We live in awe of your amazing power. You make clouds rise from the ends of the earth, you send lightning with the rain and bring out the wind from your storehouses - We can't accurately predict if it's going to rain. You wield armies like a club, dispatching them against your enemies and your people with perfect precision - we cannot prevent innocent casualties. You own every animal in the forest, and the cattle on a thousand hills - we can't even feed the hungry. Sick people begged to touch the edge of Jesus' cloak, and were healed - we can't even cure a cold. You have power over Satan and his demons - we struggle to believe that demons are even real.
You have all this amazing power, and yet like rebellious peasants, we rise up against you, and fail to follow your commands. But instead of crushing us, you use the incredible power of your love to save us, even at the cost of the life of your beloved son Jesus. Help us to see the amazing value of our salvation, and to live lives that bring the glory to you that you deserve. Give us a hunger to discern your will, and a thirst to follow in your ways. Give us minds that accept your total power. Give us hearts that call out to you to use that power for our good and for your glory. And give us faith to put the two together, and realise that you are all-powerful, and you are using your power for our good and to your glory, even if we don't see it or understand it. Give us the humility to accept that we don't see the full picture, but that you do, and we can, and should, trust you to use your power better than we ever could.
It is with this humble faith that we pray for those amongst us who are suffering from sickness, from financial hardship, from persecution because of their faith, and from loneliness. We pray that you will lift them up in their difficult circumstances, and that you will bring them healing, plenty, peace and fellowship. But we pray that you will also give us all the faith to know that you already have them all within your hand. Help us to trust you whatever our situation. Give us the secret of being content in any and every situation - well fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. But also give us the compassion to ensure that none of our brothers or sisters are hungry or in want. You give to us in plenty so that we can give to others in your name. Help us to give our money, our time, our presence and our peace to those who need it most, knowing that you have an unending store of all of these things at your disposal. And we pray for those who are lost, who are far from you - bring them into your family, and make them one of yours. Help us to accept everyone that you bring into our family with us.
We pray by the authority of Jesus, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment