Remember and Have Mercy, O Lord - 28 February 2021

 

O Lord Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, you gave yourself for us that you might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify us for yourself, making us your special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:13-14). As our great High Priest you regard the humble prayers of all who call upon you with their whole heart. Incline your ear and hear. 

Remember and have mercy, O Lord, upon your Church, especially your servants who are under persecution for your sake and for the sake of your holy gospel. Confirm and strengthen your Church, enlarge and multiply her, keep her in peace, preserve her unconquerable forever, beat down Satan under our feet, heal the schisms, speedily undo and root out the growths of heresies, and quash the violence of persecutors. O Lord, hear our prayer. 

Remember and have mercy, O Lord, upon those who envy and snub us and seek to do us harm; turn their hearts and forgive them. O Lord, hear our prayer. 

Remember and have mercy, O Lord, upon all world rulers, on our president, our Vice President, and on all our civil authorities. Speak peace and blessing into their hearts for the sake of all your people that we may live a calm and peaceful life in all godliness and dignity. O Lord, hear our prayer. 

Remember and have mercy, O Lord, upon our parents, spouses, brothers, children, relatives and friends (…), especially those who are in lifestyle sins that are damaging and destroying them (…). Grant the exact help they need and bless them both here and hereafter. O Lord, hear our prayer. 

Remember and have mercy, O Lord, on older ones, the young, needy, orphans, widows, single parents, those in sickness and sorrow, distress and affliction, oppression and captivity, prison and confinement, and specifically these (…). Visit, strengthen, keep, and comfort them, and make haste to grant them, relief, freedom, and deliverance. O Lord, hear our prayer.

These prayers we ask in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The Shift” - 2023 Movie. A Review

Image
  What do you get when you cross a dark dystopian storyline with sci-fi, alternative dimensions, theological and philosophical questions, and the biblical book of Job? You get The Shift , written and directed by Brock Heasley, produced by Ken Carpenter, and distributed by Angel Studios. This roughly one hour and 45 minute tale swirls around Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) as he moves from one realm of life, with it’s happiness and heartbreak, to another dimension that is a dismal existence clearly governed by The Benefactor (masterfully played by Neal McDonough). A viewer will be asking questions all the way through, and picking up clues and answers that pull the story together bit-by-bit. The story bumps up against an infinite set of alternative possibilities, of time, space, and versions of one’s self that will likely stoke a viewer’s imagination. But the heart of the narrative - besides love, grief, loss, trust/distrust - is around the place of evil, specifically, personal or human evil.
Read more

"On Getting Out of Bed" by Alan Noble. A Review

Image
  When it comes to family members or friends going through a significant mental crisis, or suffering, we often can feel like we’re fumbling about to help them. Sometimes, we can become like Job’s friends, whom he had to call “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). But very recently Alan Noble, assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Oklahoma, and cofounder and editor-in-chief of “Christ and Pop Culture” penned a deeply beautiful 120-page hardback that addresses mental affliction. “On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living” is written for those who struggle with mental affliction, but also pastors, teachers, parents, and loved ones, to “help them understand their loved one’s suffering. It is for anyone who ever struggles to get out of bed” (3). I finished this book earlier this week, and kept finding myself saying, “Finally! Someone gets it!” Eight chapters fill up this handy manual. They run through several subjects, like not sounding like Job’s f
Read more

Community?

Image
  (This is from my letter to my congregation I sent out today, 30 August 2023) As one of my elders was leading us through Carl Trueman’s Strange New World in our adult class , I appreciated Trueman’s emphasis on community. And our discussions, especially the last two Sundays, were very fruitful as we thought out loud together about this subject. Therefore, I thought I would share something from David Brooks, an Op-ed columnist that leans into this discussion.   Brooks published a book in 2019 titled, “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life”. In that work he was taking a gentle punch at destructive trends he has been seeing, and giving some helpful correctives. And so, he notes that “Individualism, taken too far, leads to tribalism” (34). He then shows how the loneliness and spiritual emptiness of individualism taken too far have become more prevalent in our time and the ways that they lead to very dark social consequences. These darker social consequences foster the need t
Read more