Pastoral Prayer

*This prayer was delivered during Lord’s Day worship on February 25, 2024.

Praise & Adoration

O Lord God, 

We praise you for you are God, and we are not. 

You are very great, as the Psalmist tells us. 

You are clothed in splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. 

You lay the beams of your chambers on the waters; you make the clouds your chariot; you ride on the wings of the wind. 

You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be moved. 

You look on the earth and it trembles; you touch the mountains and they smoke!

We say with the Psalmist, May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in all his works. 

Father, we lay our burdens and requests before you now with confident expectation that you will answer them according to your will. May we trust you in whatever way you choose to answer these requests.

Sanctification of the Saints

Father, we pray for the sanctification of saints, and we ask that you would continue to sanctify our brothers and sisters who are Proclamation Church in Mount Vernon, Citizens Church in Westerville, and Friendship Baptist Church in New Concord. Continue the work that you began in them at their conversion, and conform them day after day into the image of the Lord Jesus. Grow their congregations and supply all of their needs. Keep them faithful to the gospel.

Lord, we also pray for our church and our efforts to be a faithful gospel-centered church. You have seen fit in your wisdom and kindness to cause our church to grow at a steady rate in the last four years. And we’re so grateful for that, Lord God. Now, we pray, help us to steward it well. As we face questions and challenges about expansion and facilitating numeric growth, please provide for our needs so that we can continue to grow in order that we might plant churches, raise up healthy church members and pastors, and send them out for your glory and the good of Christ’s bride. Help us to trust you. Help us to continue in faithfulness.

We also pray in particular for Andrew and Emily Huddleston. Lord, we love this couple so much. We’re so thankful they’re a part of this congregation. We’re so thankful that you’ve brought them together in marriage. But we’re thankful, most of all, that Christ Jesus is their righteousness. We are so thankful that their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, that all their sins are buried in the ocean of redeeming grace, and that you will not fail to sanctify and one day glorify those whom you have justified in Christ. Provide for all their needs, we pray. Give Andrew your grace to be the husband you’ve called him to be, and Emily the wife you’ve called her to be. Let their time in personal communion with you be sweet and refreshing, and cause their faith to persevere to the very end.

The Word

We ask that as we come to your holy Word that you would meet with us, nourish us, build us up in our faith in the Lord Jesus, and give us grace to follow you with our whole hearts.

All this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen!