Father, in Jesus' name, thank You for the riches of Your mercy and Your abundant grace towards us. Forgive us for the times that we give in to the lusts of our flesh rather than yield to Your Holy Spirit. God we, Your dearly loved children, need You! Keep us ever mindful of this so that we live in deep dependence and total reliance upon You. You are our only help and only hope now and for the rest of eternity. May we only and always look to You.
God, the reality is that each and every person needs You. The sad thing is that the majority of people do not realize this truth. They spend their entire lives searching for fulfillment, meaning, and purpose from accomplishments, possessions, and relationships. Help them to realize that You are the source of life and the only One who can satisfy the deep longings of their soul. There is no help and hope for people in this world apart from Jesus Christ. Peoples efforts, apart from You, to make their best lives on earth leads to futility and further alienates them from You and leads to eternal death. This would be the shared destiny for every human being were it not for the truth that You so loved the world that You gave Your One and Only Son Jesus to make the forgiveness of sins and eternal life available to whoever believes in Him. Thank You that this is now the present reality for those of us who are in Christ.
Jesus, we have the assurance of Your presence with us and the promise of Your peace regardless of the circumstances that we face day to day. You are our God and we are Your people. You have made us temples of Your Holy Spirit as You have taken up residence in us. You are the King of glory whose throne is established in the heavens and whose Kingdom rules over all. Yet You are also the King of our hearts. Take Your rightful place on the thrones of our hearts and rule over the entirety of our lives. You have given us the hope of a better future when we will fully be in Your presence and experience Your eternal Kingdom when You return with great power and glory. Because these things are true we rejoice in our afflictions and the trials that we face in this fallen world.
God, as our sin grieves Your Holy Spirit, would You cause our hearts to be grieved by our sin? Produce a godly sorrow in our souls over our sin that leads us to repentance. Our hearts are prone to wander and we often desire the acceptance and approval of men when You've already accepted and approved of us in Christ. Forgive us for desiring greater opportunities that have far more to do with us than You, Your glory, Your Kingdom, and Your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Do whatever You must to rid us of selfish ambition, vain conceit, and pride. Give us godly ambition and humble hearts that cause us to seek Your face, search for You with our whole hearts, and do all that we do for Your glory.
God, empower us by Your Spirit and fill us with holy boldness, justice, love, and wisdom as You use us to represent You and speak Your words in the earth. Prepare us to be a people who will stand firm in the Lord as we move forward in faith in the face of opposition and persecution. O God prepare us to make Jesus Christ the issue and to declare Your gospel unashamedly wherever You have strategically positioned us. Only You, Jesus, can shine light in the midst of gross and overwhelming darkness. Only You, Jesus, can bring life in the face of death. So God in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit use us as we co-labor with Christ together to rebuild the ancient ruins, restore places long devastated, and renew ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. In Jesus' name, Amen!!!