August 16, 2015

Do not be afraid, Samuel replied. You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.--I Samuel 12:20-24 Samuel speaking to the Israelites.

Our Redeemer,
Here we sit, in our own squalor, a mess so big we can't clean ourselves up:

We shrug off our sins of killing babies
Save us, Redeemer.
For good and not so good, we wade into war and find no way out.
Come, Redeemer.
We twist and manipulate truth until we can no longer trust anyone.
Forgive us, Redeemer.
Our god is our stomachs, and we have no idea how not to be obsessed with it.
Change us, Redeemer.
We turn a blind eye to anything that threatens our comfort.
Move us, Redeemer.
We ignore You until we need You.
Be with us, Redeemer.

Thank You Lord Jesus, for redeeming us before we ever took a breath. Thank You for forgiving us on the cross, before we ever knew.
You have forgiven so much, help us to love much. Help us to remember Your grace not with shame but with joy--Your full gift. As Ravi Zacharias says, the cross--where justice, love, evil, and forgiveness all meet. Wow!

We pray You will redeem the lives of Your people around the world.
We pray for the Middle Eastern Christians. Lord, we don't even know how to pray for them; much less how to help. Save them Lord!

We pray for our country. May wisdom and truth prevail. Give our legislators courage to do the right thing.

Lord, be our military's Redeemer.
We pray for the deployed soldiers, still sweating in the desert, still living behind barbed wire, still ducking bullets. May their chaplains be effective. May You redeem this time that they are away by making them closer to You than ever before.
We pray for our leaders. We pray for courage and strength as they fight the administrative and ethical battles. Help the Chief of Chaplain's office to be Your representative to all they come in contact with this week.
We pray for our hurting veterans. Redeem their lives, Lord, redeem them. May the enemy's lies be silenced in their ears.

And Lord, be our children's Redeemer. Give them a double measure of the Spirit You have blessed us with.
We pray for our kids who are in basic training. Strength, courage, safety...please, God.
We pray for our kids who are in college. May they catch the fire of what You would have them do.
We pray for our kids who are considering marriage. Help them to see clearly.
We pray for our kids who are starting school and all the new challenges. Lord, may they find their confidence and identity in You.
We pray for our kids who are starting in a new place. Lord, may they be a blessing to their new friends.
We pray for our kids who are finding their ways through activities--making the team or not, finding new passions, fanning into flame their gifts. Lord, help them to deal with closed doors and with success.
We pray for our little ones learning to handle their emotions.

We pray for safety for those PCSing. Lord, please help us with renting and finding and selling homes.
We pray for our friends struggling with major illnesses, miscarriages, heart aches.

Father God, You are the only one capable of changing things, changing hearts, changing the world! Thank You for loving us enough to redeem us. We will sing for joy today in the hope You give us!