You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psa. 139:1-10)
Heavenly Father You know my heart, my deepest desires, my deepest hurts and sorrows, You know my thoughts and my actions. I ask that You cleanse me and make me whole once again today. Help me to face the new day with a new song and to find joy and peace. Help me to walk in wisdom, discernment, understanding and faith. Help my unbelief. Help me to overcome my doubts, help me not to be tripped by my failures. Help me to seek the everlasting water of Your Spirit and let it fill and pour out of me. Help me to learn to trust in the bread of life. Teach me to live today as if it were my last and yet with a steadiness to push towards tomorrow. Help me to take time before I speak so that I do not defile or defame myself. Help me to demonstrate love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Help me to empower myself with meekness, boldness and take courage in You.
Holy Spirit inspire Your ministers and ministry teams this Sunday to impart wisdom and challenges for the congregations, so that they can be ready to face the next week and all of its trials and temptations. Help our churches to become united in vision and find a way to help begin to heal our country. Help us to demonstrate the way to bring healing by demonstrating true love and forgiveness. Help us to be so radically different from the world and its discussion of discourse that people stop to see Jesus because they are confounded by how we live, love and forgive. Help us to pick up our crosses and follow You. Help us to become a people of prayer, hospitality, and of faith. Not a people of anger, spitefulness and hate. Teach us to be leaders in our communities on how to break down the walls that have been built over the years. Help us to see all people as created in Your image and as potential brothers and sisters in the kingdom that is coming. Help us to realize a sense of urgency for life is but a vapor and is soon gone.
For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21