Prayer: 24/10/21 (Rev 2:18-29)

 Heavenly Father,

You are mighty. With your feet of bronze you stand strong and unmoveable against your enemies, and with your eyes like fire your sight can pierce our hearts and see us for who we really are.

We hope that as we come before you today, you will look into our hearts and see our deeds, our faith and our love, as we seek to serve you and persevere in your service. All that we have done and all that we seek to do, we want to be able to commit to you. 

And yet we know that despite trying to be faithful, we can so easily fall short. There are so many in this world who compete for our attention, who teach us to think things and to do things that are against your will for us. Often we listen to these voices because they promise to give us things we crave for ourselves: whether they be pleasures we think will make us feel happier, secrets we think will make us seem cleverer, or rulers that will make us more powerful. Father, please forgive us for opening ourselves to these voices that speak against your truth. Help us not to tolerate such false teachings, but to always turn our faces to you, to seek out your will and to follow what we hear from you to the exclusion of all others.

We thank you for all the activities and opportunities to serve you that you lay before us, and we think of all the opportunities that will become available as the lockdown restrictions ease. We thank you that we will soon be able to meet together again, and we pray for our church leaders as they decide how this can be done in a safe and inclusive way. We pray for all of those who have suffered because of the pandemic, and pray that you will be their comfort. Help us as a church to continue to hold to our love for others as you have loved us. 

We thank you that you have not placed on us a burden we cannot bear, but instead ask us simply to hold on to the amazing message of grace and mercy that you have given us through your son Jesus Christ. We thank you for the provision of well-trained Bible teachers who provide our church with sermons and Bible studies where we can learn your message to us more fully and more deeply. We thank you for the provision of Nick Speyer to our church while Marty was on leave, and we thank you that Marty had the opportunity to rest. Please be with them, and with all of our preachers and Bible study leaders as they help us to hear your voice more clearly. We remember our brothers and sisters around the world who do not have such easy access to high quality Christian teachings, and pray that you will make your gospel known clearly and powerfully throughout the world.

All these things we pray in your son's name,

Amen