An Ordination Prayer
Almighty God, creator of Heaven and Earth
You who spoke this universe into being by your powerful word,
You who have given us a message of life for this broken world
a world that has turned its back on you, and has turned against you.
You who have given us as your preachers the message of life and hope and salvation and forgiveness.
We come this evening to set apart this man for the spread and the proclamation of this good news, this gospel—
As we set him apart we pray that you would set apart every component of his being:
Set apart his eyes.
Equip them to see Christ in all of Scripture,
to see the richness, the glorious beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Set apart his lips
to speak the truth with boldness and clarity,
to proclaim the truth with wisdom and gentleness,
to display to all who hear, both their need of the Saviour
and the beauty of the Saviour,
both the serious of sin and the wonder of salvation.
Grant him the fluency of speech,
the richness of vocabulary,
the speed of thought,
the clarity of expression,
the colour of tone;
everything that is required to convey the sweet beauty of the Gospel,
the awful ugliness of sin, and the eternal realities of Heaven and Hell.
Grant him the lips and tongue that he needs.
Set apart his ears
to hear what you have to say to him by your Spirit,
to hear the needs of the congregation,
to hear the hidden sorrows of their hearts,
to hear the burdens of the community around him,
to hear your guiding ways in his shepherding,
along with the elders of this congregation.
Set apart his heart
so that it beats with warmth and love,
love for the lost,
warmth for the precious blood-bought people of Christ
whom you have entrusted to him.
May he go out to seek and to find the lost,
and may he shepherd well the people
that lie so richly and preciously on his Saviour’s heart.
Grant him something of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ
as it beats even now in heaven.
Set apart his backbone
to stand strong and firm for the truth—
a firmness of resolve as your word comes under attack
from so many different directions.
Grant him the tenderness of heart to hold out the truth winsomely,
and the steel of strength to stand firm in the face of an onslaught
Father he is on his knees—Set apart his knees
May he often be on his knees,
seeking the help of your Spirit to empower your word as it is proclaimed.
May he be on his knees on a Saturday evening,
and on a Sabbath when he comes home from the service,
May he be on his knees when he comes before your word for the congregation.
Set him apart to be on his knees.
Set apart his feet
that they might be ready to go out amongst him congregation
to visit them to lead them,
to go and find them when they are wandering,
to go and look them out when they are hurting.
Give him feet like those of a shepherd.
Shod those feet with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace,
to go out, not only to his flock, but to the surrounding areas,
to share the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ
Set apart everything you have gifted to this man,
heart and mind, body and soul.
And fill it with all that he needs to fulfil this glorious task.
O Lord, may all that he does be used by you to refresh, to melt, to convict, and to comfort.
O Lord, before us kneels a man of dust;
He is not able.
Around him stand men of dust;
We are not able.
And so, O Lord, we come to the One who is able,
and we pray that as we set this man apart
that You by your Spirit would make him able
for all that you have in store for him,
and that he would look to you and that this congregation
would look to you for this enabling.
Father we ask these things as we set this man apart,
in Jesus’ name, and for his sake, and for his glory.
Amen.
[At the Ordination and Installation of Rev. Paul Wallace in Bready Reformed Presbyterian Church. The prayer was followed by the moderator of Presbytery pronouncing the words of ordination and installation]