A Prayer For The Church
“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’”
Matthew 16:16–19
You have brought us into Your family, Your community of faith — the church — by the precious blood of Your Son Jesus Christ, and You filled us with Your very presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit. We thank You for the Christian church as the community of all true believers under the lordship of Jesus. We believe in one holy, apostolic, catholic and universal church under the authority of our Redeemer and Messiah King, Jesus Christ. Father, thank You for the fellowship of faith where we are fed by Your life-giving Word of Truth preached by anointed, called and Spirit-filled servants of God. Thank You for the sacraments that You administered through Christ’s appointment. Holy Spirit, ignite in us a fire each week as we worship God in spirit and in truth. Enable us to follow Christ
into the world to make disciples for the transformation of the world. Give us hearts to build Your church by exemplifying Christ’s command to love God and love others for the fulfillment of God’s rule and reign in the world. Give us a deeper love for Your church — Your beloved bride and body. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.