Hi everyone, it is such a joy to be here and to present God’s word to each of us. Today, we just want to talk about some of the prayers that we can pray for the church. What a privilege it is that we can ask God to fulfill the promises that He has already given us. These prayers for the church, let them arise from our hearts to see the church become that strong spiritual entity that God intends for it to be. I want to read for us from Revelation chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, where God gave His report to one of the seven churches and this is what the scripture says, ‘Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.’ We see that God is encouraging the church to be in a place of its first love. Now, the church that the Lord Jesus is speaking to was a church that did well in terms of fulfilling many things that were assigned to that particular church, and yet what the Lord would say to that church is that they need to come back to the place where they love Him and therefore do the works. There is also reference to the first works. So, the first works are those that the church would have done passionately in response to God’s love for the church. It may so happen that in serving the Lord at some point, we may do the things that God wants us to do because it is an obligation and that is what God has instructed us to do. But here is a reminder for us that as a church/ body we must never move away from the place of loving God passionately and sincerely. One of the prayers that we can pray for us as a body is that we will remain in that place of first love and do the first works. When we see the kind of relationship that the Lord Jesus established with the church, we know that He is our bridegroom and the church is the bride. Revelation chapter 22, verse 17 says, ‘And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”’ The Lord Jesus showers His love upon the church as a husband would on his wife and we understand from the book of Ephesians that this is the picture that the Lord Jesus has given for us. He firstly loved the church to sacrifice Himself for the church as the husband and we see that He does His duty of giving His word that cleanses the church and causes the church to become that glorified church that He has worked upon, He has brought to that place through His nurture and His love. When the Lord Jesus is our bridegroom, the right thing for us as a church is to be like a bride in adoration and in great love towards our bridegroom. We can pray that as a church we will remain in that place of loving God deeply, sincerely, present ourselves to our savior in holiness and be perfected the way He wants us to. Can we just keep this prayer point in our hearts and remember to pray this for ourselves, the congregation that we maybe a part of, other believers whom we know and just pray that even as wait for the Lord Jesus to return, we maybe that longing bride awaiting the return of our bridegroom. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful picture that we must love you sincerely and passionately. Help us to be that church that longs for you, serves you from that place of passionate love. We commit ourselves to this, in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

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