A PRAYER FOR EVERY NATION, A PRAYER FOR EVERY PERSON

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have left the dead bodies of Your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of Your own people for the animals of the wild. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? How long will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name; for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may Your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations that You avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. May the groans of the prisoners come before You; with Your strong arm preserve those condemned to die. Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at You, Lord. Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim Your praise.

Psalm 79

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you looked at some of the headlines today? Not just our nation but our world is in turmoil. And if there were a universal prayer for every nation it can be found in the midst of the 79th Psalm. For as the psalmist is lamenting about their present day trouble, they are saying words that echo true even today.

The trouble of the day some 2,000 years ago was Israel under attack by their adversaries. Nations had invaded and defiled God’s holy temple. Jerusalem was reduced to rubble and the dead bodies of Israelites were left for the animals and birds to dine on. The shed blood of Israel was everywhere. No one remained to bury the dead, such was the scope of annihilation.

It was in the midst of this that we read these words:

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake.

Add “Amen” to this and you have a prayer for every nation, for every tribe and tongue.

Back to our headlines today. Did you notice Israel is there? Here’s the one that caught my eye:

“Palestinian rocket aimed at Jerusalem for 1st time.”

Rockets from the Gaza Strip are being directed at Jerusalem. Air raid sirens sounded in the city during the Sabbath observation, a signal of changing times. Jerusalem was once again in danger from its enemies. This hasn’t been the first time attacks have been attempted on Israel but the first in a long time that have been directed at Jerusalem. Tel Aviv was also targeted.

So what should Israel do in this time of uncertainty and attack from their enemies?

As we have seen, they have the right to defend themselves but they also need to echo the prayer of the psalmist:

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Our country is potentially facing even worse economic times. The headline reads:

“Fate of paychecks rests on fiscal cliff.”

Checks could be reduced even more when people need all the income they can get to make ends meet. While cost of living has increased, paydays have decreased, creating great difficulty for many.

What should we being doing as a nation? How about praying:

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake. Amen.

In Syria, citizens are killing other citizens at an alarming rate. Needless bloodshed is happening every day with no end in sight. The headline reads:

“Over 37,000 have died in Syria's civil war”

Will another 37,000 Syrian people have to die at the hands of their fellow man? This nation should be praying:

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake. Amen.

I could go on but the point is made. There are a lot of nations going through hardship and trouble. There will be more tomorrow and the next day and the next.

Individually, people are going through adversity today. More will experience it and have to find a way to persevere tomorrow, the next day and the next.

Every nation and every person should be turning to this psalm in these times and repeat this prayer every day it’s needed. The prayer for every nation – as well as every person – simply says:

May Your mercy come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Mercy. Help. Deliverance. Forgiveness and pardon.

There isn’t a person who doesn’t need it. And thus there isn’t a person that this prayer won’t apply to.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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