Friday, March 20 2020
Good morning friends,
Today I wanted to share with you a brief reminder from God’s Word. Daniel and the Israelites were facing great difficulty when Daniel prayed the following prayer. His people were exiled in Babylon and their sanctuary stood quiet and empty. Today we are facing a difficult time not only as a faith family, but as a human family as concern over COVID-19 has caused us to take precautions we had never even imagined. Many places stand quiet and empty right now.
Daniel 9:17-19 (ESV)
: “Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
We can probably relate to Daniel’s prayer! It is a sober one, but it is also filled with great hope. Do you see the hope here? Do you see God at work?
When Daniel asks God to see, it is because he knows God DOES see! When Daniel asks God to hear, it is because he knows God DOES hear! We can find hope today because we know that God sees and we know that God hears. Furthermore, we know that God is at work not because we are deserving of his care but because he is a merciful God who always acts to restore his people.
Consider all the ways he has shown you mercy. Make a list. Consider all the ways he is showing us mercy as a community today. Make another list. Thank him for each of these blessings!
Together let us continue to take our concerns to God, even those things that frighten us. We know that as a people called by his name we will find great hope in him because he sees and because he hears and because he acts! He is our God. He is rich in mercy.
Remember, as a faith family we are committed to praying together weekly. We invite you to pause each Wednesday at noon to pray wherever you are. Please send prayers that you would like to share with our faith family to Pastor Shelley (
skral@epclongview.org
).
With hope,
Pastor Doug
