Global Day of Prayer

Today, Pentecost Sunday, has been identified as the Global Day of Prayer. Begun in July of 2000 by a South African Christian businessman, this effort has expanded to 220 countries participating this year. As explained on the GDOP website, "United by a Prayer for the World, Christians from different cultures and denominations gather in many different venues each year to cry out to God for the healing and blessing of our nations."

Here is the Prayer for the World that our interim pastor led us in this morning as he prayed the main parts and we responded with the parts in green. How cool to know that "Wherever you gather on Pentecost Sunday, there will be one thing uniting Christians from all nations: a Prayer for the World that will be prayed by millions from where the sun rises in the East to where it sets in the West." The prayer is available in more than 50 translations on the GDOP website.

Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Together with believers all over the world,
We gather today to glorify Your Name.
You are the Creator of heaven and earth.
There is no one like You, holy and righteous in all Your ways.
We submit to Your authority as the King of the universe.
We pray with one voice to enthrone You in our hearts
and to honour You before the world.

Lord God, You alone are worthy of our praise and adoration.

Our Father in heaven,
Thank You for loving the world so greatly.
You gave Your only Son, Jesus Christ,
to die on the cross for our sins
so that we could be reconciled to You.
We are grateful to call You Father and to be called Your children.
Nothing can separate us from Your love.

Thank You Father, for adopting us into Your family
because of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You alone are worthy to open the scrolls of history,
for You were slain and have redeemed us to the Father by Your blood.
We confess that You are Head of the Church
and Lord of all heaven and earth.
May people from every tribe and language become Your followers
so that Your blessing brings transformation among all peoples.
Let Your kingdom be established in every nation of the world
so that governments will rule with righteousness and justice.
And may Your Name be great, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Jesus Christ, You are the Saviour of the world and the Lord of all.

Father of mercy and grace,
We acknowledge that we have sinned
and that our world is gripped by the power of sin.
Our hearts are grieved by injustice, hatred and violence.
We are shamed by oppression, racism and bloodshed in our land.
We mourn all loss of life in murder, war and terrorism.
Our homes are broken and our churches are divided by rebellion and pride.
Our lives are polluted by selfishness, greed, idolatry and sexual sin.
We have grieved Your heart and brought shame to Your Name.
Have mercy on us as we repent with all our hearts.

God of mercy, forgive our sins.
Pour out Your grace and heal our land.

Spirit of the living God,
Apart from You, we can do nothing.
Transform Your Church into the image of Jesus Christ.
Release Your power to bring healing to the sick,
freedom to the oppressed and comfort to those who mourn.
Pour Your love into our hearts and fill us with compassion
to answer the call of the homeless and the hungry
and to enfold orphans, widows and the elderly in Your care.
Give us wisdom and insight for the complex problems we face today.
Help us to use the resources of the earth for the well-being of all.

Holy Spirit, we need Your comfort
and guidance. Transform our hearts.

Lord Jesus Christ,
Because You were dead, but are now risen,
and the Father has given You a Name above all names,
You will defeat all powers of evil.
Tear down strongholds and ideologies that resist the knowledge of God.
Remove the veil of darkness that covers the peoples.
Restrain the evil that promotes violence and death.
Bring deliverance from demonic oppression.
Break the hold of slavery, tyranny and disease.
Fill us with courage to preach Your word fearlessly,
and to intercede for the lost faithfully.

Almighty God, deliver us from evil.

King of Glory,
Come and finish Your work in our cities, our peoples and our nations.
We lift our voices in unison with believers from Africa and Asia,
from the Middle East and Europe, from North and South America,
and from Australia and the Pacific Islands—together we cry:

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Be lifted up ancient doors
so that the King of glory may come in!

As Your deeds increase throughout the earth,
and as Your blessings abound to all the nations,
they will seek You, asking, “Who is this King of glory?”
Together we will answer:

He is the Lord Almighty!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Come fill the earth with Your glory as the waters cover the sea.
The Spirit and the Bride say:

Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

The following 90 days, June 1 through August 29, are marked as 90 Days of Blessing, which is "an opportunity for Christians to not only continue in persistent prayer, but to actually become the answers to their prayers." The 90 Days of Blessing Prayer Guide "will challenge you to continue your prayer efforts, but also to become physically involved in the places that we normally pray for. This is our opportunity to become vessels of blessing through prayer and action" and can be downloaded here.

Did your church participate?

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