Prayers to be used at the Conclusion of a Meeting. sincerity not being ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, but ready to be partakers of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God. May they show themselves workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Increase, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee, the number of pious, faithful ministers thou gracious Lord of the harvest, send into it laborers qualified and disposed truly to do thy work. If thou give the word, great will be the company of the preachers. Do thou, in thy merciful goodness, give shepherds to all destitute flocks, and build up the waste places of Zion. We pray thee to give thy blessing to those institutions, in which candidates for the ministry are educated for the work whereunto thou shalt be pleased to call them. Enlighten the understanding, sanctify the hearts, and prosper the efforts of those who conduct them; and so enrich the youth connected with them, that they may become apt and meet to exercise the ministry, to the glory of God, and to the edifying of his church. Ans. O Lord, we beseech thee to hear us. We pray, O gracious Lord, that all Christians may have more and more of the mind of Christ, and be diligent in all good works. May all their endeavors to do thy will be sanctified by thy Spirit, guided by thy wisdom, and prospered by thy blessing. May an ardent desire for the coming of thy kingdom unite the hearts, increase the prayers, and multiply the exertions of all who name themselves of Christ. May they pray earnestly and strive diligently, that the gospel may be preached to every creature. May we deeply lament the weakness of our faith, and the coldness of our love and our zeal for thee and for thy church. O Lord, we beseech thee, pour out upon all Christian people the spirit of missions;-the earnest desire, by all Prayers to be used at the Conclusion of a Meeting. proper means, to spread to all the nations of the earth the knowledge of Christ, and the doctrines of eternal life. May the treasury of the Lord be filled with the means of supporting those who do the work of evangelists. May thy blessing be with those servants of Christ who have gone forth to preach the gospel to the destitute, whether in heathen or in Christian lands, and let the power of thy grace be manifested in their success. Have mercy upon all idolaters and unbelievers. For the children of Israel, unto whom pertained the adoption and the covenants, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, we offer our earnest intercession. Our hearts' desire and prayer to thee for Israel is, that they may be saved. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, let thy name be great among the Gentiles, and in every place may incense be offered unto thy name and a pure offering. O take the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession. Ans. O Lord, we beseech thee to hear us. Finally, O Lord, we beseech thee to have mercy on us, unworthy sinners. Whatever we need in time, and for eternity, vouchsafe to grant; and when we have served thee in our generation, may we sleep in Jesus, and meet at thy right hand, having our garments washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. And unto the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen. A Prayer for the Success of Missionary Labors. A Prayer for the Success of Missionary Labors. O LORD God, our heavenly Father, who, in thy mercy, hast so loved the world as to give thine only Son to be our Savior, and hast commanded that the good tidings of pardon and peace and life, through faith in him, should be proclaimed to all mankind, give us hearts, we beseech thee, to be duly thankful for this thy unspeakable goodness, and hear our supplications and prayers. May a thankful sense of thy mercy to our fallen, sinful race, awaken in our hearts a deep concern for the salvation of those for whom the Savior died. Give thy blessing, we beseech thee, to the means and efforts used for the propagation of the gospel, and for extending the light of thy word through the darkness of this sinful world. Accept, O Lord, of our supplications for those nations and people of the earth who are sitting in the shadow of death, having no hope, and without God in the world; and for all who are in error or ignorance or unbelief. May the Sun of righteousness rise upon them, with healing in his wings. Take from them all blindness and hardness of heart, and give them repentance unto life. Bless thy word wherever it is spoken, and send it to all places where it is not heard. Look with favor upon the ministers of thy gospel: give them wisdom and faith and zeal, and so bless thy word spoken by their mouth, that the renovating doctrines of eternal life may be truly taught, truly received and truly followed, and the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Give thy blessing, we beseech thee, to Bible and Missionary societies, and to all who assist and labor and contribute for the spread of the gospel, and for the promotion of A Prayer for the Success of Missionary Labors. truth and godliness. Remember them, O Lord, for good, and prosper and reward their labor of love. Grant, O God, we beseech thee, that thy ministering servants, who have left their homes, their friends, and their country, to publish thy truth in foreign climes, may be under thy special care and keeping. Preserve them, O thou Father of mercies, from perils by land and perils by water; from sickness, from enemies, and from every evil to which they may be exposed. Give them such wisdom and such success that they may be instruments of turning many to righteousness, and hereafter shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars, forever and ever. Guide and bless them, we beseech thee, in every effort to extend the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And be merciful, O Lord, we beseech thee, to the perishing souls among whom they labor. Do thou, who desirest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live to thee, have mercy upon all who are living in sin, and give them repentance towards thee, the true God, and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may be saved among the true Israelites, and become one fold under one Shepherd. And grant, O blessed Lord, that the stewards of thy mysteries who labor among us in word and doctrine, may be endued with wisdom from on high; and that we may so profit by their ministry, that in the last day, when our Savior Christ shall come in glorious majesty to judge the world, we may rise to life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. A Prayer for Missionary Societies, &c. A Prayer for Missionary Societies, and suitable to be used in their Meetings. O BLESSED Lord God, who art exalted above the heavens, and yet, through 'thine infinite mercy, hast so loved the world, as to give thine only Son to be our Savior, and the author of everlasting life; who, after he had made perfect our redemption by his death and resurrection, sent abroad into the world apostles and prophets and other ministers, to preach the gospel to every creature, and to make disciples of all nations; for these, so great benefits of thy eternal goodness, and that thou art still calling thy ministering servants to the same labor of love, and dost inspire in the hearts of many people a pious desire to strengthen their hand, and to promote the spread of thy gospel, and the salvation of mankind, we render thee most hearty thanks; we bless and praise thy holy name. Accept, O Lord, we beseech thee, our prayers and supplications for the ministers of thy gospel; give them such wisdom and faith and zeal, and so bless thy word spoken by their mouth, that thy work may prosper in their hands, and that humble, believing souls may in vast numbers fly to thy church as doves to their windows. Behold in mercy all those throughout the world who are in the darkness of error or of unbelief. Take from them, we beseech thee, all ignorance, hardness of heart, and opposition to thy holy word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and become one fold under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Give thy blessing, O Lord, we beseech thee, to all Missionary associations, and to all those who contribute to support the preaching of the gospel, |