I ask you to turn with me tonight, just for a few moments, to Acts chapter 1, a few verses, and Acts chapter 2. We'll read verses 12 through 14 of chapter 1, and then 36 through 47 of chapter 2. Acts chapter 1, beginning at verse 12, as we hear now the Word of God. Of course, this is taking place here after our Lord's ascension. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In chapter 2, beginning at verse 36, nearing the end of Peter's Pentecost sermon, Therefore let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what should we do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promises for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words, He warned them and He pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted His message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common, Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Again, in chapter 1, they all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Chapter 2, verse 42, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, indeed we do call this service our annual prayer day service. And of course, that doesn't mean that this is the only time in the year that as a congregation we pray. Prayer indeed is an important part of our Christian life, both individually and corporately. It's always been an important part of the life of God's people. In the Old Testament, the offerings that they offered represented prayer. And here we see also in the early chapters of Acts that Scripture emphasizes that prayer was practiced early on in the New Testament church as they were gathering together for prayer constantly, devotedly, both before the Holy Spirit was poured out and then indeed after the Holy Spirit was poured out. Gathering together for prayer, first of all, united in Christ, united together in this One who Himself prayed often and prayed persistently and prayed confidently if we were to take the time to examine our Lord's prayers recorded for us in the Gospels. He left an example for His followers of faithful prayer. In chapter 1, verse 14 of Acts, It says that they all joined together constantly. It's also translated with one accord. In other words, they were united in heart and mind in Christ Jesus. And they gathered together in dependence upon Him, this very One who had promised to be with them always. They gathered in dependence upon Him waiting. Waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. You see, they were not praying because they were scared. They were not praying because they felt uncertain. They were not praying because they felt like they had absolutely no hope. They had witnessed the power of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. They were no longer fleeing and hiding like the disciples on the night that Jesus was betrayed. They were not running because of the fear of the unknown. But they were filled, even now, before the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and definitely afterward, they were filled with confidence in Jesus Christ and the salvation that He had accomplished for them. And therefore, they gathered together, and as they did so, they prayed with trust in Him. They had trust that indeed He would send the Holy Spirit as He had promised. They had trust that He would indeed be with them always as He had said. And therefore, they were gathering together for prayer, demonstrating their faith in Him. Again, chapter 1 points out that it was a constant gathering together for prayer. Chapter 2 points out that they were devoted in prayer. And you see, the congregation gathering together was not a demonstration of doubt or weakness. There are some who accuse Christians of being weak and needing this crutch called faith to hobble and get through this life. But for the early New Testament church, their gathering together for prayer and worship was a testimony of their sure hope and of their confidence in the truth of Jesus Christ who had said, you may ask Me for anything in My name and I will do it. Their gathering together as a people of God for prayer was a confirmation of faith. And prayer, we notice in chapter 2, was indeed an integral and important and essential part of their worship. Their worship in which they were instructed, as we read, in the apostolic teaching of all that the apostles had witnessed concerning Jesus Christ. Their worship in which they celebrated the visible truth of the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, celebrating that visible truth with the Lord's Supper, and their worship then in which they demonstrated corporately as a body of believers, they demonstrated their dependence on and their confidence in God through prayer. And as well through prayer, as the catechism makes clear, practicing that chief part of thankfulness for the grace of God through Jesus Christ. And therefore, gathering together for prayer as a congregation of Jesus Christ for this early New Testament church testified to being, in the second place, confident in the Father. Confident in the Father whom Peter makes clear in his Pentecost sermon who planned our salvation. Verse 23 says, This man, namely Jesus, was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. Indeed, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, with courage, looks them in the eye as it were and says, it was wicked men, you included, who put Jesus to death. But the church no longer feared them because God the Father had planned it. He had planned it for our salvation. And He was also the one whom Peter makes clear accomplished our salvation. Not only planning it, but accomplishing it. Verse 24, But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. And in verse 32, God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of the fact. Peter makes clear it was the power of God that raised Him from the dead. And as Paul says, He was raised for our justification. Jesus Christ is victorious over death and the grave, but not only for Himself, but for that congregation, for believers of all ages, for us too. And Peter points out that He has been exalted to the right hand of God, verse 33. And not only that, but as we read in verse 36, Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He rules and reigns today for us on our behalf. And in Him we have peace with God, as Paul says in Romans chapter 5. And no one, no one, as even this early New Testament church had the confidence, no one can snatch us from Him. Instead, our God is also the one who hears and answers the prayer of His people. As Jesus says in John chapter 16, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. Beloved, as we gather together tonight for prayer, but not only on this night, but every day of our lives as we bow our heads in prayer before our God, may we never doubt. May we never doubt that this God whom Peter describes as the One who planned and accomplished our salvation and who controls even our enemies, may we never doubt that He loves us. and that He will do more for us than we can even think or imagine. In fact, He has proven it already through the cross of Jesus. He has done that for us which we would not have even thought of asking of Him as He has accomplished our salvation through Jesus Christ. And therefore, tonight, as those who are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, as those who are united in Him by faith, we pray, We pray thanking our Father in heaven for making us His children. We pray demonstrating our faith as a congregation, demonstrating our faith in and dependence upon Him for His grace to sustain us in life and also to prepare us to live with Him forever. And we pray together trusting His promises that indeed we are forgiven of all of our sins. That He hears us even as He has promised and His promise is that we belong to Him both now and forever. As we do so on every annual day of prayer, we gather together tonight to pray for specific things, specific topics that again are outlined for you in our order of service. Five men will come forward and offer prayer on our behalf for us, on our behalf for our God. One of the things we pray for also is the church of Jesus Christ. This church too. Something that we ought to make a practice of if we haven't already, each one of us, to pray for this congregation each and every day of our lives. How do we do that? What ought we pray for? May it be that we would pray for our hearts by the operation of the Holy Spirit to blaze with love and loyalty to Christ, our King and Lord over all. may we pray that more and more we would be brought to recognize our sin and to openly confess the many ways that we have grieved God but then also to pray with thanksgiving to God for giving us an existence only because of the saving work of Jesus Christ and for the forgiveness of all of our sins earned only by Him and given by God the Father may we pray that God would continually draw nearer to us as His people, revealing His presence with us through times of refreshing like water on parched ground. May we pray for reconciliation and the removal of division and hostilities when they arise among us as God's people and instead that unity in Christ might reign among us. May we pray, beloved, for a renewed passion for those who represent the least and the lost and the lonely. And may we also pray that empowered by the Holy Spirit that we would be devoted always to the worship of God. That we as a people of God would be devoted always to the truth of Jesus Christ. And that we would be devoted always to prayer. To our gracious Father in Heaven who loves us and has given to us this precious gift of prayer and guarantees to hear us for Jesus' sake. Let's prepare to pray, turning in the purple insert to the song Approach My Soul, The Mercy Seat. We'll stand together and sing the five stanzas of that song Approach My Soul, The Mercy Seat, being seated following this song. Let's turn to our Lord in a prayer of adoration and confession. Our gracious Heavenly Father, creator of the heavens and the earth, we stand in awe as we observe the universe that was brought into existence by your very thought. Marvel at the orderly process of the cycle of the moon and the effects on the oceans and the tides. The rotating earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun. the subsequent seasons for planting, for growing, and for harvesting. You have enabled us to look at the great expanse of your universe, and we marvel at its depth and breadth that we in our limited thought can only measure in time. The further you allow us to look into the magnificence of the heavens, greater is our understanding of your majesty and might. We are blessed and privileged each day to live in this wonderful creation. We see the oceans in their quiet beauty, the rhythm of the waves that quiet our souls. We see your might displayed as well in the waves brought by the fury of the storm. We marvel at the majesty of the mountains and the life-giving rivers and streams. We see the great plains with soil so rich they can sustain a hungry world. We are reminded constantly of the orderliness of your creation as we daily benefit from use of mathematics, physics, sciences, communications. You, O Lord, have created us in your likeness and we are reminded of this gift each time we are blessed with the miracle of a newborn baby. The bond and love we have for these little ones is small compared to the greater love you have for us. You, O Lord, gave us your very son to suffer and die, not for anything he did, but to make full payment for our sinfulness. We ask, Lord, for forgiveness for losing sight of who you are. You, Lord, show us love even when we forget to show love to others. You are full of forgiveness even when we are not. Lord, we looked on with dismay at the worship of the idol Buddha. Yet we often elevate our own self-interest over you. Lord, we ask for forgiveness. We ask for our forgiveness for our corporate sinfulness, Lord, and we ask for forgiveness for our personal sinfulness. And we ask this in the name of our risen Savior. Amen. Let us continue in prayer to gather to our Lord for his church, His families and the children that our Lord calls us to educate. Let's pray together. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. How profound your ways. How awesome your work and your plans beyond our understanding. You exist, O Lord, beyond our comprehension. And yet you have come near to us in Jesus Christ, even dwelling within us by the Holy Spirit. And therefore calling us your holy people, the bride of Christ, his church. And dear Lord, we are in awe of the special favor that you place upon our families. And the unique purpose for our children and their education. And so, dear Lord, we pray this evening, asking for you to bless your church, your families, and your children. as we are all growing in the knowledge and grace of Christ and this world that you continue to call us to serve. Dear Lord, we pray for Escondido United Reformed Church. Oh, how we rejoice in the rich and blessed history that you have given to us. How we have tasted of the glorified Christ's bounty in giving unto us gifts, pastors and teachers, along with the office bearers of elder and deacon. And we pray for our office bearers, dear Lord, along with all those who share in the signs and seals of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Dear God, we pray that you would be with our pastors, our elders, and our deacons. That you would give to them the courage and unique humility that those who serve on behalf of Christ so desperately need. Oh dear God, that you would give to them courage with your word and careful application of it to us. And dear God, the wisdom only you can give as they care for us and guide us into the loving service of you and those around us in this world. And dear God, we pray for the broader congregation. We ask that the signs and seals that we bear would indeed be more and more of a reality within us, that you would work within our hearts, within our minds, cultivating us, dear Lord, to receive the truths and treasures of your word so that we would indeed, dear God, all of us be more and more sharing with Christ that unique legal status we have before you as forgiven and righteous while at the same time progressing in personal holiness and loving service. We give thanks together for new life, dear Lord. We give thanks for the new and many children that you have brought into our lives, and most recently with the new daughter, Eliana, to Eddie and Annette. Dear Father, just yet another reminder of Your abundant love and grace towards us, Your people. We give thanks for new life, even while we grieve for the ongoing suffering we face with sin, the many and manifold ways of Satan, and the physical suffering we endure. Indeed, dear God, we have said goodbye to many dear friends, loved ones, and family members through death. And so many of us continue to groan under physical trials of many kinds. And then, dear God, there are the forces and strategies of Satan pressing upon us, waging war against faith, and then the ongoing indwelling sin. Oh, dear God, have mercy upon us, your people. Hear our prayer and enable us by the power of your gospel to continue in this calling that you have placed upon our lives. We pray, dear God, for our church. And we pray as well for our families. We ask that you would bless husband and wives, dear Lord, with a sweet, loving sacrifice. That there would be a mutual, sacrificial love that they share together, dear Father. And that they would be joined in heart and mind as well as in faith before your throne. We remember our parents and children and ask, dear God, that there would be patience along with wisdom as they continue in the difficult task of loving each other even while learning about new responsibilities and the many pressures of this life. All the while, dear Lord, our families are challenged with a difficult economy financial difficulties and all of the things that surround those problems. We lay them, dear Lord, at your feet and we ask that as you hear us you would answer us in these needs in ways that are sufficient. That are sufficient for body and soul. Dear God, we remember and place before you our church and our families and the responsibility we have to educate our children. Dear Father, what a daunting task it is as parents and as congregants to raise up a new generation in the knowledge of Your Word and in the true knowledge of Your world. And so, dear God, we pray that you would bless the labors of our homes and of our church and of our schools. We remember, dear Lord, the seminaries that call upon you for mercy and grace, asking that you would bless them in that crucial role of educating the next generation of pastors, teachers and missionaries without whom how would we hear and believe and we ask that you would bless the colleges who likewise call upon your name and educate according to your word that you would bless them their leaders their students with fidelity to your word that there would be a manifold fruitfulness in their lives of service and near and dear to many of us here dear Lord is the educational work of Calvin Christian School we understand dear Lord that there are many difficulties that press upon her and we ask that you might uphold her board her administrative staff and her teachers as they seek wisdom, as they seek greater fidelity, as they seek, dear God, a long future of serving you in the education of our children. Please, dear God, answer our prayers and meet our needs for our churches, our families, and the education You've called us to give to our children, and ways that are honoring to You and are good for all of those You've called us to serve. For Jesus' sake we pray. Amen. Shall we pray now for the comfort and healing of affliction? Shall we bow our heads? Heavenly Father, we come to You this evening in prayer, knowing that prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which you require of us. Grant us your grace and Holy Spirit to constantly thank you for the gifts that we receive. Lord, you have told us in Ephesians that we should pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. You are near to all who call upon you. Tonight we pray for the sick and afflicted in our church family. We think especially of Steve Jaspers, Carl DeYoung, Adrianic Dunnick, Pauline Reeder, Thea Rents, and Blankton Segeren. Be with them each in a special way as they experience physical infirmities and weaknesses. Keep them strong in their faith, knowing that you love them and care for them, and you will never leave their side. For all these loved ones, we pray that you, as a great physician, will heal their bodies and bring restoration. Give them patience in knowing that your will be done in their lives. Lord, we thank you also for the rich blessings of modern medicine. You provided many and various means of healing and protection through doctors and medication. We are grateful for the way that you care for us. Help us to put our complete trust in your healing mercies. Be in a special way with those for whom medicine has failed, those whose hope remains in your compassion and your power. Our Father, we ask you to cleanse their souls as well as their bodies, keeping them strong in the faith, no matter what their circumstances may be. Be a source of comfort to them and those that love them. Give them hope in you, their Father, and stand by them in their time of suffering. Wrap them in your everlasting arms of love. We also pray for those who care for the sick. Give them strength to serve, patience to persevere, love to last, and give them peace that passes all human understanding. Lord, we know that there are others who are hurting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Give them a special measure of your grace. We pray too, Father, for those who have lost loved ones in death. There have been several in our congregation in this past year. We think of those families who have lost a husband or wife, father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a grandparent, or a child. Will you bring comfort in sorrow? Fill their emptiness with your healing love, for you have said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee. You have promised to give us more grace as the burdens grow greater. Our Father, remind us as a church of that love that binds us close to thee and to one another. May we be like the good Samaritan who showed kindness and compassion to a stranger along the way. Help us to increase our concern for one another, to offer a kind word or a thoughtful deed to those that are sad, lonely, or struggling, or grieving. Lord, may we reach out to show love to those not only in our own congregation who need it, but to those who we meet in the community around us. alone with none but thee our god we journey on our way what need we fear when thou art near o king of night and day lord we offer these petitions knowing that we are weak but you are strong hear our prayer for jesus sake amen shall you join me in prayer in civil authority and the nation shall we pray our heavenly father we praise you for your sovereign control over all the nations of this world we thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed on this nation we confess that we often take for granted the work of your hands on behalf of this country where we have a privilege to live we pray for our leaders those who you have placed in authority over us who serve at your pleasure give President Obama wisdom, courage and strength of faith to carry out duties be with other officials at the national, state and local levels give them honesty a willingness to serve whether they acknowledge you or not so that our freedoms can be preserved and that we can live securely. Grant that we may continue to have the freedom to worship and spread the gospel freely and without persecution. We pray for those who protect us daily, law enforcement personnel and firefighters. We uphold in prayer all those who serve our country in the military keep them safe and protect wherever they wherever in the world they may be thank you lord for the abundance which you have blessed us in america we are grateful for the rain the sunshine and for all you do that causes our fields and and farms to be productive if it be your will give us plentiful harvest this year as well as much and varied industry in a way that meets our needs both as individuals and as a nation we marvel at the many different means you use to provide for your people may we never fail to acknowledge and thank you for your provision. Finally, Lord, we ask that you would turn the hearts of the people of this nation back to you, that we would humble ourselves, pray, and seek your face. It is in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters, please pray with me for ministry and missions. Heavenly Father, In every generation, you have raised up people to serve you. We pray for those who lead our church today. Heavenly Father, we pray for those who preach your gospel. Lord, we pray for elders and deacons and for our pastors and our missionaries and evangelists. Lord, their job is hard, but we know that you give them and equip them. with the strength that they need to accomplish this task. Give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may know you better. We pray for those who hear the gospel that is preached. We pray that they may have the eyes of their hearts enlightened so that they may know the riches of the glorious inheritance of the saints and know your incomparably great power for us who believe. Your power that you show to us in Christ when you raised him from the dead and seated him at your right hand in the heavenly realms. We also pray for those in our congregation who go out and serve in times of need. We pray for those who give their time and their talents. for the work of disaster relief. We are thankful that they can use their gifts in this way and we pray that you will keep them safe as they serve you. Sovereign Lord, we pray for our missionaries and evangelists, for those who have gone out into all nations and have made disciples, baptizing them in your name, Father, and in the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We pray for Reformed Mission Services as they start up. Please use them, Lord, to provide support for missions. We pray for Reverend Bill and Aletha Green in Costa Rica. Bless the work being done on Tepeyuk Christian School and provide for them all that they need to complete this project. We pray for Elaine Tan and Rafiki, for Noli Malibuyo in the Philippines, for Neil Hegeman, and Eric Pennings and his work in Honduras and El Salvador. Our Father in heaven, we pray for the work of these missionaries and evangelists. Enable them to proclaim the gospel in power, clarity, and understanding. And let their message be received by those who they are sent to. father we pray for the church throughout the world we pray for the believers in North America in South America in Australia we pray for the older church in Europe and the younger church of Africa and Asia father we also pray for the persecuted church we pray for our brothers and our sisters who face persecution in China, who are being imprisoned for their faith. We lift up the Christians who are being arrested in Iran, who are being persecuted in Uzbekistan, Morocco, and Laos for professing your name. Forgive us, Lord, when we forget about our brothers and sisters who are being beat to death in India and shot and killed in Iran because they proclaim that you are their Lord and Savior. Lord, comfort their families who are mourning. We are filled with anger and rage, Lord, towards those who persecute your church. And as hard as it is for us, Father, we also lift up in prayer those who are killing Christians. You tell us to pray for those who persecute us. And so we pray that by your spirit, those who are killing and persecuting Christians will come to know Christ as their Savior. Give the Christians in these lands the courage to proclaim the gospel, even while being persecuted. Give them strength, give them hope, and give them love. We know that you are always with us to the very end of the age. Father, we ask that your kingdom will come. Keep your church strong and add to it. Destroy the devil's work. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all. Amen. Thank you.