Vespers - 9 December 2018


Built on Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. It’s to you we pray on behalf of those who need to be replenished and restored…supply them with all they need, give them refreshing places of rest and refreshment, lead them upward and onward, even when they lose their footing. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. There are some who are treading and trudging their way through dark places, crawling through the dark night of the soul. We pray for them…may they have a sense of your unexplainable presence, detect hints of you holding them by their right hand, and feel you correcting and directing them into comfortable and comforting ways.  O Lord, hear our prayer.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. We ask you to be with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, Iran, Cameroon, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, India, Mynmar, and many other places. And we ask, even more specifically, for those who are in harms’ way, or are being trafficked, or are in brutal and horrifying captivity…pour on them your life-saving mercies so that they will be fortified to faithfully hold to the good confession they made in the presence of many witnesses and fight the good fight of the faith. And, O Good Shepherd, deliver them. O Lord, hear our prayer.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. May we all hear your sheepdogs of goodness and mercy herding us safely and securely toward your forever-presence and fellowship. We thank you that though we may lose our way at times, you will never lose us. O Lord, hear our prayer.

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