We are a praying people. Every weekday morning the staff of the Presbyterian Lay Committee gathers for a time of Bible study, prayer and mutual encouragement. Thousands of people share their prayer requests with us and we are honored to lift up each person and their request personally before the Lord. It is a privilege to pray with you and for you. This weekly prayer blog post is designed to stimulate and encourage your prayer life in matters related to the Church and the world. Your comments are encouraged and if you’d like the staff to pray for you by name please send an email to dcorley@layman.org with Subject: Prayer Request.
Prayers for the week of January 6th
For the unity of the Church in witness and proclamation of the Gospel. May the prayer of Christ in John 17 be answered anew this new year. Not a unity born of human will but a unity born of the very Spirit of Christ with the sole purpose being that which He Himself expressed: “That the world may believe” that the Father sent the Son.
For peace with God through Christ that produces peace within and among people — and the possibility of peace among nations. For people in leadership at every level of governance in the church and in the world. May they seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; may they humble themselves and acknowledge that all nations are under God and all people subject to His ultimate authority.
For places of work, centers of learning, places of leisure and for those who have no work, education nor the luxury of leisure time. For those who toil and for those under whom they toil. For students and those who teach them. For children and those who are entrusted with their care. May God grant fair-wage work to those who lack it and supply for the needs of the truly needy. May all of us learn to live more simply that others might simply live.
For a blessing on our homes and on our households, our families and our friends. Indeed may God pour forth His grace in this year upon all those whom we love. We acknowledge that before the calendar turns again, some whom we love will pass from this life into the Father’s presence. May God help us to make the most of every moment we have together.
For the sick and the suffering, the incarcerated and the captive, the lonely and the loner, may God lead us into divine appointments that He has set and for which He has equipped us in advance to do His work by sharing His love. In this two thousandth and fourteenth year of our Lord, may the words of the Lord be fulfilled, the name of the Lord made known, the person of Christ worshiped and God glorified!
It is unto God that we commend ourselves — may God’s mercy and protection cover us in Christ always and in all ways. Amen.
Prayer foci this week:
Tuesday: The people, leaders and churches in the state of Alabama as well as our neighbors across the nation striving to keep warm.
Wednesday: The people, leaders and churches in the PCUSA presbyteries of Abingdon, Alaska (officially merged January 1, 2014 with North Puget Sound presbytery), Albany and Arkansas.
Thursday: The people, leaders and churches in the EPC Presbytery of Alleghenies and the ECO Presbytery of the East.
Friday: Our Presbyterian renewal network partners in Presbyterians Pro-Life.