"There Is None Holy Like the LORD" - 19 April 2020

(Irises blooming in my backyard!)


“There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). We offer up to you our thanksgiving for all your generosity to us, especially in preserving our health, sanity and livability.

We pray for your churches throughout the nations and around Oklahoma City such as: Korean First UMC; Lakeside UMC; Lambuth Memorial UMC; and Clegg Memorial UMC. Give them all the resources they need to serve you properly and well, and the heart they need to serve you in sincerity. Deliver our brothers and sisters who are being hounded and harmed for the Faith that they may serve you in peace and joy. “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

Please help us in this congregation that our families may be filled with godliness and holiness. May those who are single remain consecrated and joyful in their singleness and the married be charitable, gracious and faithful. Give all parents encouragement and energy and help in raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May the children love you with all their hearts, souls and minds, and their neighbors as themselves. And may the aged live out their remaining days in the joy and peace of your Holy Spirit. “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

We remember before you those who need to repent of their sins and embrace your Son in genuine faith (…). “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

O Lord God, you have blessed us with civil government to restrain evil and promote justice. We ask you to take our governmental authorities in hand and turn their hearts and deliberations in ways that will be truly good for our country and State. Guide our country to restored health at every level. “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

On this 25th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, we first give you thanks for the many who showed great courage in rescuing survivors, in consoling the wounded, in reclaiming those who had died: LEOs, Firefighters, Citizens. We remember, Lord. But also, Lord, we recall that there was a dark, devilish spirit that showed up that day. People who thought they were more right and righteous than all others, and had the divine right to take the law and lives of many into their own hands – especially righter than the 168 they killed and the masses they traumatized. Lord, if that dark and devilish spirit is still haunting hearts and deceiving minds, snuff it out, we implore you! “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

Guide the nations and leaders of the earth so that all peoples, especially your Church, may be safe and secure. Arrest this epidemic and mend the damage it has caused in lives and livelihoods. “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

Finally, give renewed hope and refurbished health to those who find they are in dire straits, dog-tired or done in and done for, those recovering from tornadoes, and those plowed under by this coronavirus (…). “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

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