Prayer offered after a sermon titled "A Plea for Reconciliation"
Pastor Doug Scalise, July 29th, 2007
God, when we find this whole idea of reconciliation so difficult, we
pray for your strength and your help.
God, I prayer this morning for those who long to be reconciled with
someone very close and important to them and yet the other person was
unwilling. God I pray for those dear, dear people today, that you would
comfort their hearts; that you would give them the strength they need to
go on. Bless them with your presence.
God, I pray for every person in this sanctuary - every single person who
has a relationship that is not what it should be.
God, if we are wronging somebody else by how we are acting in a habitual
way, God deliver us from our blindness and our pride and help us to
confess our wrongdoing and to change our behavior.
God, if we’ve been holding on to hurts, grudges and resentments and
holding those over other people for things they did yesterday or 10
years ago or longer, God help us to let it go.
Lord, I pray that you would help to strengthen all of our relationships,
and making us the kind of people who forgive freely and easily.
And God, when we think that no one’s been hurt like we’ve been hurt,
that no one’s been asked to sacrifice like we’re being asked to
sacrifice, O God all we ask is that you would help to direct our gaze
back to Jesus on the cross; to remember how far you went to be
reconciled to us; help us remember the pain which Jesus endured that we
might be reconciled to you and one another; that the dividing wall
between all people might be torn down that we might be one in Christ.
God, this broken world is so filled with hatred and violence and
bloodshed because of people's inability to forgive. God we pray that you
will help us fulfill your word, to be your ambassadors of
reconciliation, that we might be part of the change and the
transformation that you want to bring to this world that your will would
be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. We pray this in Jesus’ precious,
precious name. Amen.
