A Prayer for the Church

Dear Lord, Most Heavenly Father,

For your cause I would die a million deaths. For your church I will strive relentlessly. You are my greatest goal Lord and in you I find my reason for life. Your glory is my constant desire however much I may fail in achieving it. Yet Lord I know, I am confident, that through the sanctifying work of The Spirit I am being transformed into the image of your Son and that the longer I live the more I will mature and grow in grace. Because of this, I take hope in the expectation of my life glorifying you ever more as that sanctification takes place. Oh dear Lord! For that day to come quickly! For it grieves me that I bring shame to your name. It grieves me that I tell the world I am of you and yet act so sinfully. Transform my hard heart into clay and mold me as you will my God. I cheerfully commit myself to you and your causes Lord and pray that you will use me as you wish. Comfort my heart, for it is weary Lord; and yet I know, that only you can sustain me in this wretched life until I am home with you dear Lord.

Part of my burden Lord is that I look upon the church today and I have become scared for her. She is in shambles Lord. The men in her ranks are weak and placid, her doctrines are decaying and putrid and she is becoming more secular by the day. Lord I fear that there are more tares than wheat right now filling the pews in your churches. I fear that your wrath will be poured out any day now and the church will forgo the peace and prosperity she has enjoyed for these last few centuries. We have turned our eyes away from you. We have committed whoredom, taken idols into our ranks, we have blasphemed your name, we have disregarded your laws, and we have left our first love. Lord, I pray that you would be longsuffering yet. Withhold your fierce anger and show us mercy still my God. View us through the righteousness of Your Son and reconcile us to you yet again Lord; because of what Christ has accomplished and for the sake of your people I pray that this will be so Lord.

Reform us yet again Father. Call us back to you. Raise men within the church that are worthy to lead the people on that journey. Our Elders have grown cold and are unqualified in far too many churches. Your people are apathetic and unknowledgeable. We are stricken by fear of failure and reliance on self; we have become men-pleasers and have become a people of inaction. Stir our hearts again my Lord, invigorate us to strive for you and your truth and your glory. Our hope is in you Lord, not in ourselves. We are told that even when we are faithless you are faithful for you cannot deny yourself. Oh! How I know this to be true! How fervently I long for it to be seen amongst your people.

I love you Lord and I cannot bear the pain that is caused by an honest evaluation of your church today. Heresy abounds and is met not only with indifference but actually advocated Lord. It rips my heart to pieces that more people don’t see this and stand on guard against it. What am I to do Lord? What are we to do Lord? I know I am not the only one. Can we sit idly by and watch your beloved bride be assaulted day after day after day? Yet I feel powerless to affect change and I know that it must come from you dear Lord. So Lord I pray with all of my heart that you will wipe these tears from the cheeks of your saints and comfort us and give us a renewed vigor and piety among your people lest the devil should devour us. He is within our ranks Lord and he loves to subvert the truth. Abba Father! Protect us from the devil, protect us from ourselves, lead us back to you and restore to us the joy of our salvation.

I pray this to you in the holy name of your Son Jesus Christ, amen.