Tag: church

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Unable to Worship in Person

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today I pray for all those who long to be able to gather for worship, but are not able to. Many are homebound because they are not physically strong or healthy enough to attend in person. Others may be experiencing emotional or even spiritual struggles hindering their ability to be in a group setting or around certain people. Work schedules can be a challenge to navigate when they overlap with worship times. A lack of proximity to a church can also affect believers’ ability to worship. 

For all these believers, provide them with the means to continue to feed and nourish their faith. If technology allows, may it be a blessing that enables them to benefit from worship in some capacity. Provide them with pastors, leaders, and members in their church who serve them with your Word and Sacrament and provide for their needs. As you see fit, intervene to alter their circumstances or remove obstacles keeping them from being able to worship, and allow them to gather in your house again.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Love the Place Where Your Glory Dwells

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we gather together in your house for worship, there we find your glory. Since your glory is wherever you are, and you are wherever your Word is, we delight in joining with others at church to bask in your glory. Draw back your wandering sheep who have distanced themselves from your house for worship. Where they have been enticed by the misleading lie of any sort of vanishing worldly glory, remove the veil from their eyes to see the truth. Lead them, together with the lost, to repent and return to you for a glory that will never fade. Create in all believers a heart that echos the faith-born yearning of the psalmist: “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Ps. 26:8).

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For a Healthy View of Worship Attendance

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. One of the greatest blessings of belonging to a church is gathering together for worship. While it is certainly an uplifting encouragement whenever we get to see God’s house filled, it’s too easy to allow our Sunday morning mood to be shaped by who is or isn’t in worship, or by numbers and attendance. Keep me from allowing external details like that to rob me of the internal joy that comes from being in your presence in your house. See that I have a spiritual healthy, loving concern for those who aren’t present, always assuming the best of them when I think of them. When I consider all of the ways that Satan works to keep God’s people out of his house on Sunday morning, lead me to rejoice by seeing everyone in attendance as a victor who won that battle that morning. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Example of Faithful Elderly Worshippers

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. One of the ways I am encouraged on Sunday mornings is through the faithful attendance of the elderly. Even though they are in the final season of life, in which the energy and vigor of younger years has long since passed, worship is both a priority and a rich reward for them. Week in and week out, barring any health concerns or travel plans, many seniors are as dedicated as can be to going to church. Use their examples to inspire and encourage others along with me, so that we aspire to walk in their footsteps and increasingly long to be drawn closer to you in worship. Prompt me to give thought to the circumstances of these faithful spiritual warriors, so that I can help meet whatever needs they may have that will allow them to continue being both encouraged and encouragers on Sunday mornings.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Blessing of Churches

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. It is truly a blessing to be able to gather together for worship with other believers at any time and in any place, which is not something that Christians everywhere are able to do. Having a church, a building designated and designed especially for that purpose, amplifies the blessing of worship even more.

Thank you for not just building up the Church – believers everywhere – but also for building up physical churches where believers can gather. There we receive grace, forgiveness, and guidance for our lives. In these sacred spaces, you use architecture and the arts to help connect the spiritual and eternal with the temporal and tangible. Let Jesus and his Means of Grace be the central focus in church buildings in every way possible, for without those we gather in vain. Lead believers everywhere to care for and maintain their churches well, so that their appearance displays to the world a positive reflection of your worth to us. Use these special places – churches – through the believers who gather there and the Word sung and proclaimed there, to continue building up your Church, the body of Christ. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Jesus-Centered Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today I ask you to help me stay focused on what makes worship so special: worship is where you give me Jesus. Where Jesus is, there is peace for troubled hearts and rest for weary souls. Where your Word is present, there also the work of Jesus is present. Therefore, as I hear the Word of God read and preached, as the Word of God is spoken and sung, as I see the promises from the Word of God attached to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, help me see Jesus and his saving work for me. Refresh and recharge my soul. Let the words and works of our Savior Jesus be proclaimed clearly and considerably in Christian churches everywhere, nurturing and strengthening the faith of many.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Returning to Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Thank you for freedom and opportunity we have to worship each week, and for moving so many of your people to gather together for this special purpose. What a blessing it is! 

Today I pray for those returning to worship who haven’t attended for some length of time. Whatever reason is behind it, I am grateful that you used it to prompt their return. Setting foot in a church after an extended absence is no small thing, as the lengthy time away allows fearful or anxious thoughts to build up in people’s minds. Let those who notice their return respond positively and make an effort to welcome them without judgment. As the father rejoiced at the return of his prodigal son, may your people respond with rejoicing, too. Use your Word to speak what their heart needs to hear so that their return is a celebration of their long-term reconnection and reengagement with their church family.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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Thank You for the Elderly in Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Being able to gather for worship is a blessing often taken for granted. Use the example of elderly church members to encourage us in this regard. As we age, even the little details of daily life become more and more difficult to carry out. Coupled with that are chronic pains and other health issues that would be enough do discourage many from gathering for worship. Even transportation, which presents little challenge for many, can be an obstacle for those without the freedom of driving as a result of their age.

Yet week in and week out, they regularly gather in your house for worship. These faithful, experienced believers are such fine examples for so many each week. Let us imitate their dedication and commitment to hearing your Word and receiving the Sacrament. As they are a blessing to others in this regard, let others be a blessing to them by offering assistance and help whenever needed, as well as a simple “thank you” to them for setting such fine examples of Christian faith in action. Continue to develop many more dedicated disciples just like them, including me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Struggling Congregations

Head of the Church,
There are many Christian congregations that struggling. Their struggles can be caused by many different challenges in different seasons of ministry. Some are without a pastor to shepherd your people. Others struggle to raise up strong leaders. A lack of financial support from generous offerings can limit essential ministry efforts. Declining attendance and/or disengaged members put a heavy burden on the faithful few who bear the bulk weight of congregational responsibilities. 

Yet when you are the Lord of the Church, the head of the body of Christ, there is always reason for hope. Answer the prayers of members in struggling churches, and do so in such radical ways that surpass even the loftiest of requests. Use their struggles to drive them into your Word and through that process draw them closer to you. Spur members on to share in the joys of ministry by inviting and engaging each other when service opportunities are available. Use them also to encourage their pastor when he is down by lifting him up with your promises. Lead them to see each and every victory you bring about in their midst, to celebrate them, thank you for them, and build on them as your grace allows. Make struggling churches into turnaround stories that become healthy, thriving congregations which are a testament to the power of your Word and the blessing of your grace. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Dechurched

Patient Father,
Sundays are sacred. As churches hold services and pastors preach sermons, you set the table to serve your people a rich spiritual feast. But for various reasons, many believers who used to attend church no longer view it as an essential part of their Christian walk. For some, those reasons are rooted in painful memories and experiences; for others, they are merely excuses. Often these individuals see no danger in their disconnect from regular worship. 

Since you know what is in their hearts, Father, put fellow believers around them who know their struggles, who are willing to listen, and who desire to help. Use them to provide encouragement where needed or admonition when necessary. Also, help congregations and pastors be willing to own up to their wrongs and seek reconciliation with members they may have pushed away.

Rekindle in the hearts of distant believers a longing to return to your house for worship, and when they do, see that they are well fed by your Word. Guide them in reestablishing a healthy worship life and build them up in their faith. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.