Our Father, whose voice spoke worlds into being, You have spoken in times past to the Prophets and the Apostles, directly, immediately, and have, now, through Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, spoken to us, directly, mediately, through the Word and through the Spirit; and, in response, we come to You to pray for one who has heard Your voice;
We, thus, pray for our brother, E_____, who has heard the call to leave from this place, and with his wife, ____, and their children, to leave all and follow Your call to a new place of Gospel ministry. As you called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; as You called Moses, David, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Fathers, and two millennia of faithful ordained ministers of Word and Sacrament, so You have called E____, trained him for his call at seminary, sustained him through many years of fruitful and often difficult service, and, now, given a new call from Your People in Northern Illinois, to labor as Associate Pastor; And, so, we pray, for this man and this ministry:
For unity and vision for every member of the family, especially praying for Your blessing on all of the children, for their safety in transition, for emotional strength, for a new network of supporters and friends, for a sealing of protection from the enemy of the Saints; for conversions to follow his ministry in the Gospel, and for comfort, sanctification, and blessing to the community to attend his preaching and his shepherding ministry.
We ask this prayer, O Lord, even as we raise our thanksgiving for the remarkable impression of Your own Spirit made in our community by this Man of God and his family. We are like St. Paul and the Ephesian elders at the shoreline of Miletus, weeping that he is will be with us no longer, even while we are smiling through our tears; for we see the image of One who walked upon the stormy seas walking before E________ and his family, leading them forward to a broad sunlit field of opportunity where hardship and trials, which accompany all true Gospel ministries, are transformed into blessings, as sure as the Cross became the Crown. Thus, do we pray for this family and thus do we pray for Your will to be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with You O Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forevermore. Amen.