A Prayer for Revival in the Church of England

A Prayer for Revival in the Church of England

Based on Jeremiah 33

O Lord our God,

you are the God who calls your people to seek you,

and who reveals things beyond all that we can see or comprehend.

Please, hear us now as we intercede for your Church.

Call the Church of England again to yourself.

Speak into the places where faith has grown faint,

where hope has been lost,

where prayer has become weary,

and where the voice of your Gospel has grown vague.

Restore your Church, O Lord.

Heal what is broken among us;

bind up what has been wounded;

renew what has become lifeless;

and breathe your Holy Spirit into what has grown dry.

Bring us back to the simplicity of our calling:

to worship you in holiness,

to proclaim Christ faithfully,

to make disciples,

to love our neighbours,

to serve the poor and the forgotten,

and to bear witness to the hope of the Gospel.

Give your Church again a heart that seeks you.

Teach us to humble ourselves before you,

to confess our sins without excuse,

to receive your mercy with gratitude,

and to walk together in repentance and faith.

Restore among us the joy of your salvation.

Let our churches once again become places

where people encounter the living and reigning Lord Jesus;

where the lonely find welcome,

where the broken find healing,

where the questioning find truth,

where children discover your love,

and where those who have wandered far from you

hear again your gracious call to come home.

Make our worship active and joyful.

Make our preaching clear and courageous.

Make our prayers fervent, determined, and expectant.

Make our fellowship generous and deep.

Make our service humble and faithful.

Raise up among us true shepherds who love your people,

teachers who love and proclaim your pure Word,

evangelists who proclaim the Gospel with courage,

prophets who speak truth with humility,

and servants who gladly spend themselves for the sake of others.

Give wisdom to those who lead your Church.

Give them discernment when the way is unclear,

courage when biblical faithfulness is costly,

humility when they are praised,

and grace when they are criticised.

Guard them from fear, pride, ambition, and weariness,

and teach them to seek first your kingdom above all else.

Lord, restore the spiritual fruitfulness of your Church.

Let congregations multiply where they have declined.

Let new churches be planted where there are none.

Let old churches be renewed with new life.

Let homes become places of prayer,

and all members become confident witnesses 

to the grace they have received in Jesus.

Turn our mourning into joy.

Turn our weariness into hope.

Turn our anxiety into prayer.

Turn our division into charity.

Turn our uncertainty into renewed trust in you.

May thanksgiving once again rise from your Church.

May praise be heard in our congregations,

in our homes and schools,

in our streets and villages,

in our cities and communities.

Let those who encounter your Church

find not merely an institution,

but a people who know their one true God;

not merely religious observance, but living faith;

not merely tradition, but the transforming presence of Jesus Christ.

And where we have forgotten your goodness, remind us.

Where we have lost our way, lead us.

Where we have become cold, set our hearts ablaze with the fire of your Spirit.

Where we have become divided, teach us again the humility of Christ.

Where we have become fearful, give us courage.

Where we have become complacent, awaken us.

Where we have become discouraged, give us hope.

Restore us, O Lord, and restore your Church.

Let the Church of England become again

a blessing to the people among whom you have placed her:

a faithful witness to Christ,

a house of prayer,

a servant of the needy,

a light in the darkness,

and a joyful herald of the kingdom of God.

Do not allow us merely to preserve what we have inherited.

Give us grace to receive afresh what you desire to give.

Renew your Church from the inside out.

Begin with us.

Begin with our repentance.

Begin with our prayer.

Begin with our obedience.

Begin with our love for Jesus.

And then, Lord, let your restoring grace flow outward through your people

until lives are changed,

families renewed,

communities blessed,

and many who have forgotten your name turn once more towards you.

For you are the God who restores.

You are the God who heals.

You are the God who gives hope where hope has died.

You are the God who makes all things new.

Please hear our petitions, O Lord.

Restore your Church.

Renew your people.

Revive our witness.

And let your name be glorified through the Church of England.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.