A WEEK OF PRAYER – DAY 3, WEDNESDAY 18TH AUGUST
Lord Have Mercy – 3
- Psalm 40:11 “Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.” Again it’s worth reading the whole psalm – a messianic psalm which speaks of Jesus. The great themes of the song are patience, trust, and a pleading with the Lord as we recognise our need.
- Jesus Have Mercy – “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 1047). This is the story of blind Bartimaeus. Many rebuked him for shouting to Jesus. But Jesus heard him, called him and healed him. Remember our Lord is the Lord who loves to have mercy.
- Have mercy on Australia – Today we remember Queensland. Compared with NSW and Victoria it has been relatively free from covid – although not from its impact. There have been 2,000 cases and 7 deaths. As a state which relies a lot on tourism the economic impact has been devastating.
- Have mercy on the World – Today we pray for the UK and USA. The UK has had over 6.2 million cases with 131,000 deaths. It is the first major country to have come out of covid restrictions because of the vaccines. Despite fears that opening up the country would lead to increased cases and deaths this has not happened. The UK has over 87 million doses – 132 per 100 people. 75% of the population have been double vaccinated. The US has had over 35.5 million cases with 620,000 deaths. The Delta variant has caused numbers to increase in recent weeks. There have been 354 million doses – 106 per 100 people.
- Have mercy on your Church – The shaking up of the nations gives the church a tremendous opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus. The healing of the nations will only come through him. May churches have boldness, compassion and understanding as we seek to bring the good news of Christ to our communities.
- Have mercy on our families – Many will find themselves struggling with the financial situation. Especially the poor. It is generally accepted that the poor suffer disproportionately from lockdowns and illness.
- Prayer From Peter Barnes, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia:
Our most gracious God,
We seek that we would know more of the hunger and thirst for You that we read of in the Scriptures. We know that You do not afflict ‘from the heart’, and yet You have afflicted us. We find ourselves in dry and dreary land, and with parched souls. So many of us can say that our souls are cast down and disquieted. We have yearned for better circumstances, but we ask that You work in our hearts that we would desire You first of all. We hope in You, that we might praise You again with Your people, for You are our help and our God.
We are not worthy of the least of Your mercies, so we look to Him who was always well pleasing in Your sight. For the sake of Your eternal Son, look upon us with grace and favour, grant us Your presence, turn us from evil, and enable us to delight in You.
For because of Christ we have hope of our sins being covered by His perfect sacrifice, and of the last enemy, death, being overcome by His rising from the dead, never to die again,
Amen
- Praise God’s Word will not be silenced. It gets into the most amazing places. A few years ago a post punk band from Ireland used to end their concerts by singing Psalm 40. They went on to become one of the biggest bands in the world and as a result Psalm 40 was sung in some of the biggest stadiums in the world. Here is their version of Ps 40 –
Each day I have also recorded a short video to accompany these notes…todays is here –
And pray for the believers in Afghanistan!
Thank you for including all who wanted to us the prayer guidance and prayer points and the actual words if that was what people wanted.
I think the whole last little while that the church has been rattled too by Covid, Brexit, gay rights, gender dysphoria, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, abuse of women and girls, fatherlessness, Christian heresy and of course suicide. Many who are Christians have killed themselves in the western world and it is such a sad thing to happen within the religion of Hope. So I pray for the church to wake up and get political and get more Christlike and get more involved with the Lord Jesus Christ personally and spiritually compassionate for a dying world which will go to hell without the saving substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“So I pray for the church to wake up and get political and get more Christlike and get more involved with the Lord Jesus Christ personally and spiritually compassionate for a dying world.”
It is what the world needs.
And it’s not as if this has not been the collective wisdom in the church at least in my experience over the decades.
Perhaps it’s come to a time now where the church in the west and possibly elsewhere is to in exile (if not physically then culturally) and in need to accept that, heal from being “rattled”, settle down and serve. Not unlike Israel in Babylon with a foreign king and pagan worshipper being described as a “servant of the Lord”.
Perhaps it might take 70 years for your prayer to be answered Ray, not unlike the 70 years of captivity that Israel endured.
Thank you , David For opening your heart and the Word of God to us each day.