October 2, 2011
A Pastoral Prayer for Homecoming
Our Father in heaven,
We have gathered before You today to declare Your mighty works. You are the Creator of heaven and earth, all things visible and invisible. All things were created through You and for Your good pleasure. We acknowledge that we are merely creatures, yet we also realize that we are creatures made in Your image and likeness. You have breathed into us the breath of life. And there is no creature hidden from Your sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
We confess our sins to You, O Lord. We all have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. We are truly poor in spirit. Yet, You have brought us up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set our feet upon a rock. You have justified us freely by grace through the redemption that is found only in the blood of Christ. You have proven Yourself to be both Just and the Justifier of all who have faith in Jesus.
We reflect upon our own past and see Your handiwork. You have called out for yourself a people in this county. You have raised up this church to be salt in our community and a light in the darkness of this region. Will You provide for us by Your Spirit and equip us through Your Word to walk worthy of the calling that we have received?
I pray for these people, that they would remain faithful and obedient to Your Word. May we not be moved from the message of the Gospel. May the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. May we not seek to make a name for ourselves, but instead seek to make Your name famous.
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God our Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
You do not change. Your compassions, they do not fail. You are the same today as you were on the date of our first Homecoming. For this we are beyond grateful.
Almighty God, You have set kings upon their thrones, and You have brought them down. No one has any power at all unless it has been given from above. May our leaders in this country hear the words of Your mouth and praise You. May Your people in this land humble themselves, pray, seek Your face, turn from their wicked ways that You might hear from heaven and forgive their sin. We pray that Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Will you extend our history for many years to come and cause us to progress in the faith?
Would you fill us up with joy as your people gather together week after week, year after year?
We pray all these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Amen