A Prayer for a Sunday Morning

O Most Holy God,

You alone are worthy of worship.  You alone are worthy of our praise.  You alone are the Creator, the One who created a day of rest and worship for your people.  Thank you for setting aside this day for us so that we can refocus our thoughts on you and gather with others who have been redeemed by Your blood.

Today we come, asking that Your name would be honored in churches throughout this land.  As we, your people, get up this morning, open our eyes to Your greatness, goodness, glory, and grace.  Allow us to see the many blessings You have poured out upon us and then to thank you for them.

As we dress for church this morning, remind us to take off the things of the flesh and put on the things of the Spirit.  Remind us again of Your dress code – mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness.

May we go to church expectantly – expecting You to speak to our hearts and planning to obey what You tell us to do.  Open our hearts and our wallets to give cheerfully to Your causes around the world.  Fill us to overflowing with Your spirit so that others wonder if we’ve had too much to drink.  Feed us with the bread of Life, and make us hungrier for that than for what’s waiting on the lunch menu.

I pray, too, for pastors, church leaders, and Sunday school teachers.  May they go to church this morning, depending on You and Your power to use them and not on their own abilities.  May they be dressed today in Your armor as they do battle on all fronts against the things that war against our souls.  May they, too, be expecting to see You do great things.

Lord, I long for You to work.  We don’t want our day to be just another day.  We want it to be a day fully given to You, a day that encourages and enables us to go through another week.  We want it to be a day when we walk away from church saying, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  Let it be a day when even tomorrow and the next day, we are glad that we spent time today with Your redeemed people worshipping You together.

It is only because of Jesus that I have any right to ask these things.  Since He told us to enter Your throne room with boldness, I have come.  Thank You, that because of Him, You have heard my prayers.  Now I expectantly await Your answers.

Amen.