, or are plagued with regrets and worries about their lives, and for others. Give us caring hearts and gentle spirits, so that they might inherit the blessing of closeness and comfort from you. Please free us all from fear and apprehension when it comes to suffering for you - help us to be willing and generous in giving all that you have given us to those who you have provided to us to pass on to those who are in need.

For all these things, for opportunities provided and blessings given, we are truly thankful. In Jesus name, Amen.