On the first and third Tuesdays of the month, Water the Plants intercessors from across the United States and Canada gather with one another on the phone to pray for new congregations and their leaders, as well as regional and general or racial/ethnic ministries. They are led by a group prayer leader, who also focuses prayers on a theme, whether that’s new beginnings or rejoicing in giving.
At the latest group prayer call, Rev. Anita Cobb, Camp Ministry Committee Chair for the Pacific Southwest Region, led the gathered Disciples in a powerful prayer for emerging churches and their leaders in her region, as well as National Convocation and Black History Month.
You can find a transcript and audio recording of her prayer below.
Let us just take a moment to wake up our hearts, for some of us to settle our hearts, so that we might go into this time of prayer. Let us pray.
Oh loving God, our Creator, thank you. Thank you for breathing your breath into our bodies today. Thank you for calling us for today. Thank you for new grace and new mercy for this day. Thank you for purpose and provision of this day, that today we come before you.
And we humble ourselves, oh God, knowing that you are greater than anything will ever face on this day God, knowing that you are greater than our past and you hold our futures in your hands, that we humble ourselves today, releasing all of our own personal baggage and desires and even our despair, that we release all of that to you knowing that you are with us, knowing that you care about us. You told us that that we could cast our cares upon you because you care for us. So this morning, oh God, we cast our cares on you. We cast our families on you, we cast our jobs on you, we cast our ministries on you, we cast our churches on you. God, everything that you have given unto us we give it back to you, for you to have your way with it oh God, for you to grow it and develop it, for you to stretch it oh god for you. to revamp and remold, we give ourselves to the potter. Do with us what you will oh God.
Oh God, we continue to celebrate love in this month of February, oh God, and we thank you for your love. And we thank you for the love that we have for one another, oh God. And we pray, Lord that as we continue to love you more, we’ll love ourselves more, we’ll love our neighbor more, we’ll love the stranger more. God, that the work that we do will show just how much you love us by the ways in which we share love with one another. We don’t want the work that we do to be in vain, to be noisy, oh God, but that it would be love – true love, oh God. One that lifts up and one that bears things and one that gives hope and encouragement. God, we want the love that we proclaim to have to be loud, to be as loud as our lights are shining.
Oh God, today we are just thankful for Black History Month, for the ways in which you have created Black people to do great and mighty things, God, in this country. And we thank you Lord for an opportunity to educate others on the greatness, oh God, and that we can move outside of stereotypes, oh God. We thank you for the opportunity to highlight and to show the beauty that is being Black, oh God. We thank you for the opportunity to highlight and show the creativity that is being Black, oh God. For every trendsetter, God, for every inventor, for every entertainer, for every educator, for every engineer, for every doctor, God, we thank you for the ways in which you have used Black people in this country, despite all odds and against all odds, that you continue to allow us to rise up and to shine. And so God for that, I say thank you. For that, God, I ask that you continue to cover Black Americans, Lord God, that you will cover all Americans God, but that you would really protect the Black American from the tragedies that we face just by being Black, oh God. God, that you would put it in the heart of your creation, to learn to do better, to love better, to talk more, to talk first. God, we pray for the National Convocation today. We pray God, that as they convene and come together as a body oh God, that it would be a body that uplifts one another, that it would be a body that would show strength and togetherness, oh God. Lord God, you said, “Where two or three were gathered in your name, you would be in the midst of God.” So even as we’re on this call today Lord, I’m asking that you would be in the midst of National Convocation. God, that you would be with every leader, God, every decision maker. God, that the things that are decided are things that benefit your whole body. God, that the things that are discussed benefit and bless the whole body, that the things we do would edify, oh God, that we would be equipping others to do ministry and to do good work, oh God. That you would allow us to strengthen one another. Lord God, I even lift up the Black Ministers’ Retreat that is soon to come and pray that you would already be there. Oh God, that you would be in that place in those spaces. Oh Lord, that you would be with every preacher, every presenter, every workshop leader. God, that your glory would shine down in those moments, that people would be healed, that people would be changed. Oh Lord God, that ministers would be refreshed and renewed to to continue to do the work.
Lord God, I pray for every pastor, every preacher across our body, oh God, that stands up in your name, that you would give them strength and courage and wisdom and energy, oh God. That even when it looks like the world is winning, that even when it looks like the church is dying, that the preachers, pastors, oh God, would remember that you said, “Peter upon this rock, I build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” But let the preachers, the pastors, teachers, oh God, let them run with that banner waving, knowing that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Lord God we are grateful that we can still come to you, we are grateful that you still have your hand upon us, we are grateful God, that you have not turned your back on us. You have not turned your back on your church. God, we thank you that you’re still given us chances and opportunities to get it right, oh God, to get it together to tell others about your great love.
Lord God, we thank you that you still call forth pastors to plant churches, you still call forth pastors to start movements, oh God, to start ministries, oh God. You are still speaking, oh God, and I pray that as you are still speaking that we would still hear, that we would have ears that are turned to you, oh God, that we don’t even have itchy ears, oh God, that are listening to everything that comes by and trusting every wind that might blow past us, oh God, but that we sit still in that, we listen to your voice and we follow your guidance. Thank you. Thank you for our ears being attuned to you Lord. Lord God we even thank you for the new movements and the movement initiators and for all of the churches that you are calling forth to do work in their communities, oh God, that will have an impact on all of our communities.
God, we pray for Dale Suggs and Beloved Christian Church. We pray for Angeles Coronado and Casa de Fe. God, we pray for Javier Gonzalez and Armando Perez with Centro de Alabanza Emanuel. God, we lift up Joel Cabrera with Centro Familiar Cristiano Restauracion. God we lift up Walter Zunigha with City Church and Ruben del Pilar (Community Worship Center), Taurino Ribera (Fe, Esperanza y Amor Christian Church), Nasaria Orozco (Iglesia Cristiana Seguidores de Cristo), Rogelio Martinez (Iglesia Nueva Vida), Hyon Ah Do and Sam Yong Soon of Joyful Church, Ronald Taylor and Life Ministries, Joseph Ahn (Loving Jesus Christian Church), Chung Han Kim of (Silver Lakes Korean Christian Church).
God, these are bodies that have come together in your name. They have said, they have met, they are working, they are doing what you have called them to do in this season, oh God. God and I pray right now in the name of Jesus, that you would protect them, that you would strengthen them, that you would allow their ears, their hearts, their visions, their minds to be over to you. Oh God, that as they continue to do the work and move forward, they will not be swayed one way or the other by how life comes oh God, but that they will be like trees planted by the rivers of water, that they shall not be moved oh God. God, that in the days and weeks and times to come, as they continue in these new movements and innovations, oh God, that your hand would be upon them and that you would move through, oh God. And that everywhere they go, oh God, everywhere they take a seat, would be blessed. Oh God, everywhere their congregations in their ministry comes together oh God, it will be a time of refreshing, a time of renewal, a time of energizing, oh God, so that the people may go out and do your good work. God, I pray for every leader that is listed here, that you would give them hope, that you would send them community, that you would send them other preachers and pastors and leaders, oh God, entrepreneurs even, who have started new things. God, because you’ve given us the ability to do hard things and you’ve given us the wisdom to know how to do all things well. So God, I pray for every name mentioned oh God, that they would ask for wisdom. You said if we asked for wisdom, you would give it to us generously. So God, I pray today that you would allow your wisdom to be poured out upon all of us, oh God. God, I pray that and all of our getting Lord, that we get an understanding, that we have an opportunity to apply our knowledge God, that we trust you more than we trust ourselves, that we trust you more than we trust the voices that are swirling around outside of us. God, you have called these entities to do great and mighty work. So we lift them up to you today oh God, asking that you would rain down your favor ,you would rain down your grace, you would rain down your mercy upon the work of their hands and their hearts. That you would establish them oh God, and make them strong. We pray for the communities that will be blessed by the work that is going on oh God. We thank you you for every helper that you’re going to send their way, oh God. We thank you for every worker that you’re going to send their way. We thank you for every parishioner, oh God. Every youth, every adult, oh God, that you’re sending to these places. May they come ready with fire in their belly to do the good work of the Lord. And may they go forth knowing oh God, that your hand is upon them and with you all things are possible and they will not fail. Bless these people, oh God.
We give you all the things, all the glory, all the honor and the praise. In Jesus’s holy name, amen.
We thank Rev. Anita for her time and moving words! We welcome you to join us at the next prayer call, which takes place on March 7th at 9:00 AM EST. To learn how you can join, as well as how you can submit a prayer request, please visit our Water the Plants page.
