Heavenly Father, I pray that you would be working and active within and through the church. That in spite of still being required to keep our distance from people, that you would bridge those gaps and close the distance spiritually. I pray for the health of our church, that as we are 11 months into not being allowed to meet physically, that we wouldn’t drift apart and that we would remember that we are of one body, on mind, one spirit, one purpose.
I pray for unity within each body — that we would extend grace to each other and in spite of our differences, that we would understand that we all want you to be glorified through us individually and collectively. We may have different ideas of how to best accomplish this, but I pray that you would give us your love for one another and that we would be open to compromise and willing to set aside our differences to work together.
I pray for unity for believers from every culture, language and nation. That we would be able to come together in an understanding of spirit, even when we don’t have cultural understanding or when there is a language barrier. I pray that our churches would mirror your kingdom and that we wouldn’t be afraid to reach out to those who are across a societal divide — whether it’s economic, cultural, or another way we are different from each other. I thank and praise you that all humans are fearfully and wonderfully made and that you love each of us. I pray that we wouldn’t think more highly of ourselves or those we know, but that we’d be reminded that you gave your life for all of those people we come in contact with each day. I pray that we’d be able to communicate that message of hope to everyone we come in contact with.
Lord, I pray that the church would be able to meet freely here in Abu Dhabi. Not just our own church, but all of those groups who are waiting to be registered and acknowledged by the government. I pray that the approval process would be completed swiftly and that you would work a miracle in a situation that is stagnating. I pray that we’d be given permission and blessing to meet and gather and to worship you publicly and freely as we used to be able to do. I pray that you would work within that governmental body to move all paperwork through, to stamp it with your seal of approval, and for there not to be any question regarding permission and legitimacy of the various Christian congregations in this city and country.
I pray that as we have been unable to act and do, that we would not feel helpless, but be reminded how important and powerful prayer is. That it is not ever our success or our action, but yours that causes change to happen. I pray that this period of time where we feel our ministry is limited to praying, that we’d remember that we are not limited as you are limitless. That the power that we have through you working is not diminished at all, regardless of what we see happening around us.
And once again I pray for healing for all who are sick within the church. Not just from this virus, but from all the illnesses that we suffer from as part of this fallen world. I pray for physical healing and for mental healing. I pray for those within the church who are afraid of sickness and whose health anxiety is affecting their day to day lives. I pray that they would be reminded that this world is not what we are trying to preserve, but we are to be living with an eye toward eternity. I thank you that after all the years of feeling like a prisoner inside my own weak, unpredictable body, that today I no longer am afraid. I thank you that I have every confidence that my body works properly and that I would recover if I did get sick, and I’m thankful that even if I didn’t, that I have nothing to fear. I thank you for your peace. Please give me understanding for those who don’t feel the same. Help me to be compassionate and encouraging to those who know you, but feel still feel vulnerable. Amen.
