A pastoral prayer offered on May 17, 2020 at Grace Bible Church in Escondido, California.
Our great God,
we come before you this morning
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
We praise you because your steadfast love endures forever.
You are the God of gods and the Lord of lords.
There is no one in heaven or on earth
who compares to you.
You alone do great wonders.
By your understanding you made the heavens.
You spread out the earth above the waters.
You made the sun to rule over the day;
the moon and the stars to rule over the night.
Your steadfast love endures forever.
You rescued your people from bondage in Egypt
by the hand of Moses.
Your steadfast love endures forever.
You have rescued us, your people,
from our bondage to sin and death
by the hand of the true & greater Moses,
our exalted Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Your steadfast love endures forever.
You have blessed us in Christ with every blessing
that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Your steadfast love endures forever.
We praise and thank you, God of heaven,
for your enduring steadfast love,
a rock of stability for us in such uncertain times.
O God, to you all hearts are open,
all desires are known,
and no secrets are hidden.
Be merciful to us for Jesus’ sake.
If you were to keep a record of our wrongdoing,
who, O Lord, could stand before you?
Our thoughts so often do not take you into account.
Our love for you and our neighbors is fickle.
O God, we have been impatient, irritable, sinfully angry.
For this and our many other sins,
we ask that you would forgive us.
We know that you abundantly pardon
through Jesus, our Mediator.
Wash us and we shall be clean.
Purge us and help us
by the power of the Holy Spirit
to live as forgiven people.
Our Father, we pray that you would bless
the ministry of your Word
which we have been conducting online.
May the hearts of your people be refreshed.
May your people be strengthened
to patiently endure affliction
as from your fatherly hand.
Bless the work of our partners in missions
in Canada, Argentina, Spain, Germany, and [country].
Make the work of these faithful servants of Christ fruitful.
Give them rest, Lord, so they might
continue to serve you without burning out.
We pray for those who serve our common welfare in earthly things.
Give those whom you’ve ordained to govern us wisdom and endurance
Restrain them from abusing authority.
We ask that you would use them
as agents of your common grace blessings
to our fellow citizens in the nation and in our own state.
Our Father, we desire to gather as your people again.
Would you hasten that day.
Help us to wait on you in the meantime.
Give those of us who serve as elders and deacons
wisdom as we plan for the future.
Give each of us here at GBC humility
as we navigate differences over the COVID-19 situation.
Grant us grace to eagerly preserve the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.
Our supreme desire, O God,
is that your holy name would be glorified
in all that we think, say, and do.
To that end, hear our prayers and answer in such a way
that promotes our eternal good
and your everlasting praise,
for we pray in Jesus’ strong name.
Ryan Wentzel