Prayer for the Men of the Church
Dear heavenly father, we come to you with praise and thanksgiving. Your peace which transcends all understanding, guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Your Grace gives us hope each day knowing that you will give us strength for whatever we face as nothing is a surprise to you. In all things you work for the good of those who love you, who have been called according to your purpose.
Father, we lift up special prayers for the men of our church. We pray that you would bring together men of all ages to grow in relationship with your son Jesus Christ; encouraging each other to be servant leaders in their families, church, work, and communities. For just as we received Christ Jesus as our Lord, you desire us to continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as we were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Lord, if it is your will, please soften the hearts of the men at River Oaks so that they may know you better and love you more and step up with purposeful strength and courage to say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Please motivate our men to impact their families, friends, and their community for the cause of Christ.
You are the vine Lord, and we are the branches. Show us how to remain in you and you in us because apart from you we can do nothing. Please give the leaders of our church discernment and wisdom as they seek your will in providing encouragement and opportunities for men to grow and serve together; and to encourage a commitment of involvement. Your word says as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Show our leaders how to promote mentoring opportunities that lead to significant, vital relationships that honor and glorify you. Lord, we pray that our men would be filled with the spirit and show themselves to be your disciples by the fruit they bear and the love they have for one another.
Your Word says that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so your disciples may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Lord, show our men how to keep your book of the law always on their lips, mediating on it day and night, so they may be careful to do everything written it. Let your Holy Spirit guide our men to be the spiritual leaders of their home and teach their families your Word and to love you with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. We pray the men of our church will put on the full armor of God and stand strong against evil and not be ashamed to spread the gospel in their home, work, and community.
We are all sinners and fall short of your glory, but your gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus as you laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Let the men of our church not question the power of that gift and break through the barriers to openness and feelings of worth. Show our men how to humbly pray and seek your face and teach us to turn from our wicked ways and repent as we know you are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Shine your light on our sin and break every yoke that leads our affection from you. We pray that our men will walk with integrity as men answerable to God, holy as you called us to be. We pray for a Godly environment where masks are taken off and men hold each other accountable.
We pray for strengthened marriages that grow from men submitting themselves to you. Where husbands love their wives as You loved the Church. We pray for open lines of communication and grace in our marriages and for men to treat their marriage as a covenant and not a contract.
Lord, we also want to lift up praise for the comfort you provide during adversity through the prayers of our brother and sisters in Christ here at River Oaks. Thank you for the hearts of those that pray together knowing that where two or three gather in your name you are with them. That community and bond and outpouring of prayer is something we so desperately desire for River Oaks and our community. Please Lord, raise up the men of our church. Put a desire on their heart to be the spiritual leaders of their homes and a desire to be men of prayer. Men that pray with their wives, their families, their co-workers, and the people you put in front of them. Let the men of our church seek you out as their first-responder in prayer and relinquish their need to control things over to you and write your commands on the tablets of their hearts. For we know your Word says that we can have confidence in approaching you and that if we ask anything according to your will, you will hear us.
Father, please give our men the courage and faith to be the seed cast into the good soil and be a man who reads your words and understands it and that as they are built up to be spiritual leaders and men of devotion and prayer, their faith wouldn’t be choked out by the weeds of wealth, debauchery, deceitfulness, pride, lust, and whatever belongs to their earthly nature. Let us not be the seed that is cast on the rock that falls away when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, but let our faith be deeply rooted.
Praise be to the you the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. May you give the men of our church and community faith to rest our hope on your promises; then we shall be ready for every service and sacrifice. May the men of our church lead their families as we all comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from you. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
We pray for all this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
2 Philippians 4:7, Romans 8:28, Colossians 2:6-7, Joshua 24:15, John 15:5, Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 5:18, John 15:7, John 13:34, 2 Timothy 3:16, Joshua 1:8, Mark 12:30, Ephesians 6:10-18, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Isaiah 53:6, Matthew 23:11, 1 Peter 1:15, 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 5:25, Matthew 18:20, Proverbs 7:3, 1 John 5:14, Colossians 3, Matthew 13, 2 Corinthians 1:35