Prayer LXXII

O Lord, our merciful Father, we thank Thee for the privilege of worship, and that we can draw near to Thee, and be sure that, notwithstanding all our infirmities and sins, Thou dost not turn away our prayer nor Thy mercy from us. Help us that, in deepest reality, and not in mere form and void words, we may all enter into Thy secret place now, and hold fellowship with our Father God. We thank Thee that Thou canst speak to us, and that we do not only need to speak to Thee. We thank Thee that there is such a thing as conversing with God; and we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst, by Thy good Spirit, speak in all our hearts now, and may our hearts answer Thee, Lord! And when Thou sayest, ‘Seek ye My face,’ may they straightway answer, ‘Thy face. Lord, will we seek.’

We beseech Thee to bless us gathered together thus, turning aside for an hour from daily occupations, cares, sorrows, joys, temptations and conflicts. And we pray that Thy grace may be very manifest to us, and that we may find in our own hearts what Thou hast told us from of old, that it is no vain thing to wait upon the Lord. We bless Thee that Thou hast so often drawn near to Thy servants, and that so many of us can say, ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him from all his fears.’ And we beseech Thee that we may realise such experiences in our meeting this evening. We feel that the world is too much with us, late and soon. We feel that, day by day, our own weakness makes the things which Thou dost mean to minister to our strength, and to draw us nearer to Thyself, too often occasions for forgetting Thee, and for falling; and we pray that Thou wouldst, by means of such services as this, and by all the other appointments of Thy grace, pour into our hearts Thine own Divine power, and the life that is in Christ Jesus, that thereby our daily lives may be raised nearer to what we know they ought to be, and may in some measure reflect the glory that we have seen in the face of Jesus Christ. May we be mirrors of God, and walking in the world adorning the teaching, and whatever we have to do may we so do it that it shall become a sacrifice.

We beseech Thee for Thy blessing as we are here this evening, direct all our thoughts, draw us nearer to

Thyself, quicken within us any decaying or dying graces, set our feet fast on the rock; and if any of us have to say that our footsteps have well-nigh slipped, do Thou establish our goings, and confirm us in all that is good and holy, and all that is Christlike and Christ-pleasing. To this end we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst bless all the ministrations of Thy truth amongst us from time to time. We thank Thee for many past occasions on which to some of us Thou hast been pleased to make Thyself known through our services together here. And we pray that Thou wouldst still be with us, and yet more abundantly in the days that may still be to come in our relationship together here. And pour out, O Lord, we beseech Thee, of Thy Spirit upon us as a worshipping congregation, that the Name of Jesus Christ may be magnified in our midst, and from us may sound out the word of the Lord.

We would commend to Thee all Christian brethren in all communions and churches, and beseech Thee that the many thousands of Thy Israel may have more and more of the felt presence of Christ with them, and that their arms may be strengthened to fight vigorously for the advancement of that Kingdom which is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

We would commend to Thee any amongst us that may be in any kind of trouble or sorrow. We beseech Thee to be near all such, to counsel those that are in perplexity, to behold those that are ready to fall, to speak Thy grace and peace to troubled hearts. And for any of us that have heavy burdens to bear do Thou come and help us to get strength from Thee. We thank Thee for all Thy past mercies, we bless Thee for the hope which Thou hast given us far beyond these changing scenes of earth and time. And we pray that we may so live whilst we still are amongst the things that are seen and temporal as that finally we lose not the things unseen and eternal. Hear us now, O Lord; prepare our hearts to hear and our lips to speak Thy gracious message, and accept us and our poor prayer, through Jesus Christ our Saviour-Lord.