23rd. February. 2021. Daily Devotion.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the broken-hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:15-18
Ibrahim is a 50-year-old farmer living in northeast Ethiopia. He says, “Every day, first thing in the morning, we prayed and hoped for water. We suffered every day and thought about water every day. There was a struggle every day. But God was with us, so we were helped.”
Now Ibrahim has a solar pump near his house. His life and that of his family and community has been transformed.
“When the water pump was installed, everyone was so happy. We thanked God and the organisation for helping us.”
God will answer
The answers to our prayers are not always so clear-cut. Sometimes we may feel like we have not been answered, or we may not receive the response that we were looking for.
Yet, in the gospel, Jesus reminds us: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)
This Lent let us try to hold onto this thought. God knows what we need, and God will answer.
As we pray, let us try to open our hearts to what God wants for us. Let us really listen and be guided by him, so that through our actions, we ourselves may be the answer to someone’s prayers.
Loving God, I lay before you all my distress, remembering that you already know what I need. Work through me so that I may respond to the distress of others. Amen. CAFOD.
A Prayer for Lent
Almighty God, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: Give us faith to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. —the Book of Common Worship PCUSA.
Coronavirus petition
Heavenly Father, we praise you for your love and the faith which you give to us. Lead us to remember those whose suffering because of the virus has been great
Free us from indifference. Let all be healed and converted from our selfishness
so that your Kingdom of Light and Peace may surround us. In Jesus Name, we pray. Amen.