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This is a prayer for the dedication of tithes and offerings that has been germinating in my heart for a while. I write it here to clarify those thoughts and give them order.

Our Father and our God,

You are master of all creation, King over all, the cattle on a thousand hills are Yours. You do not need our money to "fund" Your kingdom. But You have commanded your people to give. And so we give, out of obedience and love for You, our King.

You are the One True God, jealous for Your name and for the worship of Your people. You have commanded us to have no other gods before You. And so we give, to remind ourselves that our heart's allegiance is to You, not to our money or the status, possessions, or pleasure money can temporarily buy. Wrest the chains of mammon from our hearts, that we may love You first and above all.

You are the Faithful God. You provide for Your children. Teach us to trust You for our provision, trust You to keep and care for us, trust You, not our bank accounts, savings, or plans. You provide faithfully - help us to be faithful in our giving. Help us to be wise with our money so that we may give and still live quietly, not indebted to anyone.

Father, keep us from the error of giving You only our money and not our hearts as well. Grant us changed hearts that give obediently and with joy. We give these monies prayerfully, asking and looking for You to use them in mighty ways. Please use even these tithes and offerings in ways beyond our imagination to grow Your kingdom, Lord. In all things, Lord, may You be glorified. Amen.

Shepherd's prayer

I cried in church this morning. Not in a bad or unprecedented sense - my heart was moved by our elder's prayer for the congregation. Mr. BH put into words what I could not; lifting up the concerns of our hearts before the throne. He prayed as I wanted to pray but rarely do, but by praying along with his words today, I was blessed. Through prayer, we entered the throne room of God Almighty, known by Him in all our worried, broken, selfish smallness, known and forgiven through Christ's blood and righteousness. I am His, His, His.

Sunday

Dr. J led the prayer of confession this morning - detailed and convicting. One phrase in particular sticks in my mind: "We confess that we care too much about what people think of us and not enough about what You know about us."