(see also Prayers for the Offertory)

Opening prayers for worship

Here we are Lord; your people, your Church meeting together in your presence. We welcome each other and we welcome You. Make yourself known to us new ways through our worship, our prayers and our understanding of your Word today.

This is your day
and we shall praise you!
This is your day
and we shall declare your name!
This is your day,
and we shall worship
a risen Saviour and our King!

We meet as family in the presence of our heavenly Father. We meet as brothers and sisters in Christ, accepting the responsibility this places upon us - to love one another as you have loved us. We meet as your lights in this dark world, and pray that through our words and our lives others might be drawn into your family, and accept you as their Saviour and Lord. Amen

Lord God, in a universe that seems so immense it is easy to feel insignificant as we stand here today. Yet we know that we are precious in your sight - unique individuals loved and blessed in so many ways. We stand in awe of the one who has created all things and dedicate this time and all our days to your service. Accept this offering we pray, our sacrifice of praise and worship. Amen

Bless us as we meet together,
dear Lord we pray.
Bless the singing of your praise,
the reading of your Word,
the sharing of our fellowship,
the prayers that will be heard.
Bless us as we meet together,
dear Lord we pray.
Amen

In our meeting together let us remember that we worship the God who created this world, the God who spoke through his prophets from generation to generation, led his people from captivity to liberty, healed the sick, fed the hungry and was faithful even when faced with rejection. The same God who wants all people to be drawn to his love and grace, to know his forgiveness and the joy of his Salvation. Let us put aside all that hinders and join together in worship and praise. Amen.

In the meeting of our lives,
be the focus of all that we are.
In the singing of the hymns,
the prayers that we shall make,
the reading of your Word
and the preaching of the same.
Speak to us, encourage and forgive us.
In the meeting of our lives, Lord,
be the focus of all that we are. Amen

Glorious Trinity
make your presence
known in this place,
through our worship,
our prayer,
the reading of your Word,
and in the fellowship we shall enjoy. Amen

Through our hymns and songs, our prayer and meditation, the joining of our lives in fellowship we worship you, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Enfold us in your love, and empower our worship that your name might be glorified in this place and in our lives.

We are gathered here today, Lord God as your people to offer you our sacrifice of prayer and worship. We come from different walks of life; some are well educated, others not; some have walked with you for many years, others are just starting their journey; some are strong, others weak; some are full of joy, others burdened by care.
You love each of us in equal measure. You pour your blessings on us in equal measure.

We join together to worship the God of Abram, the God of Jacob and the God of David. We worship the One True God; creator of all; Lord of all; our strength and hope; our light and our salvation. We join together as family, joined by the hands of fellowship, brothers and sisters of our heavenly Father. Amen Tamil dubbed movies hd bluray download.

This is the day that the Lord has made.
This is the day when he can be found.
God of all, breath of life,
Living water, Saviour, friend.
Come as the hungry, feed on his Word
Come as the thirsty, drink of his Love
Come as the faithful, worship the Lord.

We worship a God of Promise, whose saving Grace brought a people from captivity into a land of promise, whose enduring love still leads us from places of captivity into a promise of peace, forgiveness and eternal life. The promises of God endure forever. The promises of God will be fulfilled. Amen.

We meet together in the presence of a God whose love is freedom, whose touch is healing, whose voice is calm. We meet not in our own strength but in the knowledge that God's Spirit abides within us, in our worship today and in our daily lives when we depart from this place. The blessing receive is shared, in the hope that others might be drawn to the God we serve. Amen

Into your presence we come,
God of Grace and Peace,
who was, and is and ever shall be
the eternal One.
Into fellowship we come,
bound together in the love
that died and rose again for us,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Let us be still for a moment as we draw near to worship God.. Take just a few seconds to remind yourself why we are gathered together today.. Listen, God speaks even through the background noise of the world around us..
Lord God, in this short time together, open our ears and our eyes to see your vision for this place and our part within it. Teach us, hear our prayers and enable us for service wherever you might take us, to your praise and glory. Amen.

May the Peace which passes all understanding, which has its source within the very nature of Father, Son and Spirit be with us as we meet, to still our souls and join our hearts as one. May the gentle whisper of the God of peace speak to us through our worship, the reading and understanding of scripture, and be the message of our lives as we leave this place. Amen

We meet as family in the presence of our heavenly Father. We meet as brothers and sisters in Christ, accepting the responsibility this places upon us - to love one another as you have loved us. We meet as your lights in this dark world, and pray that through our words and our lives others might be drawn into your family, and accept you as their Saviour and Lord. Amen

Sovereign Lord, we meet together to celebrate the gift of your Holy Spirit to the church. Bless us as we seek to serve you in this place. Fill us with your Spirit as you did early one morning in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago, that we might better be your voices, hands and presence in the world, and draw others into your kingdom. Amen

Lord God, in a universe that seems so immense it is easy to feel insignificant as we stand here today. Yet we know that we are precious in your sight - unique individuals loved and blessed in so many ways. We stand in awe of the one who has created all things and dedicate this time and all our days to your service. Accept this offering we pray, our sacrifice of praise and worship. Contoh soal matriks dan pembahasannya kelas 11 perkalian. Amen

Bless us as we meet together,
dear Lord we pray.
Bless the singing of your praise,
the reading of your Word,
the sharing of our fellowship,
the prayers that will be heard.
Bless us as we meet together,
dear Lord we pray.
Amen

In the meeting of our lives,
be the focus of all that we are.
In the singing of the hymns,
the prayers that we shall make,
the reading of your Word
and the preaching of the same.
Speak to us, encourage and forgive us.
In the meeting of our lives, Lord,
be the focus of all that we are. Amen

Closing prayers and blessings

We have gathered here today, Lord God as your people to offer you
our sacrifice of prayer and worship.
We have fed on your Word, been refreshed through your living water, felt the encircling of your Spirit around this fellowship and around individual lives.
As we go from this place may we continue to know your presence and power in the very different lives that we lead, to your praise and glory.

As we take our worship, praise and prayer from this place and into our daily lives, may our lives be sustained through the love of our Heavenly Father. May we feel the presence of our Saviour walking beside us, and know the power of the Spirit in both our actions and our words.

May the Father’s hand
keep you from stumbling,
the footprints of Jesus
give you confidence to follow,
and the fire of the Spirit
keep you warm and safe
in your walk with God this day.

May the love of Jesus Christ
bring us wholeness,
the grace of God the Father
grant us peace,
the breath of Holy Spirit
instil passion
and the unity between them
give us strength
for this and every day. Amen

May God's Word be in your heart.
May God's Word be on your lips.
May God's Word be in your touch.
May God's Word direct your feet.
On this day and all your days to come
May God's Word be the life you live.

May the grace of God uphold you,
the peace of God surround you,
the love of God flow from you
and the strength of God protect
and bring you safely through this day.

Ideas to 'Liven-Up' Prayer Meetings

Many of our churches have weekly prayer meetings. You may also have a family prayer time or special prayer group time. Prayer is vital communication with our heavenly Father and essential to sound Bible Study.

Recently we had a request for creative ideas to help 'liven up' weekly prayer meetings.

Following are some ideas we shared, but we would also like to ask you, our readers, to send in your own ideas to share.

Just fill out a contact form under the 'Contact Us' tab. Also, let us know if you give us permission to post them on our site to share. Thanks!

Of course these are not to take away from the main reason for prayer meetings - PRAYER, but they are to help stimulate and enhance our times together in prayer.

Two quotes that Jeff (my husband) used recently in one of his sermons were:

*John Bunyan, the great Christian once said, 'When you pray it would be better to let your heart be without words, than to let your words be without heart.'

*Charles Spurgeon said, 'The prayer of the heart is the heart of prayer.'

The essence of prayer is to share our hearts with our Heavenly Father. I hope these ideas will help refresh our hearts to do just that.

A few things that my husband uses that keep prayer meeting short, but add excitement are:

*He begins with singingto bring us into a time of worship - usually a simple chorus that puts our focus on praise.

*Praise prayers: A time of simple sentence prayer open for anyone to voice a sentence prayer of praise; the key is that the focus is on praise and thanksgiving. We have intercessory prayer a little later.

*Another important part is a short time of encouragement since we all need it in the middle of a busy week. He'll say find three or four people that are 'wearing the same color as you,' or that 'have the same hair color,' etc. and encourage them - at least tell them they 'smell good!' :) We also have a time of intercession for others and a short Bible study. The variety keeps it up-beat.

*Many times he includes a few Bible trivia questions at the bottom of the prayer list sheet. Our church family really enjoys the challenge and chance to refresh some tidbits of Bible knowledge.

Other ideas:

Prayer meeting themes:

*You could also use prayer themes. Themes help keep things changed up. For example:

'Color theme'- Ask people to think of something to praise God for that is the color of something they are wearing - ex: blue - give thanks for beautiful sky, birds, the eyes of my child, etc. It challenges us to think of things that we may otherwise take for granted and it helps draw people into participation. Remind them they can do this everyday in the midst of their busy lives.

'Countries theme'- each week highlight a different country and make a point to pray for specific missionaries stationed there. Have a map displayed and give a few interesting facts about the country.

'Photo or picture theme' - Many of us are visual; have people bring a photo or picture of those they would like to pray for - even if it is a magazine picture - soldiers for instance. During a quiet time of prayer, pass the pictures as each member prays over them. Prayer needs can be written or attached to the back of pictures.

Treats:

*Everyone loves a treat. Pass out pieces of gum and challenge them to stick with prayer even when it seems God isn't answering; sometimes He wants to work in us while we wait! Or pass out individually wrapped lifesavers and tell them they are lifesavers as they are praying for the needs of others and salvation of the lost.

Lessons to share our faith:

*Include a short time of learning creative ways of sharing our faith. Check out the Dare2Share link on our youth page. It has ideas using recent popular movies, etc.

Birthday prayer groups:

*Have everyone divide into groups by the months in which they were born. Give each group a list of the prayer needs; they can also voice others within thier group. Give them the option of opening up for anyone to pray, have a few volunteers to pray, or designate a leader to voice the prayers. Also, challenge them to continue praying for those within their birthday group during the next week.

Grab Bag Prayers: (submitted by one of our readers; thanks, Pastor Joe!)

One idea I am using in our prayer meetings is place various items in a large fabric bag (paper of plastic will do)and allow people to put their hands inside and take the first thing they touch. Then they are to find a partner and pray for the person, place or thing that item represents.

Examples:Handcuffs - Those incarceratedBand Aid - Those physically hurt/sickGavel - Law makersSmall toy globe or folded world map - Missionaries (You can circle a specific countryStar - Hollywood StarsApple - Teachers

Be extra creative and place small toy/items found around the home, church or at a dollar store and ask people to pray for whatever the item reminds them of.

Bible Object Lessons:

* Brief object lessons for prayer meetings: will remind them during the week of the teachings when they see the everyday objects. Ex: Cell phone - we can call God from anywhere, at anytime. These sound so simple, but we all need little reminders during the busy chaos of life.

As we've said on our site - variety is the spice of life, Bible study, & even prayer meetings. :)

I hope these ideas help a little. If nothing else, maybe they will spark an idea in you.