Father,
You have turned our attention away from all that is in the world and turned our attention to you. Since you are always in our thoughts, we speak the praises that are the overflow of our hearts. May you use our words of delight in you to encourage those in difficulty. Then may we enjoy the fellowship of praising you together. When we seek you, you answer us. You rescue us from trouble, but maybe more often you rescue us from the fear of trouble and restore our peace and trust. We know that the appetites of the flesh never have enough, but we who look to you are genuinely satisfied with your provision. We have run to you for protection and found blessing. We consider our lives and find that we have lacked nothing.
We ask that you would bless the other believers who meet week by week in this building - Emmanuel Baptist Church and Vietnamese Alliance Church. Please keep their pastors faithful to the gospel, both in their living of it and in the preaching of it. May your Spirit create such love among them that their gatherings are like the closest of earthly families and their service for one another is as free and unthinkingly sacrificial as parents to their children. May unbelievers who come in among them know by their love that they belong to you. Empower within each congregation such servants as are needed for the building up of the body. May they glorify you and may you honor them.
Help us to use our restless tongues more and more for good and less and less for evil. For those of us who are more straightforward in our speech, please use our plain speaking of the truth for the encouragement of others, but help us learn to avoid speaking even something true, if it may do harm. For those of us who are more sophisticated in our speech, enable our tactful words to tread softly on the tender ground of our brothers' hearts so that we may do good there. But keep us from using such skill for manipulation or undetectable self promotion or the subtle words that stir up discord.
In Christ, you cleansed our consciences from our evil works, but you also left an example for us to follow. Help us to be more like him. Help us to endure the unjustified difficulties we experience and to hold our tongues like he did. Help us to stay mindful of him in all our doings. Give us a surge of joy when we see some part of our lives that matches his and so lead us to ever increasing submission to your will.
Father, you have blessed us here at Royal York with unity. This is something that you love and that our enemy hates. Help us to continue in the deep humility and sacrificial love from your Spirit who has bound us together for our joy and the honoring of your name.