[Please join me in praying for the Church on Sundays this year.]
Sovereign Lord,
Praise be to the Lord God, who alone does marvelous deeds; may the whole earth be filled with your glory. Thank you for the amazing ways you work in this world, in your Church, and in our individual hearts. Thank you that when your voice resounds, Lion of Judah, that you hold nothing back; your voice thunders in marvelous ways beyond our understanding. For the sake of your holy name, Holy God, we pray you would continue to revive, reform, and renew your Church. Where she has been dead, revive those dry bones and breathe your Spirit into them so they may live. Cleanse her/us from all unrighteousness, impurities, and idols. Give us renewed hearts of love and renewed spirits to follow the leading of your Holy Spirit. Help us to move in your decrees and to keep your laws. May your Body, the Church, come to life, renewed for such a time as this. As we seek you, may the individuals and the Church be made more fully into the image of Christ, our Savior, in whose name we pray, Amen.
“Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.” (Psalm 72:18-19)
“After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.” (Job 37:4-5)
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:22-28)
“[The Sovereign Lord said,] “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ … ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” (Ezekiel 37:4-6, 9-10)
“By Faith” by Stuart Townend , Keith Getty & Kristyn Getty
By faith, we see the hand of God
In the light of creation’s grand design;
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness,
Who walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith, our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God’s own hand –
A place where peace and justice reign.
We will stand as children of the promise,
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul’s reward.
Till the race is finished and the work is done,
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
By faith, the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death,
And rise triumphant from the grave.
By faith, the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news,
In every corner of the earth.
By faith, this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail,
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name.