God our Heavenly Father,
You tell us in your Word that you are
before all things, that you have created everything, that all things
are sustained by your power, and that you care for your creation, and
especially for us within it. You have sent your Son, as God in the
form of man, to walk among us, to live as we live, but without sin,
and then to die at our hand, to pay the price for our rebellion
against you. Then you rose him from the dead, to prove your power
over death, that we might have an eternal life with you in heaven,
and be your people with you forever. You have given us your Holy
Spirit, to dwell within us, transforming us to be more like you,
guiding and counselling us as we seek to live our lives as your
people.
All this you have told us, and have
done for us. But we are not perfect, and sometimes things happen in
our lives that make us doubt what you have said. Sometimes life is
hard, and it makes us yearn for things to be a better way. Sometimes
we are selfish, and want things better for ourselves. Sometimes we
get sick, or suffer injustice, or we feel lonely, and we wonder where
you are in the midst of our hard times. Sometimes we will put our
trust somewhere other than you. We turn our ear away from the voice
of your Holy Spirit, and we start listening to the voice of the
world, which seeks to turn our mind away from you, and so we start
doubting your power, or your love, your goodness, or sometimes even
your existence. Forgive us for being led astray by others, or for
focusing on our own worries, instead of on you and your will.
Thank you, glorious Father, that you
remain faithful to us, even when we are doubting. Thank you that we
can look to the Bible and see the stories of real people, who
struggle with the same problems that we struggle with - doubters like
Thomas, who we have recently learned about in John; those who
question the nature of the world and of you as God, like Job and the
teacher from Ecclesiastes; those who struggled with selfishness, like
King David or Solomon; those who have worried more about their own
situation than your glory, like Abraham or Simon Peter. And we also
thank you for telling us about those like Joseph, Esther, Daniel, and
of course Jesus, who show us a way of living that is full of faith,
focused on your will, and which can overcome difficult times or
questions and doubt.
Help us to be like them, Lord, we pray.
When times are good, and we might look to ourselves, or start to
wonder about whether we need you, turn us back to be focused upon
you, and to be convicted by your Spirit of the truth. Help us to look
to you when times are dark, and to not lose our faith because things
aren't the way we would like them. We take a moment to pray silently
for those who we know who are in such dark places at the moment.
Father, we keep praying for Alana Morrison, and Matt, we pray for the
wider Morrison family, we pray for Jodi Trouncer and Anne, and we
pray for Leoni and for the Dawson family. Please uplift them all as
they might struggle with difficult life circumstances they face, and
encourage them through your closeness, and your people. Help them to
draw nearer to you in times of difficulty, and to remain with their
faces turned to you in the good times. we ask you to keep us all
locked in on you, and for your continual conviction in our hearts and
minds as we continue on our journeys of faith, individually and as a
church.
All these things we pray by the
authority of Jesus, Amen
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