Psalm 116
September 15, 2024 O Lord, we love you because you do listen to us. You are gracious,
righteous, and merciful, and You have delivered us and dealt bountifully with us.
You have delivered our souls from death, God—we are amazed at your goodness. For
those around us—and perhaps even in our midst—who have not yet experienced your
salvation, we pray that they would call on you and know your deliverance. For those of
us who came this morning in tears, we pray for your peace and joy. You are good,
Father, but the world is so broken, and we experience the effects of its groaning daily.
We pray for physical healing, for relational healing, and for whatever other healing is
needed as well. For those of us whose feet have been close to stumbling, we pray that
you would guard us by your power and deliver us from evil, that we would be formed
more and more into your image. And for those of us who feel the alarm of thinking that
all around us are liars, whether we think of politics or of people closer to home, we pray
that you would return our souls to their rest in light of the remembrance of all that you
are and all that you’ve done. You are the eternal, trustworthy, and undefeatable King of
Kings. And we are glad to be your people.
We confess, Father, the times we worry because we focus on the news or our
circumstances more than on your presence and promises. We confess the ways we
prioritize our comfort and ease over your call on our lives and over the community of
your people that you call us to care for. We confess when we have been more
dependent on our wisdom and plans than on your Spirit. Forgive us, Lord, as we know
you delight to do.
This morning we want to lift up the people groups around the world who still have never
heard your good news or received your word in their heart languages. We pray that you
speed the work of the Bible translators and language surveyors, that barriers would
quickly be removed so that your Word can go forth in power to all peoples, and so that
many in these communities would come to know your love and deliverance. We pray
your protection and provision on the missionaries in these places, including N and
C, for the workers behind the scenes in the States helping make it happen,
including Catherine, as well as the new believers coming to faith in these nations. And
we pray that you would draw and send still more. Use us, too, Father, in financing and
praying for those serving around the world, and in being available to those in our
neighborhoods and workplaces as you open doors for your word to go forth.
We pray all of this in the powerful name of Jesus, and all God’s people said, Amen.