Healing

Today is Day 139 of Lockdown in SA. Our daily readings are Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Psalm 32, and 1 Thessalonians 1.

Today we pray for the healing of all those currently infected and ill with Covid-19. Psalm 32 says:

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them.
⁷ You are my hiding-place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Please name before the Lord any infected people who are personally known to you, and hold them in your heart and mind as we pray:

Loving God, please reveal Yoursef to each person in South Africa who is struggling to overcome Covid-19. Reveal Yourself as their Hiding-Place – the God to Whom they can turn in prayer at any moment for protection and deliverance. Help them, Holy Spirit, to find in You their peace in the storm of anxiety, their hope of recovery from the grip of disease, and their constant Companion in the loneliness of isolation.

Lord Jesus, please graciously hear our prayers and theirs, and stretch out Your hand of power to heal, restore and make them new. Please breathe new life into their lungs. Please let Your healing power course through their circulatory system, touching every organ and driving out infection. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Door-keepers”

Today is Day 138 of Lockdown in SA. Our daily readings are Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 31; and Colossians 4.

Today we pray for those serving as “doorkeepers” at the entrances to stores and office buildings. These women and men are tasked not only with security functions, but these days are also responsible for ensuring that every person entering the store has their hands sanitized and is compliant with other regulations. This cannot be an easy job, and it no doubt occasionally exposes them to the rudeness and arrogance of members of the public.

Heavenly Father, we pray for those who serve the communal well-being of our people by working as such doorkeepers. We pray that their hearts will be filled with joy each day, because they have recognised the importance and value of their job. We ask You to protect them as they work so directly with the public. Please keep them safe from infection and “immune” to any rude or abusive behaviour.

Let Your “face shine on them” and be gracious to them, covering them with Your unfailing love. As the Psalm says, please will you “hide them” “in the shelter of your presence” “from all human intrigues” and “keep them safe … from accusing tongues.” Please let your blessing rest on them. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Medical professionals

Today is Day 137 of Lockdwon in SA. Our daily Readings are Matthew 15:21-28; Psalm 30 and Colossians 3.

Let us pray today for the many doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who are currently ill – either with Covid-19 or any other complaint, which is no doubt compounded by their exhaustion from battling this pandemic.

Psalm 30 proclaims:

² Lord my God, I called to you for help,
    and you healed me.

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you for ever.

Lord we pray for every healthcare professional currently in need of healing. On their behalf we ask You to move in power to restore their health. Please turn their weariness and weakness into energy and strength once more. Please minister to their mental and emotional health too, that any despair and depression may be transformed into joyful hope again.

We ask for Your protection over their families and anyone caring for them at home, so that their support structures may remain firmly in place to enable them to recover swiftly and return to their vitally important work.

Lord, in Your mercy, heal them. Amen.

Meeting Jesus

Today is the Lord’s Day and Day 136 of Lockdown in SA.

Our daily reading is Matthew 14:22-33 and we pray for people around the world to meet Jesus.

God of all Creation, in whom we live and move and have our being – You have given life deliberately to each human being currently alive on planet earth. Jesus, You have sacrificed Yourself for our forgiveness, so that each and every one of us can be adopted into the Family of God as beloved children.

As the invitation goes out in worship services today, whether in-person or on-line, please draw people into position to hear the good news of Jesus’ homecoming invitation. Please soften the hearts of people to listen, hear, understand and respond to the beautiful news. Please add to Your Family today, many who will be saved through faith in Jesus.

May the global crisis of sickness, fear and death be turned into a Life-saving opportunity for many to discover forgiveness of sin and truly abundant and eternal life. In Jesus’s Name. Amen

A vaccine

Today is Day 135 of Lockdown. Our daily readings are Psalm 29 and Colossians 2.

It’s hard to believe that for the last 19 weeks we have deliberately prayed at least one day a week for a vaccine to be developed against Covid-19. However, we do so again by faith.

Heavenly Father, we find our hope in the truth that You love us with an everlasting love. Therefore, despite all of the heartache and chaos in our world, we shall not be shaken. We rest in Your love.

In Your great love for humanity, please guide us to effective medical remedies to defeat Covid-19 – both preventative and healing remedies. We pray that the breakthrough will come very soon, will be made globally available, and will bring an end to this pandemic. In Christ’s Name. Amen.

Economy

Today is Day 134 of Lockdown. Our daily readings are Psalm 28 and Colossians 1.

Today we pray for the economy of South Africa to be established in justice, equity and prosperity. As David prayed in Psalm 128:

To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
    I shall be like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear my cry for mercy
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
    towards your Most Holy Place.

Lord, we lift our hearts and hands to You today, pleading for Your mercy, grace and favour on the South African Economy. As things stand, and humanly speaking, there is no hope for us in this “pit” of decay, corruption and greedy grasping. But … “The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one(s). ⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance; be (our) Shepherd and carry (us) for ever.” Lord, please intervene in the disaster which is the current state of our economy, and raise us up again from the ashes – to the glory of Your Name and for Your praise. And then we will join the Psalm in declaring:

⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
    for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

AMEN!

Government

It’s Day 133 of Lockdown in SA, and we pray for our governing authorities. Our daily readings are: Psalm 85:8-13; Psalm 27; Philippians 4.

The readings offer us so much material for our prayers, so let us pray some of those beautiful principles over our Government today (national, provincial, and City).

Lord, we rejoice in You! Instead of giving space to anxiety, we turn the concerns of our hearts over to You, with much thanksgiving for the faithfulness of Your grace. As we do so, may Your peace rest upon us and upon this beautiful land of ours.

We ask You to protect the humble and vulnerable of our land from the corruption and abuse of power that all too often raises its head in government. Lord, be a Light and a Stronghold of Salvation to all the citizens of SA. Cause the wicked and corrupt to stumble and fall, to be caught out and prosecuted. In this day of great trouble in our land, keep us safe in Your presence and set our feet on the firm foundation of our faith-relationship with You. As we wait on You and trust You, bring us through this storm of disease, violence and corruption to see Your goodness in the land of the living.

Lord bless South Africa, Guard her people and Guide her leaders! Lead our governing authorities down paths of wisdom and peace, and turn them back from paths of folly, division and violence. Fill them with a spirit of love, faithfulness, righteousness and peace. We trust that You will “give us what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.”

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Healing

Day 132 of Lockdown and we yet againcome to cry out to the Lord for healing of those infected with the coronavirus. Our daily readings are: Romans 10:5-15; Psalm 26; and Philippians 3.

Loving God, we give You praise and thanks for the more-or-less 360 000 recoveries from Covid-19 in South Africa. May Your name forever be praised. Here we also thank you for those we know and love who have recovered!

We pray Your comfort and peace for the families of the more than 8500 individuals who have lost their lives to Covid-19 in SA. We mourn with them and we know that You draw near to the broken-hearted and cover them with Your love.

We pray for Your healing power to be at work in the bodies of the more than 150 000 active Covid-19 cases in South Africa right now. Please impart to them courage to drive out fear, peace to drive out anxiety, hope to drive out despair, and power to drive out infection. May they be delivered, healed and restored to full wellness. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Sanitation Workers

It’s Day 131 of Lockdown in SA. Our daily readings are: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 25; and Philippians 2.

In Philippians 2 we are reminded that God’s Kingdom is an upside-down Kingdom where the highest value is selfless humility. We are exhorted:

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ who, being in very nature^[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

In our City, few jobs are seen as lowlier or humbler than the work of the ladies and gentlemen who accompany the “refuse truck”/”garbage lorry” on its rounds – the sanitation workers. These workers are crucial to the health system of our City, removing household rubbish from the homes of our suburban streets, and from common spaces in the informal residential areas. They are at high risk of infection from the viruses and bacteria accompanying the bins and their contents.

Today, Lord, we praise You for the vocation of these humble workers, who serve the City and her people. We pray Your rich blessing upon them as they go about their work. Please protect them from infection, and help them to return each day to their families with a sense of honour and dignity in having done an honest day’s work in service of humanity.

Please help them also to vigilanty guard against spreading any germs as they go from bin to bin, and as they return to their communities from working the streets of other areas.

Come Holy Spirit and touch each sanitation worker with Your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Medical Professionals

It’s Day 130 of Lockdown in SA. Our daily readings are: Matthew 14:22-33; Psalm 24; and Philippians 1.

Today we pray for those working in the many medical professions, but particularly for medical doctors working on the frontline of the pandemic. In the passage from Matthew 14 the disciples are in a tiny boat, being buffeted by the wind and the waves. Three miracles happen in quick succession. First Jesus walks on water to come to the aid of the ones He loves. Second, He empowers Peter to walk on the water too. Thirdly He stills the wind and waves. In light of that we pray:

Almighty, ever-living and all-healing God: We pray that this day (and every day) You will be mindful of the doctors and other medical staff working in the centre of the great storm of the Covid-19 pandemic. Please draw very close to them in the midst of that storm. Let them feel the miracle of Your presence with them, and be strengthened by it. Then we pray, please empower them to do the impossible by Your Spirit – to keep going even in the face of exhaustion, to minister healing to sick patients, and to remain uninfected themselves. Finally, we pray, speak a word of authority to silence the storm and bring an end to this pandemic. Please cause the storm to cease and the world to explode in praise of Your glory! Miracle-working God, to You we pray – in Jesus’ Name. Amen.