A congregational prayer based on Matt. 5:6

I recently wrote this congregational prayer for a worship service at Summit Community Church in O’Fallon, Mo.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Mat 5:6 ESV)

Worship leader: The text for our sermon this morning is Matthew 5:6, which says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

This prayer of confession acknowledges that though we are not righteous, we have a source of righteousness that is outside ourselves. We have a place to look and be satisfied.

Worship leader:

¹ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Congregation:

⁴ The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

⁶ for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1:1-6).

Worship leader:

Lord we acknowledge that we are not those who walk in the way of the righteous. At times, we pursue your will, but our pursuit is fickle. We turn to our own way and pursue our own glory and agenda: we walk, stand and sit as sinners.

Congregation:

Yet we look to one who is righteous. We look to one who never walked in the way of sinners. We look to one who always delighted in your law - and still does - day and night. We look to one who is not only planted by streams of water, but is himself the source of living water.

Everyone:

Lord, we look to Christ. He is the only righteous one. He alone gives living water that satisfies forever. He alone stands and we stand in Him alone.

Lord, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, but we ourselves are not righteous. We should perish in our way. And yet we look to the one who is righteous. We look and stand in our way. We look and find rest and satisfaction.

Teach us to continue in this way. Teach us to continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Teach us to continue to look to Christ. Help our acts to be acts of faith. Acts that stem from the righteous one. Acts that stem from the tree planted by streams of water.

Help us to look to Christ until His return. Only then will we be fully satisfied.