There’s a hour and 45 minutes of Pentecost Sunday 2018 left.  I wanted to share my pastoral prayer from this morning’s service here on my blog.  I hope it speaks to you.

On this Pentecost Sunday on which millions of Christians around the world are remembering and celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to the faithful disciples of Jesus almost two thousand years ago, we too anticipate the coming of your Holy Spirit!

• May your Spirit come this morning and be with us as we sing praises, pray together, and learn from your Word.
• May your Spirit come into the life of this church, empowering us and encouraging us to live for Jesus where we work, live, and play and to be unified together as one body.
• May your Spirit come into our lives as individuals, teaching us and giving us strength to live for you and to participate in the coming of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
• May your Spirit come and bring comfort to those who are distressed, mourning, and ill.
  • May he bring hope and healing in the community of Santa Fe, Texas where another senseless school shooting has occurred and may he bring wisdom to officials in our country to come up with some solutions that will place the lives of our children in the highest regard.
  • May the Spirit bring hope and healing in Gaza, Venezuela, India, Indonesia, Cuba, North Korea, and so many other places that are wracked with death, war, and political uncertainty.
• May the Spirit bring hope and healing to the millions around the world who are suffering from illness and injury, including those in our very church and those in my very family who are suffering so.
• And may your Spirit come into the life of your Church around the world and right here in Alhambra and the Western San Gabriel Valley.  May he spur us on toward unity and toward sharing and being the good news of your Son Jesus.  May he teach us how to put the interests of others before our own, even those with whom we disagree and even those that we may consider enemies.

Father in Heaven, we anticipate with great expectation the continued coming of your Spirit into our lives as individuals and as a church.  May we respond with gratitude and humility.  May we obey his promptings and demonstrate the power the he gives us so that those who don’t know you might come to do so.

We pray this all in the mighty name of Jesus.  Amen.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.  Thanks.