A Prayer for Action

Eternal Father, as we once more come into your presence to pray, raise us from where we are in the depths of our sin and need, to the heights of worship where we can see Your power and Your glory. By the power of your gospel, may our eyes be delivered from tears, our feet from falling, and our souls from death.



We pray that the holy spirit will pierce the armor we have put on to keep the message of the gospel out. Show us the chaos of the world and the turmoil of our own lives until we see and believe that Christ is the answer to our problems day by day. And show us Christ himself until we shall see our need, not in the light of somebody else who may be weary and stained as we are but in His light in whose face your glory has shone. Make us able to say with one of your saints, "He hath a daily beauty in His life that makes me ugly." And, O Lord, reveal to us once more His cross. Forgive us that we have polished that cross in bright brass and placed it on the altar between the beautiful light of candles' flame and have forgotten that he died on the garbage heap outside the town between two thieves. Keep us near that cross in our living. Bring its scenes before us and help us to walk from day to day with its shadow over us.



As we pray for our troubled world, we pray for every troubled heart. Come and relieve us of the burden of guilt and bad habit; heal us of sickness of body and mind. Comfort us in our loneliness and sorrow. Become for us the bridge over troubled water. Then, O Lord, with the song of salvation on our lips and the reign of peace in our hearts once more, remind us that that we are saved to serve, that we shall lose our new life in Christ unless we share it with others in word and deed daily. And so, show us some more practical need in the world. Show us some job that needs to be done. Show us some class that needs to be taught. Show us some shattered love or friendship that needs reconciliation. Show us some forgotten one who needs to be loved and there let us take hold for His sake and give and give and give again what God has given us.



All this we ask in His name who love us and gave himself for us. Amen