It is so amazing that you give us your word, written down for us, so that we can turn to it at any time and hear from you. You have revealed yourself to us. You show us your power, your holiness, and your love that you have revealed through history. You have revealed more to us about ourselves than even we know. You have shown us how we are made in your image, how we fall short, and how you seek to draw us back to you. You have revealed your will to us. You have given us guidance and wisdom, steering us away from evil and beckoning us towards good. You have revealed the mystery of your son, Jesus Christ, who came as a human to save humanity from sin. You have revealed that your Holy Spirit lives within us, and counsels us in truth. You even give us glimpses into the future of heaven, into your great glory, where you call us to be with you forever. We thank you that you have opened our hearts to your message, and you have brought us into your family. Thank you for awakening in us a faith that produces work, that calls us into reliance on you at every step. Help us to constantly come back to you and to your word, and continually convict us of its truth, and our need to obey it.
Father, we thank you for revealing so much to us! We thank you for those who have worked so hard over generations to make sure that your word in the Bible comes to us in a language we can understand; who have sought to write and teach and preach to us about what it means; and who challenge us to read it, accept it, and live by it. We ask that you will bless Bible translators, that you will bless the lecturers and students at Moore College and other Bible colleges that uphold your word, and that you will bless Marty as he seeks to bring to us challenges from your word tonight.
We pray also for the work of the Bible Society, and other missionary endeavours that seek to translate the Bible into the heart language of every human community, and to put your word into the hands of everyone who wants it. Please be with the thousands of translators, scholars, typesetters, computer programmers, financial controllers, printers, distributors and donors who make accessibility to the Bible a reality for so many people around the world.
And we pray for all of those in our own community and country who are starved of your good news message, not because it's inaccessible, but because they are blind and deaf to your words. Please continue to open people's eyes and ears, so that they might see and understand what you have to say to them. And open their hearts and minds, so that they might receive the truth of your words to them. We pray for the hard work of people involved in scripture classes - for those in our church, those from HADCEA, and those involved in university ministries like Karen Sowden and others with EU, AFES and IFES. We pray for school chaplains, prison chaplains, sports chaplains, army chaplains, hospital chaplains - wherever someone is seeking to share your word with people in need, Lord, we pray that you will be there to pour out your blessings on them, and on those who hear and receive your word.
And we pray that we likewise might share your word with those around us - our families, our friends, our workmates, whoever we come into contact with. Place your word in our hearts, encourage us to read it as part of our daily lives, and fill our hearts and our minds with your wonderful message of salvation for the world. Never take your word of truth from our mouths, for we have put our hope in your promises.
And it is through Jesus Christ, who is the Word from the beginning, that we pray. Amen.
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