Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday.

Last week Bret helped us see the necessity of a congregation’s participation in the priority of prayer. Scripture calls us to regularly, routinely and even constantly be communicating with God about everything. Not much wiggle room about when or what to pray about.

Our approach to God in prayer needs to be balanced without being either flippant or too formal in our communication with Him. Our prayers should include blessing, confession, thanksgiving, intercession, supplication and expressions or rehearsals to God of how great He is. Ultimately our prayers should be focused on Him and His will, what He has revealed to us in scripture - not on our wills and not on us. Challenging stuff for all of us to ponder this past week.

I don’t want to repreach his message from last week, but do want to follow one of his suggestions of using Paul’s prayers to the New Testament churches as a model for us to pray for this congregation today.

Let’s Pray.

Glorious Father, I thank you for bringing together this body of believers and I ask that you would bless us. I ask that you give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know you better, so that we might be more conformed to the image of your Son Jesus Christ.

Enlighten the eyes of our hearts so that we may know the hope to which you have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparable power for us because we believe in Christ according to your abundant grace and mercy. Fill us with all the fullness of Christ in every way today.

May we eagerly bow our knees, our hearts and our wills to you our Lord. Help us to see our utter dependence upon You and find rest in that realization. Casting our cares and anxiety upon you as we grow in our trust of you and appreciate your sovereignty even more.

Father, I pray that according to your glorious riches, you will strengthen us with power through your Spirit in our inner being. I pray that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, that we will be rooted and established in love. Love for you and love for each other.

Give this body the strength and power to grasp together how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is for us your children. I pray that we will know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge and understanding. I ask that this body would be filled to the measure of all your fullness and that our love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that we may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, benefitting others and bringing glory to you God.

We give you all glory for You are able to do immeasurably more than all we ask, think or even imagine, according to Your power that is working within us. To you be all glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. It is for your glory and in your Son’s name that we pray. Amen.