Prayers – November 2018
‘I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to Him as I rejoice in the Lord.’ Psalm 104:33
As we come again to our heavenly Father, let’s enter into His presence with praise. Help us to recognise that all we have comes from Him…He is totally dependable, righteous, His word is always the same, He wants us to be in fellowship with Him .He alone is worthy of our praise. We give thanks for the glorious Summer, the abundance of the fruit crop. We give thanks also for the growth in the church-spiritual and numerical, for those taking part in the Bible Project, discussion groups, home groups. We ask the Lord to continue to help us grow, as individuals and as a church. We are disciples…called to bring the love of Jesus into the world. May we continue to bear fruit that will last. We pray for the success of the Christmas Market and the Christmas Tree Festival. Let them be a witness to the Community of the life of St. Nicholas. We know that a lot of local people come to events in the Church…we pray for each one of them that they may encounter the love of Jesus.
Jesus said:’ Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11:28.
There are so many around us who need that rest….help us to recognise them and bring the love of Jesus into their lives. As winter approaches, we lift up all those who find the cold difficult…through financial hardship, homelessness, loneliness. We give thanks for all the agencies who offer help especially the Winter Shelter. Make us aware of any needs we can meet. We pray for those Christians suffering persecution, who are living in bitterly cold conditions with little hope of aid other than through Western financed Christian aid agencies. We ask that fellow believers will give generously to relieve the suffering of these marginalised families. Let’s give thanks for the love and concern of all those who reach out to support those in need. We are so blessed to have freedom from religious persecution. Help us to be mindful of that and to pray that it continues.
On a global scale, we lift up to the Lord those leaders who make decisions on foreign policy which directly affects the treatment of the poorest in society. May they have wisdom as they impose trade sanctions etc. on countries where Christians and other minorities are outcasts and treated harshly. We pray especially for Iran where Christians by birth have been tolerated, but converts from Islam have been persecuted. As sanctions come into force, they are all going to suffer hardship and persecution. We pray for wisdom, compassion and justice as policies are implemented.
‘The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.’ Psalm103:6