Every now and again I like to share an example of a pastoral prayer from Grace Fellowship Church. I do this because there are few examples of pastoral prayers online and I thought these may serve to inspire themes, passages, or ideas as other pastors and elders prepare to lead their churches in prayer. Here is one Dwight Miller, one of our elders, prayed before our church not too long ago.
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O Great God, who is like you?
We could search heaven and the earth, and find none like you, for you are unique in your pure, untampered, unmixed holiness. And we are sinners. And yet you laid aside eternal glory to be joined with us—to be joined with liars and murderers and adulterers, even as we were outside of you.
O Father you sent Jesus into the world to save sinners, and we were indeed sinners. You sent your Son Jesus, and then you sent your precious Holy Spirit to direct our paths and to bring about the same holiness that you possess within yourself. Oh that we would be made holy!
You know how easily we are tempted, you know how quickly we are lured away by our own desires. But this morning we pray that you would give us the desire to remain steadfast and unmoved under trials and that we might with great joy stand firm in the faith that has been delivered to us. And then let this steadfastness lead to our perfection.
I pray that as we endure you would help us to consider Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured death and the eternal weight of sin. We praise his Holy Name!
And why should we be the only recipients of your mercy this morning? Won’t you save many souls in Toronto this morning, bring life where there is death, bring hope where there is fear, bring freedom where there is bondage, bring the sweet aroma of life where there is the disgusting stench of death.
Oh Lord, one may plant and another water, but you give the increase. Won’t you consider the planting and watering that we’ve done at Royal York Baptist Church, and then according to your great grace give an increase? Give grace to Peter and the Christians that you’ve called to go to that work.
As it is written in the psalms, and now for what do we wait? O Lord our hope is in you. Won’t you open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds so that your word might fill us? Give grace to the preacher as he comes. Let him be small and of little consequence and help us to see Jesus even as we are being made into his image. Amen