Week of Prayer 2023

The first day. 31th of December

General confession:

“Forgive us our debts…” (Mat. 6:12).

“Forgive us our sins…” (Luke 11:4).

Concluding the year, we acknowledge before the Holy God our imperfection in fulfilling the greatest commandments - to love the Lord God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves.

• Falling short in relation to God: The apostle Paul said that he does not consider himself to have reached or perfected, but only strives to reach Christ (Philippians 3:12). How zealously have we sought to achieve His image in the past year?
• Falling short in relation to our neighbor: “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve You? it to one of the least of these, they did not do it to me” (Matt. 25:44-45).

Thanks for the past year.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Let us give thanks and praise God for His perfection in love for us. Let us remember the days in which we received various blessings and bear witness to them.

Let us also give thanks for the difficulties through which He led us, and thereby strengthened our faith, making it more precious than gold (1 Pet. 1:6-8).

Second day. January 1st

First supper (Communion) of the new year.

Praise God:

- for the shed blood - the high price of our salvation, "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible silver or gold from the vain life given to you from the fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a spotless and pure Lamb" (1 Pet. 1:18-19 ).

- for the commandment to do this until He comes. In the hustle and bustle of our lives, we tend to lose sight of the resurrected Savior and fall into disappointment and despondency. Participation in the commandment helps us to recognize Him again and again in the breaking of bread. “He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him... And they told about what had happened on the way, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:30-35).

Day three. January 2nd

For blessing and guidance in the coming year.

Let us pray that we enter into a new year that has never yet existed and, like a blank page, lies before us.

We pray:

• For protection - so that we can go this way, and it was not crooked and shameful, unworthy of the title that we were honored to receive from God.^"I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).
• For watchfulness - the future is hidden from us, and we do not know what this year will bring us. Let us watch at all times, waiting on our Lord.^"Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:22).

Day four. January 3rd

Prayer for the Church and the brotherhood of Evangelical Christian Baptists!

"I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

We pray for :

• ministers of the Church and the leadership of the Russian UECB (Acts 20:28; Acts 14:23);
• multiplying the number of believers and churches of our brotherhood (Acts 9:31; Acts 16:15);
• the possession and use for edification of spiritual gifts by members of the Church (1 Cor. 14:12; 1 Cor. 12:28);
• unity, keeping our churches from division (1 Cor. 11:18);
• fulfillment of the great commission of the Church - to carry the gospel from her neighbor to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Day five. January 4th

Family Prayer! "As for me and my house, will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).

We pray for:

• the creation and preservation of Christian families in purity and integrity (Heb. 13:4);
• husbands who love their wives as Christ loves the church, and wives who are obedient to their husbands as to the Lord (Eph. 5:2-32);
• wisdom and love in raising children and their obedience to parents (Mal. 4:5-6; Eph. 6:1-4; Heb. 2:13);
• that all members of Christian families believe in Jesus Christ.^"He demanded fire, ran into the prison , and in trembling fell down to Paul and Silas, and, leading them out, said: Men! what should I do to be saved? And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your whole household will be saved” (Acts 16:29-31).

Day Six January 5th

Ask for peace. "May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in everything. The Lord is with you all!" (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Psalmist David calls us to ask for peace for Jerusalem (121st psalm). This is his homeland, place of residence, his people. Many military actions fell to the lot of David. He, like no one else, understood the price of a peaceful life. Unfortunately, the earthly kingdoms throughout the history of mankind are at war with each other. Israel was no exception. But a special tragedy occurred when the people were divided into Israel and Judah, and they repeatedly went at each other with a sword. Nothing has changed in the earthly kingdoms, so Christ taught us to pray: "... Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10).

We pray for:

• peace in the heart. Teach us to love our enemies, bless those who curse, do good to those who hate, and pray for those who offend and persecute (Matt. 5:44);
• the world around us and among all people. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…” (Luke 2:14).

Day seven. January 6th

Christmas

God came down to earth, becoming one of us, kindred to us according to the flesh.^"He, being the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he humbled himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled Himself, being obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).

Let us glorify the Lord and pray that we may be filled with such gratitude for salvation that would move us to change our lives, to live by Him and for Him!