Father God, look down from your place in the heavens and take note of this vast and diverse family in the Lake Union. We come from practically every nation of the world: We're Caucasian; we're African. We're Asian; we're Hispanic. We're young; we're old. We're rich; we're poor. We're Republicans; we're Democrats. We're plumbers and doctors and receptionists and carpenters and secretaries and lawyers and maintenance personnel and law enforcement officers and inmates. We've been on the same job now for 20 years, and we're unemployed. We're freshmen, we're sophomores, we're juniors, we're seniors. We're taking graduate studies, and we're working on our GED. We sent out birth announcements this week, and we attended our loved one's funeral. We're popular and we're hardly-noticed. We're going out on a date tonight; we're going to be in our room alone tonight. We've just returned from a dream honeymoon; we're in the middle of a nightmarish divorce.
And yet, each week, with all our diversity, we come together in churches, school gymnasiums, homes and halls, and we bow before You as one people, with one heart and spirit, to sing praise to You who reigns above—the God of all creation, the God of power, the God of love, the God of justice and mercy, the God of our salvation.
Others look at our outward appearance and see only our diversity. But You look on our hearts and see those things that bind us together in our common humanity. You see our surges of self-pride and remorse. You see how brave we are, and how afraid; how confident we can be, and yet how insecure. You see how defiant we can be at times, and yet how repentant at others. You know our times of faith and our times of doubt. Nothing that goes on inside us is hidden from You.
And we need You, our Father. All of us need You. We need Your forgiveness and cleansing from sin. We need You to open our eyes to the inequities and injustices that we have created by our own self-centered pursuits. We need Your assurance and hope for the future. We need the enablement and empowerment of Your Spirit for our mission. There's no one to whom we can turn for what we need, but to You.
And so here we are again, our Father, on our knees before You. We're here on the one hand to give You, our God, all praise and glory for all that You have already done for us in Jesus; for this we know with all our hearts, His wounds have paid our ransom. And we're here also seeking for an ever deeper and fuller baptism and anointing of Your Spirit until Your work in us and through us is complete.
Please place Your healing hand of blessing upon those among us who are ill. And bless those among us who are grieving the loss of loved ones. May Jesus' promise to resurrect all who put their trust in You be their hope and stay.
Bless those who come to You with the private praises and petitions they carry in their heart. May they know that You have heard them and have provided for their need.
May the prayers of those You have called to intercede result in answers beyond anything they could imagine. May their prayers that our homes, churches and schools be enveloped with the Holy Spirit, be realized beyond anything we have ever experienced before. And may all of us be caught up higher in the wake of the resulting revival.
Bless our outreach to the communities around us. May those who come be those You bring, and may they gain everything You want them to gain.
Bless this nation and its leaders, and all those around the world who need the protective care and saving intervention and blessing that You alone can give.
Anoint Your servant You have chosen as Your instrument to shepherd us. May the ministry and the message You designed for us have the effect You intended in our lives.
Skip MacCarty is an associate pastor for evangelism and administration at the Pioneer Memorial Church in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
