The following prayer guide is structured from the Book of Church Order chapter 13, “The Presbytery.”
Pray for Elders
Pray for all the Ruling and Teaching Elders within its bounds
Our gracious heavenly Father, we pray for each Ruling Elder and Minister of the Gospel within our blessed bounds. Use them in the government, discipline, and worship of the Church, particularly as instruments of salvation to build up Your people and to cause the lost to hear the words of everlasting life.
Pray for Teaching Elders whose labors lie outside the jurisdictional or geographical bounds of a Presbytery
Lord, we ask for those ordained men whose labors have called them to serve outside our geographical bounds, whether on the mission field, in the seminary, or in denominational endeavor, that they may be used mightily this day.
Pray for Ruling Elders to become better known within each Presbytery
Lord, we thank You for godly ordained men whose labor is the very backbone of the Presbyterian Church in America. Cause them to be known and appreciated by all. Make them apt to teach and men of prayer.
Pray for their work
Pray for the meetings of a Presbytery and its committees to be well attended
Lord, we ask that our members would be regular and punctual in attendance.
Pray for the calls of ministers to be to a definite ecclesiastical work
Lord, we ask that calls for ministers be defined by the marks of the Church and characterized by Word and sacrament, or by preparation for or application thereunto.
Pray for the process of admitting, transferring, and examining ministers within a Presbytery
Lord, we ask that our examinations of ministers be vigorous, as if our very souls depended on the answers these men give before the courts of the Church.
Pray that ministers will take up their duties solemnly
Lord, may the beginning of ministerial service be a solemn and holy celebration of the Church.
Pray for the commissions that serve our Presbyteries
Lord, bless the commissioned work of the Church, whether installation, ordination, examination, or judicial. May it be thorough; may it be resolved.
Pray for their faithfulness
Pray for the judicial power of a Presbytery
Lord, make the Church an instrument of justice, dispensing truth and fairness between sinful and afflicted people and churches.
Pray for churches that need to be dissolved
Lord, in those sad cases where churches of Jesus Christ must be dissolved, may it be done with honor and discretion, and may the membership of the former church be preserved by the careful oversight of the Presbytery.
Pray for a faithfully preserved Presbytery record
Lord, may the Presbytery remember its duty to the higher court by carefully preserving its records, dockets, minutes, and appendices.
Pray for special meetings of Presbytery
Lord, on those rare occasions when a special meeting is called, may the business be conducted carefully, and may the standing rules always be maintained or, if set aside, only with due gravity and proper process.
Pray for openness
Lord, remembering that the Church is an open place, may our Presbyteries and churches be marked by the welcome presence of our theological kinsmen; friends, guests, neighbors, and visitors who come to see the work of the PCA.
