Psalm 107
November 5, 2023
Our Father,
As your redeemed people, we cry out in thanks that Your steadfast love endures forever. We thank You that You have gathered a redeemed people from all corners of the earth in a display of Your sovereignty and goodness.
And as we look through the vignettes of Psalm 107, we thank You for the various ways You’ve redeem us.
Some of us wandered in desert wastelands, finding no abiding city to welcome us and accept us, no place to call home. But we have found a home in You.
Some of us were hungering and thirsting for something greater than this world had to offer us and You satisfied our hearts’ eternal desires.
Some of us sat in deep darkness and affliction, wondering if anyone cared or if anyone knew we were here. But suddenly the dungeon flamed with Your light, our chains fell off, and You set us free.
Some of us felt uniquely the sting of our sins. We were fools and our foolishness was returning on our own heads. But in Your wisdom and grace, You brought us out to safety, delivered us from death, and transferred us into the kingdom of Your beloved Son.
And some of us, like merchants on a ship, tried as hard as we could to make money and enjoy all of this life’s earthly splendor … until the very avenue that promised life began to drown us and overwhelm us. But, in grace and love, You stepped in, flattened the waves, and brought us to a haven we could not have imagined.
As we celebrate Your steadfast love, O’ Lord, here in the comforts of this sanctuary and the safety of a religiously free country, we recognize that on this International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, there are millions of our brothers and sisters … with stories not dissimilar to ours … who are under the continual threat of persecution.
They might be worried about being jailed for our faith, kidnapped for our faith, tortured for our faith, or even killed for our faith. They are anxious about the safety of their loved ones, they might be paranoid about who they can talk to or trust, and they might wonder if they will live to see another day.
Father, amidst these realities, we pray You would give strength and encouragement to our youngest brothers and sisters in these environments — that they would not be afraid. We pray for parents and leaders in these persecuted churches that they would continue to disciple and make disciples despite the opposition.
We pray for the many young converts being made that they might grow quickly into spiritual maturity and witness for Christ.
And Father on this day, we pray specifically against the spiritual forces of darkness propagating Buddhism. More than 500 million people are enveloped in the darkness of it and we pray that they would come and know the true light who is Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, be also with our global partners around the world in these environments and I pray today we would be inspired by this great cloud of persecuted witnesses to boldly shine the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to those around us here in Minnesota and the United States.
And finally, Father, we pray over Kevin and Sarah Gillund and the surgery to bring their baby into this world this coming Wednesday. We pray for the doctors, nurses, and medical professionals who are going to be overseeing Sarah and the baby. We pray for a safe delivery and for peace for the Gillunds during this anxiety-inducing time. We pray also for Everett and Harrison that they would get along well with their new sister and they would adjust well as mom and dad’s attention might be diverted for a little while.
Thank you, Lord, for your steadfast love. We ask all this in the name of Jesus.
And all God’s people said … Amen.