"O LORD, My Rock" - 3 March 2019


O Lord, we lift up our voices with the Psalmist (Psalm 28) and in the name of your Son, Jesus our Lord:

To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. / O Lord God we pray for and with those who are bearing heavy strains from work or joblessness…; from disease and disorder….; from cracked up and crumbling marriages….; from rocky and wrecked families….; from darkness and depression….; from agitation and anxiousness….; hear their plea and hear us as we join with them. Like the blind man who came to Jesus, the woman with an issue of blood who snuck up on Jesus, and the Canaanite woman who pleaded with Jesus on behalf of her daughter; may they hear you say “Great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire” and be refreshed and restored!

Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more. / O rock of refuge and strength of your people; hear the cries and tears of your people oppressed and overloaded, harassed and harried – especially in Chengdu China, and other places as well. Relieve them of their suffering and sorrows. May the nations of the world and our own country rally to defend and protect the blameless and the beleaguered. Give peace, O Lord, in our time! Break the violent arms and smash in the consuming mouths of those who blow up the defenseless and target the unprotected; that harass and hack down the vulnerable. See their evil, hear our plea, and act speedily!

Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. / Come to the aid of your whole church – including this congregation; as well as Amos Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Greater Cleave CME, St. Mary’s CME, Cherokee Hills Church, and the United Methodist Church. Rescue us from the harassment of heretics; bolster our resistance to the siren calls of our alluring world; and may your grace restore and transform our nature. Add to your church such as are being saved; and bring our evangelistic exertions to produce delightful results. To this end, Lord, we beseech you earnestly: please raise up the right person to lead our VBS this year. We’ve made so many contacts with our neighborhoods through VBS, interacted with and influenced so many kids. Please, Lord, give us your help; stir up hearts and hands and helps; and make this VBS ministry more effective and instrumental in displaying the Gospel than ever before.

The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. Amen.

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