Psalm 126
April 3, 2022, Father, Abba, Daddy,
We praise you that we live in a world that has been wonderfully created by you. You made it to be a perfect place for us to live, a perfect world to walk with you. Your kindness is great. We wonder at both the vastness of creation and we are in awe of the intricacies of how you made it all to work together.
Yet often we are in need of hope. Often life is just hard for us. Often it feels like we cannot get to where we need to go. We acknowledge because of the sin of Adam and because of our own sins we live in a broken world. It is a world that desperately needs you, because all of our connections with you have been broken. And then sadly we add to the sorrow and sadness all around us.
Sometimes our closest relationships need healing. Sometimes our bodies break. Sometimes that sense of shalom that sense of peace that comes from being in right connection with you is in need of repair. And that is for us as individuals.
And then father we see the injustices of systems around us. Strong people move to take advantage of the weak. And nations rise against nations. The result of all this is heartbreak.
Without you there would be no hope. But in you Lord there is hope ever more. When it seems like there is no possibility and it will only and always be hard, you restore us. When our fortunes turn to our favor, it feels sometimes that it is too good to be true, like we are in a dream. But it is true, because you are great and powerful and loving.
And each of us as individuals can proclaim that you have done great things. We have seen it in our lives. You restore our brokenness and you repair our damaged hearts and put together again our lives that have fallen apart. You can make us whole. You can make us holy.
So we pray for those who bear family sorrow of lives that have not been sweet. We hand over each of our families to you for you to do the work and restoration that only you can do.
We pray for those who are trapped in brokenness, those trapped in sin those devastated by addiction. Restore a sense of wholeness before you. And we will give you praise.
May we be the people for whom it seems that we are in a dream because of your favor upon us. And in the meantime I ask that your grace would prove to be sufficient for us.
May the disaster that is Ukraine be turned to an opportunity for you to move within many lives for redemption.
For us as a church would you make it obvious to the guy and to the search team that there is a connection to be made together. And you would cause the CEFC to flourish.
I pray for the month of May as we look to a month of neighboring. Help us to both know and love our neighbors that each may see the reality of your power and grace in our lives even in the midst of our weaknesses.
And all God’s people said Amen