PRAYER: Praying Ephesians 4:1-16, by Becky Pliego
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore he says: “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”
(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the Earth? He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:1-16)
Father, thank you for your Word which is perfect and pure, and which teaches us how to walk as Christians in this fallen world. Father, I ask you to forgive me because many times I have not walked in a manner worthy of the calling to which I have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience.
Oh Lord, help me, through the grace that saved me and sustains me, to walk every day with all humility. Forgive the many times I have looked down on someone; forgive when I let pride and self-righteousness have dominion over me. Forgive me when I walk haughtily, with a heart blind with arrogance. Give me a humble heart, a teachable heart, the heart of a servant.
Forgive me when I don’t walk or speak with all gentleness. Forgive me for my harsh attitudes, for my rudeness. Work in me, oh Lord, and create in me a humble and gentle heart. Let my words be sweet to you and to those around me.
Father, forgive me when I lose my patience, when I want things to be done promptly and my way. Lord, help me! That I may not see my loss of patience as something that is not grievous to you. Help me to see how it shows the condition of my heart that doesn’t want to wait for your perfect time. Father, help me to wait in silence knowing that my hope is in you. Help me to trust in you at all times knowing that you are sovereign over the time-frame in which we live.
Lord, teach me to bear the burdens of my brothers and sisters in love, help me to persevere in prayer for them, to intercede, to remember with a compassionate and grateful heart those who are going through trials. Help me to reach toward them in love to help them with their burdens. Help us, Lord! Forgive me, O Lord, when I have turned and have decided not to bear with my brothers in Christ with love. Give me a heart that reaches in prayer and hands that reach to serve promptly and with a joyful heart.
Father, give me the grace to eagerly seek to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Or to not forget that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all. Help me to not forget that you alone are over all, and through all and in all. Help me, please, oh Lord. Help me to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace without compromising the truth as revealed in the scriptures. Lord, help me, because this is so hard to do in this era in which many voices are raised and a dense cloud of confusion makes it hard for us to discern how to do this. I need you, Lord. I need you, so much!
Father, thank you for the grace that you have bestowed upon each one of your children. Thank you for the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers, all given in time to equip us for the work of the ministry, to build up the body of Christ until we all – each one of us – attain the unity of the faith and come to the full knowledge of your son, Jesus Christ. Father, thank you because in the Word, in the prophets, and the writings of the apostles, through the exposition of your Word, we can grow in grace into mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Graceful Father, help me to hold fast to the truth, to the words that have been revealed in the scriptures, deliver me – deliver us – from an apathy towards your Word, which will restrain us from growing in grace. Help me, Lord, to hold fast to your Word in a time in which deception keeps knocking at our door disguised as piety and is adorned with seductive words. Help me – help us – so that we may not be like children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried away by every new wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes that seems so inviting.
Oh, God, help us, help me! That I may dare to speak the truth in love for the sake of building and not tearing down. Help us – help me – to hold fast to your word, to the unchangeable truth in a time in which people, even in the church, are trying to redefine what your word clearly teaches. Lord, it would be so easy to fall into deception, help me!
Father, this Lord’s Day I intercede for your church. Help us grow joined and held together by your truth. Help us, work properly and function as one body. Make us grow in all submission to our head which is Christ Jesus, and help us build ourselves in love to bring glory to your name.
In Jesus’s name, our Lord and Savior,
Amen.
The Value of Sparrows 
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