A Prayer

Father,

In Your wisdom, You have established a Church. And from the very beginnings of Your work of redemption, You placed Your people in Your Church. There have been those times when Your Church flourished. Your truth was understood well and it was embraced. And the lives of Your saints reflected this. They walked with You and served You from the heart.

There have also been those times when Your Church was not flourishing. The truth that You had revealed was not well understood. It was not embraced. And the lives of Your saints revealed that also.

And yet, whether during the good times or during the bad, You have always been faithful to Your Church. And that has been true even though at times there were just a few who were faithful to You.

We thank You Father, that those times when Your Church wasn't doing so well were followed by times of revival. We are grateful that during these times of renewal, the Gospel was being faithfully preached and faithfully believed. And as a result, Your Church was restored. We thank You for times like the Reformation when there were those in Your Church who were so gripped by the Gospel that they loved not their lives even unto death. And we are the beneficiaries of their faithfulness.

It seems, Father, that we need another revival, another Reformation. There are so many in Your Church, these days, who have been swept up in the spirit of the age. There are so many churches that have compromised their callings. And one result is that so many of Your sheep are now exposed to the danger of the wolves. They sense the danger, but they do not know what to do. They do not know the Gospel well enough. They have not been taught it very well. So, we intercede for these. Raise up faithful shepherds who will care for them. And use these men to restore Your Church so that she can once again be a light to the nations, that city of piety set on a hill.

Each of us here have a role to play in this desired renewal. It is not likely that any of us will become the next Martin Luther, another famous reformer of the Church. But there are things for us to do. So, teach us more of the Gospel so that we would be faithful to whatever it is that You call us to be and thus to do. We ask this so that You would be praised as the great God that You are. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.