"Be Merciful..." - 31 May 2026

 

Moses once announced, “For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:31); and Paul once prayed, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). We rejoice that you are merciful, a God of mercies and comfort!

Be merciful to your people on every continent, counting this congregation, St. Augustine Episcopal, St. James Episcopal, St. Paul’s Episcopal and Trinity Episcopal. Bring reformation and revival. Exonerate what is true and right and change the hearts and perspectives of those who are misguided and wrongheaded. Be merciful toward our brothers and sisters facing difficult times in difficult places like Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Sudan, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Be merciful and grant us your gracious presence and strength.

Be merciful to the Presbyterian Church in America. Govern and guide us, our deliberations, decisions and directions as we approach General Assembly.

Be merciful toward those who have recently graduated from High School and College. May their days ahead be full of joy, satisfaction, and peace. And may their days ahead be full of you!

Be merciful to the peoples of all nations, including these United States of America, North and South Korea, Norway, Oman, and Pakistan. Each nation has unique needs, suffers from specific lacks, fears distinct threats, and longs for particular successes. Govern the nations toward justice, rightness, and morality. Supply them with ways and means to flourish. And bring them to a place of peace. Be merciful to those who are displaced, uprooted, run-off or run out because of famine, war, or poverty.

Be merciful toward those who are tackling emotional troubles, mental illnesses, disorders, depression, and PTSD. And be merciful to their families, caregivers and loved ones who feel inept and unsettled.

Be merciful to our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers who are sick, ailing, recovering, or maintaining (…).

Be merciful to those who are dispirited, dejected, despondent, fearful, anxious, worried, weak, or heavy burdened.

Be merciful to those who are lost or have strayed (…).

Be merciful to the families and friends who have lost moms, dads, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and close friends in combat, and still mourn their loss – like my neighbors across the street who lost their son in Iraq in 2005. We are very thankful that through the decades many have enlisted or been commissioned who have sought to serve in protecting our nation; and we remember before you the many who bravely served at the cost of their lives. May their deaths never be in vain! 

Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy! And now we pray in the power of the Spirit as Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father…

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