A Prayer to See God's Goodness in our Lack

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail,
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
(Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Lord our God,

Our very good God,

There are many things that we once took for granted that are now in question or gone for a season. Many things we consider good. Perhaps some things our livelihoods may even depend on. What now? Lord, You see our lack, the disruption in our lives. We feel it deeply. Sometimes, there are no answers to our question, “Why?”

Yet, Lord, even though we may be missing some of these good things, You are still good. Lord, show us in this time what we really ought to value: more than anything else, You, our Saviour, our Sustainer, our Sovereign King. If we have nothing else, we have You. If the world around is seems to provide little cause for joy, we still have every reason to rejoice, because You are the God of our salvation, and You still remain, faithful, day by day.

You have saved us. You have brought us to life through Christ and we are more alive with Him than we would be had we all the world had to offer and not a care in it.

You are our strength. You see our weakness and as we depend on You, You strengthen us, far beyond the most stable infrastructure or advanced technology or resilient immune system.

You go with us as we go through each day.
You watch over us.
You are still incredibly good to us.

Show us in this time more ways that You are good to us.
Give us eyes to see You,
Help us to rejoice in You,
Be our source of strength.

We pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

A Prayer for God to Ease our Fears

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 56:3-4)

Mighty God,

There are times we will be afraid. As David prayed, when I am afraid; it’s a natural reaction to many things. What then? It can feel overwhelming, especially if we don’t feel we have control, we feel too weak, the enemy feels to big. We may be tempted to trust ourselves or trust other things, but Lord, help us to keep our eyes unwaveringly fixed on You.

When we are afraid, we put our trust in You.

We lean on You. We go to You and we bring you every fear, every uncertainty, every hard thing.

Lord, we praise You - we see what You have done before, who You are, and see You as the One who does great things, mighty and strong, far greater than anything we may be afraid of. In You, we trust; we shall not be afraid. If You are with us, if You are watching over us, if You are bringing us safely home, if You are giving us Your full care, what can flesh, or COVID-19, or financial instability, or anything else in all creation do to us?

Lord, help us to see Your good care,
Bring us to Yourself,
Give us peace from our fears;
We hide away in You.

In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.

A Prayer to See God at Work for Our Good

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear…”
(Genesis 50:20-21)

O Lord, our God,

Our Good God, our Sovereign God, we see this evil around us in virus form. It’s hard to explain, it’s hard to blame anyone for it. It reminds us that this world is broken, broken from the fall, broken and awaiting its full restoration. But in the meantime, we grapple with it. We struggle with it.

Lord, even in this thing that is not good, we remember that You are still good. And even if you don’t take away the bad circumstances right away, and even if You didn’t bring them about, we trust that You are using them for our good. For Your glory. Lord, we do pray for COVID-19 to go away, for people to be healed, for those who have lost loved ones from it to be comforted.

But in all that, as we struggle, as we face difficult decisions and restrictions, we pray that You would use our circumstances now for our good - even if it’s not quite what we want it to be. But we trust that You know what our good is, and we trust You to provide, and we pray that You would grow us to be more dependent on You every day, every moment, as we go through this time. Lord, help us to see the good, help us to see You at work, use these circumstances for good.

We trust You,
Even when we can’t see all of what’s going on,
Even when we can’t see all of what you’re doing.

We pray this in Jesus’ holy name,
Amen

A Prayer Trusting God to Carry Us Along

“The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.
(Deuteronomy 1:30-31).

Our Good Father God,

Like the Israelites out in the wilderness, we’re facing uncharted territory, unsettling times. We see what was and we may miss it. We certainly miss our loved ones. We wonder when life will return to normal. And yet, we see You with us today as You have been in the past and will continue to be going forward.

More than Your presence with us, You are the God who fights for us. You have done battle against the Enemy and sin and death and been victorious, saving us, rescuing us from sin. You are sovereign over our circumstances - they are all in Your good, wise control.

You are carrying us through. At times, we may feel tempted to try to stand on our own two feet, independently, figuring out our own way through this. How weak we are, Lord! How we need You, oh, how we need You! As a parent carries their child - and You are our Good, Perfect, Mighty, Faithfully Loving Father. So even as we go through the wilderness of this time, and we face uncertainty each day, we are certain that You are bringing us through. You are carrying us along, even when we don’t realize it. And though our circumstances may be unfavourable and assail us, You are far greater.

Help us to trust You.
Help us to find rest in You.
Help us to know Your peace.
You are bringing us safely home.

In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.

Holy Week Prayer: Thursday

“Behold,
the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29)

This week is Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a week to reflect on our need for a Saviour, the depth of our sin, and how God went about saving us - something He was at work doing from the beginning of time; through the whole of history, the Old Testament, He was looking ahead to Jesus, who came, just at the right time, to accomplish salvation for the world…

The Passover

The Passover day came. Jesus’ disciples were sent to prepare the upper room for the final meal that Jesus would share with them before he would be arrested and crucified. Most of the disciples likely thought they were just celebrating the Passover, while one had other plans that he would execute later that night. Jesus knew all that lay ahead of him in the next 24 hours, and it began with this time in the upper room with his closest followers.

There, he washed their feet, demonstrating servanthood (John 13:1-16).
He taught them about his need to return to heaven, the coming of the Holy Spirit, remaining connected to Him, and suffering in this world (John 14-16).
He shared with them the Last Supper - for us to do in remembrance of Him (Matthew 26:26-29).

We read in Mark 14:12-25:

And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Click here for a reflection on this passage

Questions for Reflection

-What caused Jesus sorrow? What causes you sorrow in this time? How do we bring that to Him?

-How did Jesus give his body and blood for us?

-How do we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection?

-How do we keep the Lord’s Supper from becoming rote and routine, but be meaningful each time?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

We see your final meal with your disciples before you went to the cross. Little did they know that they would be scattered and hiding as you were crucified and died. We remember Your death, Your body sacrificed, Your blood shed for us, bearing our sin, bringing us forgiveness and cleansing from sin. In your death, we find life.

What sorrow You felt. Lord, give us the same sorrow for our sin, for our forgetfulness of you, for our turning to other things for satisfaction and joy. Lord, we confess our sin and look to You for our forgiveness. As we see Your great sorrow, give us hearts to love You more, taking You more seriously, You becoming more and more and we becoming less and less.

Lord, keep us alert and awake to You, keep us abiding in You, connected to You for our very lives.

We pray this in Your name,
Amen

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honour
and glory
and blessing!
(Revelation 5:12)

Holy Week Prayer: Wednesday

“Behold,
the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29)

This week is Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a week to reflect on our need for a Saviour, the depth of our sin, and how God went about saving us - something He was at work doing from the beginning of time; through the whole of history, the Old Testament, He was looking ahead to Jesus, who came, just at the right time, to accomplish salvation for the world…

Holy Wednesday

Waiting.

We wait for different things. To see family again. For test results. To be able to meet together on a Sunday again. For the family trip. For dinner.

On the Thursday of Passover week, the series of events leading to Jesus’ death would begin with a faster pace than the first few laps of a NASCAR race. But we don’t know much about what happened on the Wednesday of Holy Week. We see a dinner, and we see someone using something of great value to anoint Jesus, and we see someone else accepting payment to betray him.

We read about it in Matthew 26:6-16:

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”  But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

John Greco writes a reflection of this passage as it relates to our uncertain days. Click here to read it.

Questions for Thought

-Jesus was at the home of Simon the Leper. How does He welcome the “unwelcome” of the world? How does He welcome us?

-What treasures of earth are we willing to give for our Lord, our Saviour? How valuable is He? How do we measure value?

-How might we “betray” Jesus, handing Him over for something we might consider more valuable?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

Here we see two different takes on who You are. On Your worth. We see this woman who anointed You with the expensive oil, preparing You for your burial. We see how she took something of great monetary value, and did not waste it, but considered it more important to use it for Your sake. Lord, whatever the cost, may we pour out our lives for Your sake, even in these uncertain days, because we know what is certain: eternity for we who belong to You.

And yet, how may we betray You, Lord Jesus? Choosing lesser things to love and give time and resources to, handing You over for these other things. Forgive us, Lord; reorient our hearts toward You. You are our sure foundation and hope and strength of soul.

Make us Yours,
We pray in Your worthy name,
Amen.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honour
and glory
and blessing!
(Revelation 5:12)

Holy Week Prayer: Tuesday

“Behold,
the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29)

This week is Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a week to reflect on our need for a Saviour, the depth of our sin, and how God went about saving us - something He was at work doing from the beginning of time; through the whole of history, the Old Testament, He was looking ahead to Jesus, who came, just at the right time, to accomplish salvation for the world…

Holy Tuesday

The fig tree had withered. The merchants’ tables in the temple had been overturned. Monday came and went, and Jesus once again returned to the temple on Tuesday, this time to teach: to speak to the crowds, to engage the religious leaders one last time as they challenged his authority. He taught of things to come (Matthew 24-25) and of the greatest commandment, to love God wholeheartedly (Mark 12:28-34). He commended the poor woman who gave all she had, two small coins (Luke 21:1-4), and he taught about rendering to Caeser that which is Caeser’s (Matthew 22:15-22), and he taught for the need to be ever watchful, waiting for his return (Luke 21:34-36), because we do not know the day or hour when He will do come. (Matthew 22:36-51).

The record of Jesus teaching on Tuesday was lengthy. Take your Bible and read the account from one of the Gospels:

-Matthew 21:23 - 25:46

-Mark 11:27 - 13:37

-Luke 20:1 - 21:38

Questions for Thought

-What is Jesus’ most challenging teaching?

-What does Jesus value?

-How can we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love one another as ourselves?

-How can we be alert and watchful for Jesus’ return?

Prayer

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:245-28, 34-26)

Lord Jesus,

You are coming soon.

How we look forward to that day!

For we see here, on the earth, Your creation, the “distress of nations in perplexity.” We hear of wars and rumours of wars, and right now, it’s the war against COVID-19. We see the “fainting with fear and with foreboding…,” and perhaps we feel it in our own hearts a little.

But we know this is not the end. Our redemption is drawing near. You are coming soon. You will come to judge the earth, do away with all evil, and bring us safely home to eternal life with You.

But Lord Jesus, may we not be distracted and weighed down by the worries and cares and pleasures of this life. Help us to ever be on our guard, ever watchful for You, alert to see You - see You at work now, and see You when You come. Lord, we pray for strength to escape the terrible things that will take place, we pray that You would keep us and bring us safely home. Give us courage as we face these days where many are anxious and fearful; give us the courage that comes from knowing that we are forgiven and free of sin and safe from sin’s consequences; give us courage knowing that You are with us and we need not fear.

We thank You that we are safe in Your care,
And we can’t wait for Your return;
Come, Lord Jesus, come.

In Your mighty name, we pray,
Amen.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honour
and glory
and blessing!
(Revelation 5:12)

Holy Week Prayer: Monday

“Behold,
the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29)

This week is Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a week to reflect on our need for a Saviour, the depth of our sin, and how God went about saving us - something He was at work doing from the beginning of time; through the whole of history, the Old Testament, He was looking ahead to Jesus, who came, just at the right time, to accomplish salvation for the world…

Holy Monday

Monday. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem, finally showing Jerusalem that He is King, the Saviour they long awaited. But over the course of the week, He would be their unexpected Saviour. Mark’s gospel tells us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and then went into the temple, looked around at everything there, and being late, he went back out to the village of Bethany, where he was staying, with his disciples (Mark 11:11).

Hailed as Saviour King on Sunday, Jesus proceeded to show His authority on Monday.

We read about that in Mark 11:12-19:

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.

Pastor Russ Ramsey has an excellent meditation about this passage. Click here to read that.

Questions for Thought

-How did Jesus show his authority in cursing the fig tree and overturning the tables in the temple?

-What are the consequences for not bearing fruit as God’s people?

-How might Jesus be looking to overturn the idols in our hearts and cause us to love Him first?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

We see You, our King, our Saviour. We see Your authority. Sovereign over the world, in control, even over a world in the throes of evil and the grip of a virus. May we see Your authority, and though sin may tug and pull at our hearts, causing us to want to go our own way, help us to see that Yours is the far better way, and help us to obey. Forgive us when we don’t. Turn our hearts back to You - every day.

Lord Jesus, help us to be Your fruitful people here in this place. Even as we are social-distancing, help us to display the fruits of knowing You, having Your Holy Spirit in us, having been brought to life by You. Cultivate our hearts, Lord, to show more of the Fruit of the Spirit, more of Your love.

Lord, may we love You first above all. Do the hard work in our hearts to root out the idols, the things that we may love or find more important than You. Topple them, make them lesser, as You increase in our hearts, so that we love You first above all. Forgive us for making other things more important than You. Come and rule our hearts and become our first love once again; return us back to You, day after day after day.

As You do so, help us to see the wonders of Your love, the peace that comes from being with You, even when other things seem attractive and dangers threaten.

Make us Yours,
We pray, in Your great name,
Amen.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and might
and honour
and glory
and blessing!
(Revelation 5:12)

We continue to pray for the situation around COVID-19. Click here for specific ways to do so.

A Prayer for God's Goodness & Mercy to Lead Us Home

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (Psalm 23:6).

Lord, our Good Shepherd,

As we wake to each day, another new day of in the reality of COVID-19, another day we’re home with our families or alone, another day we follow the news and hear the numbers and go about our business, how good it is to know that You are with us, calming our fears and providing what we need.

Surely Your goodness and mercy follows us. You are good, and incredibly good to us! Help us to see ways You are good to us, and help us to counter the bad we see in our lives and around us with that awareness of and rejoicing for your goodness. You are full of mercy for us; You do not treat us as our sins deserve, but as we trust in Jesus’ death our place, we are treated as He deserves: we have life, we are welcome and made at home in Your presence.

Lord, we look forward to being home in Your house forever, spending all our days fully satisfied, fully at rest, fully safe in Your presence. Lord Jesus, You are preparing that place for us, and You will come back soon to bring us home with You (John 14:1-3). Come, Lord Jesus, come! Come, bring us home. In the meantime, as we spend these days in our earthly homes, we thank You for the peace You give, even in these times of unrest.

Keep our eyes fixed on You as we go through each day;
Remind us of your goodness and mercy.
By your goodness and mercy,
Your amazing grace,
Lead us home, home to You,
And give us rest along the way.

We pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

A Prayer of Thanks to the God Who Provides

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5).

Lord, our Good Shepherd, our Perfect Father,

As we face the enemy of COVID-19, as we face the enemy of fear and anxiety surrounding it in these times, as only essential businesses are staying open and we have to stay home as much as we can, we might wonder how we’ll have what we need, how long we’ll be able to go on like this. And yet, from the three square meals to the hope and peace for each day, we thank You. For ways that we unexpectedly need provision and You do provide, we thank You. Help us to trust You. Help us to see You at work in our lives even more clearly.

You anoint us with oil and fill us up so much that our cup overflows, we have all that we need and more. Even when we sense our need greatly, we look to You, and see how You have already been so good to us in so many ways that we don’t deserve - we can’t help but be grateful. So Lord, we bring our need to You; we bring the needs of others to you. (Pause here to pray for specific needs of your own or others, thankful that God delights to care for His own).

So Lord, we rejoice.
We remember what You have done, and we rejoice.
We are confident that You will still provide, and we rejoice.
We see You with us, and we rejoice.
We are thankful, and so we rejoice greatly.

Thank You,
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.