Chosen People

Pentecost Season year B

Gracious and loving Father God, we come before You this morning as Your children, not born to You but chosen by You.  You have chosen each and every one of us to be reborn into Your family as brothers and sisters of Jesus, the way, and the truth, and the life.  You have brought us together, each of us unique with our fair share of talent and ability, to be this church that we would spend eternity in Your presence. 

We offer praise and thanks for Your generosity, for Your faithfulness and for Your mercy and grace.  You have never failed us nor forsaken us.  >>>You have filled all Your promises to us and to the world.  When the road has seemed rough and long You have been there to offer strength and encouragement >>>and often put friends in our path to share our burden.  We thank you.

We want to be able to tell You we have surrendered our lives to You for You to do with as You wish but we are often busy with our lives, >>> our careers, >>> our expenses, >>> our homes, >>> our friends and family in the here and now.  We get involved in all kinds of things, some of vital importance and some of them, only trivial.  So help us God to set the right priorities.  Help us to put first things first, to seek first Your kingdom.  Send Your Holy Spirit to guide us to all the things that will count in eternity and let everything else fall in their rightful place.

We pray for the individual needs of our people today.  We all have needs.  No one else may know the burdens we carry or the struggles we endure, but You do, glorious God.  You invite us to bring our burdens to You in prayer; leave our burdens at Your feet.  Too often we bring them to You but snatch them right back.  We ask You to meet our needs and give us the assurance that You are in deed, answering our prayers. 

We pray for all the physical needs, emotional needs and financial needs of Your people.  Whatever they are, Lord, we bring them to You, because You can do something about them.  We pray for the defeat of evil and the abolishment of apathy, not just in those around us but within us as well.  May we all have open and obedient hearts.  We pray that Your Word come to life through our endeavors and make each of us worthy disciples. 

We pray for the community, the country and the world that all its rulers and governments around the world be granted divine wisdom and the ability to guide us to a just and lasting peace.  We pray in the name of Jesus to Your glory.  Amen.