I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27: 13-14)
God our Father,
In these days
We are asked to be confident in those who govern, in those who administer, in those who research.
We are asked to be confident in one another that we will follow guidance and show consideration.
We are asked to be confident that we will find a way through Covid-19 and regain our quality of life.
We do not despise the skills and expertise of men and women who seek to bring us hope.
But on this day we lift our hearts to the God revealed in Jesus and place our confidence in Him.
The God who was one of us, who experienced the pressures of human living, who knew the limitations of our being, who even knew the death that is our final destiny.
The God who showed that in the midst of brokenness goodness and love are possible.
The God who assures us that even in death His purpose continues.
This is the God who reveals Himself in the land of the living, the God for whom we wait.
He alone can strengthen us from within as we go forward in faith.
Our loving heavenly Father, on hearing your Word again this morning, we acknowledge that we are indeed in the presence of a loving, holy and powerful God, who thought us worthy enough to leave all the splendour of heaven and come down to live among us, that we might come to know you as our Lord and Saviour. Help us to hold fast to the truths and promises in your Word, not only for this life but for the life to come because of our faith and trust in you.
Father, we bring before you our loved ones and ask that you will draw them to yourself. We pray for our friends asking you to minister to them at their point of need.
Father, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it has reminded us of the fragility of life. All of us have watched heart-breaking images on our television screens, read reports in our newspapers of India, Brazil and other countries and we have felt so helpless in the face of such a deadly virus. Then we remember we can do something – we can pray – we can bring the people, their situations and their loved ones to you in prayer, asking for your help, power and love to walk the difficult road with them. We also pray for the medical personnel who work in difficult, understaffed and under-resourced countries where the people are not just fighting the virus but are malnourished, scared and without hope.
Father, our world is so vast, so unequal in that so many people live in countries where they do not have enough food or clean water, no proper government, many random acts of violence resulting in death, and the people themselves feel that they do not matter. We are also aware of people who live in countries where there is no peace, and, this morning, we pray for Israel and ask that things will not further escalate. Father, the situations we have prayed for this morning are complex and multi-layered and too big for us to solve on our own and we give them over to you asking that you will intervene and bring peace, intervene and bring equality, intervene and bring hope to the despairing.
