Prayer for Illumination God of Wisdom and Understanding, open our hearts and minds as we listen to Your life-transforming words. Speak to us, Your servants are listening. Amen. I started…
Prayer for Understanding God of Word and Wisdom, as we listen to the Scriptures today, enlighten our minds, nurture our souls, embolden our hearts, and stir our minds, so that…
Prayer for Illumination God of wisdom. By the power of your Spirit, open the Scriptures for us. Prepare us to be challenged and changed as we encounter Christ, Your Living…
Prayer for Illumination Father, Like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, we delight in Your Word. Please, open up Your Word to us…
Prayer for Illumination Gracious God, great Teacher, Bearer of peace, we seek Your wisdom. Open our hearts and minds to Your word and possibilities yet unseen. In Jesus’ name. Amen.…
Prayer for Illumination: Prepare our hearts, O God, to receive Your Word. Silence in us any voices but Your own, so that we may hear and use Your Word; through…
Prayer of Illumination: Lord God, our souls wait for You, more than those who watch for the morning. Send Your Spirit upon us as Your word is read and proclaimed…
Prayer for Understanding God of Word and Wisdom, You teach us ways that lead to healing and hope. Send Your Spirit to open our minds and hearts to Your Word…
Prayer for Illumination God our Father, True source of light and wisdom, let a ray of Your light penetrate the darkness of our understanding. Holy Spirit, empower us to live…
Prayer of Illumination: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges…
Once again the Bible makes a very strong statement. Last week it was the First Letter of John that told us, in a dozen different ways, that God loves us…
I’d like to suggest a spiritual exercise that could get us all ready to respond to this section of the Bible that we have just heard. Love can be very…
Prayer for Understanding Holy Spirit, move in us and among us as we listen to the Scriptures read and interpreted. Open our minds and hearts to receive the Living Word…
Prayer for Illumination Eternal God, our guide and guardian, Enlighten our minds to Your teachings, that we may be servants of Your love. Transform our church, so that we may…
Prayer for Illumination God of Word and Wisdom, the Risen Christ opened the minds of his friends to understand the Scriptures. Send us Your Holy Spirit to open our minds…
Prayer of Illumination: Holy God, just as You transformed disbelief into faith for Your followers on that first Easter, we pray that You would transform our hearts and minds through…
Prayer for Illumination: Risen One, help us recognize You this day as we hear Your word. You are “Rabboni,” our Teacher, our Guide. Come, speak to us, that we might…
Going A Little Farther In athletics, the margin of excellence is often very small, in some instances amounting to a fraction of an inch or a second or two. In…
John 3:1-21 The purpose of sermons Sermons often just make us feel guilty. We may even get tired of being stirred but unchanged. God wants to bring genuine changes in…
Prayer for Illumination: Holy God, reveal Your presence to us this day as we listen to Your word. Send Your Spirit upon us that we might listen, discern, and take…
Prayer for Understanding Gracious God, Open our hearts to receive Your Word of truth, and may Your truth lead us to obedience. May Your Word set us on fire with…
Prayer for Understanding God of wisdom, send Your Spirit to prepare our hearts and minds to hear Your Word. Teach us to see You more clearly and love You more…
Faith With Gratitude Scripture Readings: Ephesians 2: 8 - 10 James 2: 14 - 17 1 Samuel 16: 6 - 7 • The issue of the relative importance of…
Prayer for Understanding O God, with Your Spirit, focus our attention as we listen to the Scriptures. Help us absorb Your Word, come to know You better, and serve You…
Prayer for Illumination Source of Wisdom, still our minds as we listen to the Scriptures. Send Your Spirit to keep us alert and attuned to Your life-giving Word this day.…
Prayer for Illumination: Compassionate God, may the authority of Your Spirit bring understanding into our confused minds and truth into our troubled hearts, so that we may be transformed and…
Prayer for Understanding Sovereign God, You have given us such amazing gifts of the Spirit. We pray now for the wisdom to hear so that we understand and respond faithfully…
Good morning to all. It seems that it is my role to walk from the pew into the pulpit today. Our minister has been leveled by the ‘flu’ and it…
Prayer for Understanding Open our ears, O God, to hear the whispering voice of Your angels, who come to us with glad tidings. Open our hearts to know Your presence…
Prayer for Understanding God of wisdom, shine the light of Your truth on us as we listen for Your Word, speaking in the Scriptures. Open our hearts to receive that…
Prayer for Understanding God of grace, still our busy minds as we listen for Your Word speaking through the Scripture. By Your Spirit, create a space within us to receive…
Prayer for Illumination God of grace, You speak words of hope amid anxious times. Send Your Holy Spirit to open our ears to that hope. Give us wisdom to read…
Prayer for Illumination Open our eyes to the truths contained in this passage and empower us to live out the message it conveys. May Your Holy Spirit be our teacher…
Prayer for illumination: God of the generations, the Scriptures are a legacy to us from Your faithful people over many centuries. Just as Your Spirit inspired and guided prophets, evangelists,…
Prayer for illumination God of prophets and parables, your Word can meet us with a challenge, a puzzle, and a promise. Send your Spirit with the gifts of understanding to…
Prayer for Understanding Lord of Peace, Lord of Glory, we have come and gathered in the House of God to listen to Your words. Teach us Your ways, thus we…
Prayer for Understanding As we read your Word let us hear your voice, and in hearing, let our lives be changed and your world transformed. Sermon: Using your gifts Opening…
Prayer for Illumination: God of Word and Wisdom, as we turn to the scriptures, may we hear Your voice calling us to deeper faith and truer devotion. In Jesus’ name,…
Prayer for Illumination Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your…
Prayer for Illumination I rejoice in following Your statues as one rejoices in great riches. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word for they are my…
Prayer for Illumination: Teach us, O Lord, to follow Your decrees; then we will keep them to the end. Give us understanding, and we will keep Your law and obey…
Prayer for Illumination: You who formed us, named us, and gathered us, open our ears to hear your message. You who give power to the faint, help us understand your…
Prayer for Understanding God of wisdom, prepare our hearts and minds to receive your Word. Where it challenges us, lead us by Your Spirit to respond in faithfulness for the…
Prayer for Understanding God of wisdom, You teach us with love, You touch us with mercy, and You challenge us with truth. Send Your Holy Spirit to help us grasp…
Whatever Became of Sin? 1973 book by Dr. Karl Menninger Psychiatric couches filled with people who feel guilty Society has lost a sense of awe or respect for God Everything…
Prayer for illumination: Seeking unity, we come to the scriptures. Acknowledging our discord, we come to the scriptures. Realigning our lives with God, we come to the scriptures. We have…
Prayer for Understanding God of wisdom, as we gather to hear your Word this day, calm our spirits and still our minds so that we can receive your message with…
Prayer for Understanding Holy God, Your Word is bread for our journey. Send us Your Spirit so that we may grasp Your love and will for us as we listen…
Prayer for Illumination O Lord, you have given us your Word for a light to shine upon our path. Grant us to meditate on that Word, and to follow its…
HEARD FREQUENTLY With all the people I’ve hurt, and what I could have done differently, I’ll never be able to forgive myself If I went away and my mother died,…
Prayer of Illumination: Gracious Lord, we pray for a humble and teachable heart. A heart that is eager to listen to Your words and learn. May we abide by Your…
Prayer for Illumination: As we are gathered here today, we ask You, our living God, to shower unto us Your wisdom and knowledge. We pray that as we listen to…