Heavenly Father,
You provide all that I need to perform the task of preaching. To You only can this prayer be lifted up. As I prepare to climb behind the pulpit again this Sunday, please guide me through this sermon.
Help me to prepare adequately for the proclamation of the Word of the Most High God. Your Word has been interpreted for me through the commentaries of many Godly scholars. They have helped me to understand it better and apply it to daily life. Yet, Lord, I ask that you let my mind be most of all guided by the discernment that comes from Your Spirit.
Make this sermon relevant to those who will gather on Your day. Give direction to the illustrations as they make their way to the hearts of the listeners. Let the truths I speak be memorable, not because of the wrappings in which they are presented but because of their substance. May this sermon be true to Your Word.
Make the words that I speak as significant as the Spirit from which they come. Help me not to get too caught up in theological jargon. Guide my choice of words so they are profound enough to convey meaning, yet simple enough to relate it to all Your people.
Make the truths that I proclaim convicting to the hard hearts of the people in this world. Deliver Your truth through me so that it may judge the thoughts and attitudes of all who hear. May this sermon prick the hearts of those who need to turn to You. Temper the judgment of Your Word with the consolation that can only come from Your Comforter.
Make the delivery of this sermon equal to the message it proclaims. As the vehicle through which You will declare Your thoughts, give me genuine passion from deep within my spirit. Direct my mannerisms so that they lend themselves to communication. Help me not to get in the way of Your message.
Father, I ask Your blessing on this presentation. Make this message a balance between You and me. Provide power to this sermon from your unlimited capacity. Give me strength to use my personality to show forth Your power. Help me to realize that this balance can only be achieved if You remain in control of this preaching event. It is only through the life, death and resurrection of Your Son that this sermon is possible. Help me to keep His message my only message. May the name of Jesus be ever on my lips. Through Him I lift up this prayer. Amen.
