A prayer based on Romans 16.

<aside> 🙏🏻 Our God and our Saviour, We give You our praise for the gospel, the good news about Jesus through which You save everyone who believes, and through which You establish them in the faith. We thank You that through His death, He is drawing His people to Himself, and He is drawing those same people to one another, and through them is making known the message of salvation to others, so that they might believe and obey Him.

Lord, as those whom You have rescued from sin and death, whom You have set free from the rule of Satan, we pray that as a church we would be committed to the gospel. In response to all that He has done for us, we pray that we would show our devotion to Christ, according to the gifts we have been given and the opportunities we have. Give us a desire to work hard in ministry, to be generous in using our money to support gospel work and workers, to be willing care for those in need, to be welcoming by opening our homes and our lives to others, to be ready to support in practical ways those who have been set apart by God, even to suffer for Christ’s sake; because it is our heart’s desire and prayer that people in this local community You have placed us in, and beyond, would call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved. That they would hear the good news that Christ had died for sinners and will save all who turn from their sins and trust in Him. Forgive us for those times when we are lazy, uncaring about the fate of the loss, or lacking in zeal.

We pray also that as a church we would committed to one another. Help us to love one another. To have a real warmth and affection to those in this church. To welcome everyone including those who are different to us, thinking of them as dear brothers and sisters. To encourage each other and to look for ways of building them up in the faith. Help us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through bond of peace. To accept one another and not fall out with those we disagree with on disputable matters. To not do anything that would undermine another’s faith and cause them to drift from Jesus.

Loving Father, if we are going to be a church that is firm, strong, and stable, that is committed to the gospel and to one another, we need You to be at work in us by Your Spirit, we need Your sufficient grace to advance in us the obedience of faith as we hear Your Word proclaimed. So that, You, the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, receive the glory.

Amen.

</aside>