Holy Father, in Jesus' name, You are the Sovereign Lord of all creation. Your throne is established in the heavens and Your Kingdom rules over all. You are the ever present God and so thankful that You are personally with Your people no matter where we are, what is going on around us, and what we are doing.
Father, send Your holy presence before us and help us to recognize that our presence, our words, and our opinions are not necessary or needed. We need a holy encounter with Your manifest presence and Your Words which are spirit and life. Write Your message in overflowing measure on our hearts so that out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths speak the very words of God. Make us pure and holy vessels that the glory, gospel, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ flows to, in, and through without hindrance. Help us to humble ourselves before Your Majestic presence and to walk in humility with others. For You, God, give grace to the humble.
God, anoint and use us to share the grace and truth of Jesus regardless of the issue or topic. For us, may Jesus be the issue and have the preeminence, priority, and supremacy in all things. May we be a people who love You with all that we are and all that we have; who have hearts that are aligned with Your will and purpose; who love one another as Jesus has loved us; who pray to Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, to send laborers into His harvest; who see the crowds of people as Jesus do with hearts filled with compassion that stirs us to take the good news of Your Kingdom to our neighbors and the nations. Empower us to live out the unity that we already possess in Christ so that the world would know that the Father sent Jesus and has loved us even as He has loved Him (Jesus).
Jesus, we do not know how to navigate the treacherous waters of our world. We, Your Church, appear more poised and ready to engage the world in a culture war than to engage them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have stumbled as we have done and said things that have caused schisms in the body of Christ and set us in hostile opposition to those we are called to take Jesus to. Forgive us for allowing secondary issues to get our focus off of Christ and His Kingdom cause.
Please help us to walk a gospel tightrope and make Jesus the issue at all times and in all things. In and of ourselves, we are not able or ready to represent You in this world. For we all have biases, prejudices, and stereotypes that cause us to devalue some and overvalue others rather than seeing all created in the image of God with the same high price paid for the redemption of their souls - the precious blood of Jesus. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and help us to see others as You do. Use us to let people know the high value of their lives and to implore them to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
God, do not let us shrink back in fear but to move ahead in faith. Do not let us miss opportunities or fail to walk through open doors that You have set before us to represent You. At the same time, do not let us do things because it seems to us to be the right thing to do.
Help us to lean not to our own understanding but to acknowledge You in all of our ways as You direct our paths and make them straight. In Jesus' name, Amen!!!