"Be Gracious to Me, O God" - 22 May 2022
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Be gracious to me, O God,
for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies
trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put
my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be
afraid. What can flesh do to me (Psalm 56:1-4)? Lord, our oppressors are the
world, the flesh, and the devil. May our trust in you raise us up above fear
and dread. Sometimes it feels like our own bodies and life circumstances are
our worst enemies, walloping us with maladies, heart disease, mental darkness, disorientation,
heart aches and heart breaks. We pray for those going through the thick and thin
of it right now (…). Bring them through it all with faith, hope, love, and the
smile of your face. Hear our prayer, O
Lord, and let our cry come to you!
All day long they injure
my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they
lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. For their crime
will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God (Psalm 56:5-7)! For those people-groups, organizations and
institutions inside our nation, and those parties outside our country who seek
to overthrow prudence, justice, fortitude, self-control, faith, hope and love by
promoting gluttony, lust, greed, anger, envy, sloth and vainglory, bring their
endeavors to nothing. Break their power to do harm and to maim. Siphon off that
which fuels their fury. And bring them to know you are the Lord, and that you
have made Jesus head over all, so that they may now, not on the day of
Judgment, confess that Jesus is Lord and bow the knee to him. Hear our prayer, O Lord, and let our cry come
to you!
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me (Psalm 56:8-11)? Here, Lord, we pray for your church in all four corners of this big, wide world; to include not only Heritage, but also Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist, New Bethel Baptist, New Heights Baptist, and New Hope Baptist Church. May your word be our praise, and you be our delight. You who are good, whose steadfast love endures forever, take us in hand to guide our aims, to keep us walking in the ancient paths, and in the good way (Jeremiah 6:16). Help us to sow for ourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love, to break up our fallow ground that you may come and rain righteousness on us: for you are our judge, you are our lawgiver, you are our king. You will save us (Hosea 10:12; Isaiah 33:22)! Hear our prayer, O Lord, and let our cry come to you!
I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life (Psalm 56:12-13). Father, be with our young adults heading onward, outward, and upward. Help them to always remember whose they are, who they are and why they are. Oh, Lord God, help them to daily recall that you are exalted, for you dwell on high; that you will fill Zion with justice and righteousness; you will be the stability of their times; abundance of salvation; wisdom, and knowledge; and that the fear of the LORD will always be their treasure (Isaiah 33:5-6). Hear our prayer, O Lord, and let our cry come to you! And now we pray as we have been taught, saying, Our Father…
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