Magnificent God and Father, we greet you this morning with glad, yet some of us, troubled hearts. We recognize you as the Supreme Being. The Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. The Author of all good things. The Maker and Sustainer of the Universe, the One for Whom All things must answer to. You, God, are the Greatest of all Realities…nothing finds its meaning without you. We praise you for all that you have been and will be for us in Jesus.

We pray with heavy hearts. Some of us pray Believing, yet we need help in our Unbelief.

Some of us pray in glad hearted praise and some of us pray in poor hearted anguish.

Some of us pray wondering if you are real and some of us pray having been leveled this week by your presence and all encompassing reality.

If we were to search for Love, Hope, Peace, and Kindness, Safety and Security…where would we go? To WHOM would we go? There is no field, no fortune, and no figure that we can confidently approach and find these things but in you.

So, some with trembling knees and some with guilt ridden consciences and some with peace filled hearts we enter the veil, this morning. Oh how good it is to know that inside this veil, we are welcomed by you God, because we come pleading the Blood of Christ. He alone is what makes it possible to be heard…so hear us, we pray Lord…hear us as we sit at your feet…pleading!

Pleading forgiveness from our sins. Would you forgive us Lord for our prayerlessness this past week? We wake up and hurry about our days hardly taking any notice of you. We give ourselves to accomplishing tasks without hardly taking any mind of you. We claim to be in Christ and yet we hardly even speak to You…and yet we are quick to speak to a thousand lesser loves in a given day. We would rather play games or suffer the news on our phones riding to work than we would to pray. We would rather listen to music at the conclusion of our days than we would like to sit in silent reflection on the innumerable ways your mercies met us.

If some of us were being honest, I’m sure that we might confess to you that the reason we don’t pray is because it seems to accomplish very little. It is a waste of time…a rude, obligatory task that is akin to cleaning the dishes or taking out the trash. Oh, Lord, how much does our prayerlessness reveal about our hearts? The weight is to heavy to consider.

We confess that we would rather watch TV than pray. We confess that we would rather sleep than pray. We confess that we would rather talk to friends than pray. Our hearts are sometimes so twisted…we would rather read the Bible to satisfy our guilty consciences than spend 10 minutes in unhindered prayer towards you. We cannot hardly remember when the last time we fasted was and we certainly cannot call to mind the last time we spent more time in praise and adoration than we did in asking you to fulfill all of our wishes.

Merciful Father…have mercy on your prayerless children…like those disciples…not only teach us how to pray…but teach us to ENJOY prayer. In the coming week, give us endurance in prayer…give 5 or 10 of us the opportunity to be refreshed by your presence in prayer. Make it 20 or 30 of us!! Oh God, we beg you…weigh heavy on our consciences this week…REMIND us, that you are no heavy handed Father…but tender hearted friend.

I ask that this church would be a church that is known for its prayer. Not just on Sunday mornings, but on Tuesday nights at CG…and in the bedrooms of those that are married before they lie down to sleep. May we pray over our meals, but may we also pray over offices, our children, and our friends who don’t yet know the glories of Christ. May we pray over the way we spend our money, and the way we spend our times of leisure.

Yes, and Lord…at the risk of sounding contradictory…would you have us to pray in such a way that is not self-seeking? Give us joy in praying for our enemies and for those that rule over us. Give us gladness in praying for things that may never affect us in the least. Remind us that our prayers should reflect Your intentions and not just our own. Remind us in our prayer lives that this world is not about us…and remind us, that the sooner we understand that, the sooner we will know what it means to live before you.

We don’t depend upon you as we ought…we confess that to you…our prayerlessness or our slowness to pray reveals our indifference towards you.

But oh the JOY it is to know…that your forgiveness is as generous as the waters of the oceans. How good it is to know that while we do not pray, you do not withhold your love for us. How good it is to know that while we seem to have so little time for you, you have a great deal of time for us. How good it is to know that your love for us is not dependant upon our love for YOU!!

How good it is to know that with you there is forgiveness…and how good it is to know that forgiveness was accomplished with the blood of your very own Son…who gave us life so that we ruined sinners might have life.

Even as I close this prayer, Lord, remind us that you will be happy to have us visit you again whenever we please. Be glorified in the prayers of your people. Be glorified in the dependance of the Saints at Restoration Church in prayer, this week. Use those prayers this week to not only sanctify us…but use them to remind us of your Infinite Goodness…of your power, and your glory. We love you God…thank you for the privilege of Prayer…receive it in the Name of your Beloved Son who ransomed us to be a people for HIS own possession. We pray in the Name of the One that made prayer possible…Christ Jesus, the Lord…our Hope…our Peace…Amen.