Prayer As Some Doors Open and People Begin To Mingle In The Community
Monday May 4, 2020
In some places today, after many weeks of lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, doors are being opened at some schools, some businesses, and some travel is being allowed in a small circle near where people live. I thought today we could use some of Paul's words to his friends – as they are recorded in the Bible, in our prayers today to encourage us and then to bless those we can now be in contact with or are still hoping to see at some point down the road.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, we're grateful that You are our father and that You gave the Lord Jesus to us to be our Saviour and our Lord. We thank you for all those we know who are faithful to You and have done their best to live in Your love during this time we have been separated. We give thanks for what we've heard of the hope that has remained in their hearts and the faith that's even increased as we have found You faithful during these challenging times. We thank you that we always have the hope of heaven to comfort us and encourage us when times are tough. This brief season here on earth and even this season of the pandemic is just a blip on the screen of the time we will have with You forever.
We thank You for the good news of the Gospel and those who have shared it with us over the years and in recent times. We wouldn't have chosen these circumstances, but we thank You that Your true and living word has been growing in us during this season of the COVID-19 pandemic and the times of physical distancing and social isolating. Thank you for the many new digital expressions of church meetings and songs, and prayer times that have sprung up during this time. Thank you for the encouragement we've had and the joy that has grown in our hearts as we've gathered together in Your presence even though we've been apart. Thank you for the pastors and teachers who've done all they can to faithfully teach us and taken the extra time and effort needed to adjust the way of doing that to online services and Zoom meetings and so on.
And so we join our hearts together with You God, with our faithful brothers and sisters here in our local communities and really around the world, and with others who we know You want to bless today, God and we echo Paul’s words by saying: Fill each one, God with the knowledge of Your will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that they may live a life worthy of You, Lord and please You in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in our knowledge of You,
being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so that we all may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to You, Our Heavenly Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of Your holy people in the kingdom of light. We’re so grateful You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, Your son whom you love and in whom, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And so God, as we have heard reports of people maintaining their faith in You during this time, living in hope, and sharing Your love in whatever means have been available – we want to pause today and give thanks and remember them in our prayers.
As we move out a bit more into the community we pray that we will not forget the lessons You’ve been so kind to teach us during these weeks of physical distancing. Even more now we want You to give all of us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation so we may know You better. We long for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened in order to know even more clearly the hope to which You have called us and the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your holy people, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe.
The great freedom is not just getting out and about a bit more with some restrictions lifting but it truly is the freedom we have to live above whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.
We go forward in faith and confidence today and each day going forward because we know that the same mighty strength you exerted when you raised Christ from the dead and seated him at Your right hand in heavenly realms is the mighty power that is working in us and available to us in whatever situation we find ourselves in.
We are so grateful to belong to You through the Lord Jesus and to stand with Him, to stand in the authority and victory He gave us when we chose to put our faith and trust in Him – a power and authority that is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only now but going forward.
We have great excitement today, not just because things are beginning to open up but even moreso because You have such a wonderful future planned for us as we stand strong with you and with each other.
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