A prayer, along with a relevant post from 2013, as we pray when discerning a need and wanting to align our will with God’s:
O great and awesome God, Creator of all that lives, we enter a new year dismayed by the impact of a virus upon our world’s peoples and nations. Millions have lost jobs. Hundreds of thousands have died. Hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients their doctors and nurses have to try to treat. Violent civil wars rend nations in Africa and Asia. Even in the United States, a loud minority is contesting the results of an election; some even threaten armed rebellion if the results are not reversed. As we ponder these situations, help us to seek peace and to recognize truth. Give us the courage to speak up for reconciliation and unity in a time when people crave argument and dissension, when they accept claims from the least credible sources while rejecting what has been investigated and affirmed by courts and medical authorities. Open our eyes that we may see clearly. Embolden us to speak up for the oppressed and the vulnerable, to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to seek the good of others rather than our own. Help us to be your people whatever may transpire: people who love, seek justice, and work for a peace that is grounded in your will. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
When the tragic events of September 11, 2001, unfolded, they stunned an unprepared nation as centers of business and the military were attacked with great loss of life. In response, if only for a time, that nation dropped to its knees in prayer. Crisis prompts prayer. In Nehemiah chapter one, Nehemiah (cupbearer to the king of Persia) is visited by his brother Hanani, who has just returned from Jerusalem. At this point Nehemiah is a civil servant. Later in the book, he will assume a more political role. In response to a decree by a previous ruler, many Jewish exiles had returned to their nation’s homeland. They had rebuilt the temple of God in Jerusalem. Now Nehemiah’s brother reveals that the wall of Jerusalem remains broken down.
Nehemiah weeps when he hears this news No walls meant no security for the city, so he weeps, fasts, and prays. His prayer…
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AMEN Michael.