Do It Again, Lord A Prayer for Troubled Times

Do It Again, Lord
A Prayer for Troubled Times
by Max Lucado

DEAR LORD,

We’re still hoping we’ll wake up. We’re still hoping we’ll open a sleepy eye and think, What a horrible dream.

But we won’t, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did perish. It was no dream, and, dear Father, we are sad.

There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest; a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor, and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?)

We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn’t.

And so we come to you. We don’t ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don’t request; we implore. We know what you can do. We’ve read the accounts. We’ve pondered the stories, and now we plead, “Do it again, Lord. Do it again.”
Remember Joseph? You rescued him from the pit. You can do the same for us. Do it again, Lord.

Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from the angel of death. We have children too, Lord. Do it again.

And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember his fears? You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their hope. The doubts of Thomas? You took them away. Do it again, Lord. Do it again.

You changed Daniel from a captive into a king’s counselor. You took Peter the fisherman and made him Peter an apostle. Because of you, David went from leading sheep to leading armies. Do it again, Lord, for we need counselors today. We need apostles. We need leaders. Do it again, dear Lord.

Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here on that Tuesday, you saw there on that Friday. Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the ash fell on our children, the darkness fell on your Son. Just as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was pierced.

And by dusk, heaven’s sweetest song was silent, buried behind a rock.

But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After your Son lay three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us a September Easter.
We thank you, dear Father, for those hours of unity. Disaster did what discussions could not. Doctrinal fences fell. Republicans stood with Democrats. Skin colors were covered by the ash of burning buildings. We thank you for those hours of unity.

And we thank you for these hours of prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded. He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he has no idea what you can do.

Let your mercy be upon our president, vice president, and their families. Grant to those who lead us wisdom beyond their years and experience. Have mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain. Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might believe.

And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years you've used her to heal a hurting world.

Do it again, Lord. Do it again.

Through Christ, amen.

Written by Max Lucado for America Prays, a national prayer vigil on September 15, 2001.

With Us in The Wilderness

With Us in The Wilderness
by Jennifer Waddle

When we find ourselves walking through a season of testing, most of us want to get through it as quickly as possible. The refining of our faith is never a pleasant experience. The Israelites knew all too well what if felt like to trudge through hard times. For forty long years, they traveled and camped and wandered, not knowing when they would reach the promised land. Perhaps, that is the most painful part about the testing of our faith. We don’t know how long it’s going to last or how painful it’s going to be.

But God…

God, in His faithfulness, walks through the wilderness with us. He provides what we need to make it through. Even though it is painful, it is crucial for the purifying of our faith. Just as the refining of silver involves extreme heat that allows impurities to rise to the surface, so the testing of our hearts involves uncomfortable pressure that urges us to surrender our thoughts, motives, and actions to the perfect will of the Father.

Though painful, we are never left alone in the process. The Refiner doesn’t put us through the fire just to stand by and watch. He stays with us, while lovingly turning up the heat until we release our impurities to Him. God knows our “trudging” through this life. He sees the trials and the hardships that come. But He doesn't stand by at a distance. He is with us, and in us, providing the strength we need to endure.

There is no doubt that the Israelites suffered greatly in the wilderness. What could have been a direct route, ended up being a very long road to the promised land. But if the Lord would have ignored their rebellion and skipped the refining process, the impurities of their hearts would have defiled His blessing.

The big question for us, is will we allow God to refine us, or will we continue to wander in the wilderness of rebellion?

Let’s willingly yield every impurity to Him. Let’s be open to the refining process, knowing that it is strengthening us and preparing us to cross over to the promised land.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9

A Prayer for Relief from Pain

A Prayer for Relief from Pain
By Meg Bucher

“You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’” - Lamentations 3:56

Anyone who’s suffered long-term pain can relate to the sentiments of the prophet Jeremiah in today’s verse. God does hear and answer our prayers, but His answers don’t always look the way we want them to, or happen in our time.

When my husband first complained of a pinched nerve, I honestly didn’t pay much attention. It happens every so often, and usually goes away in a few days. This time, it was much worse. He couldn’t lie down. Night after night he tried, but ended up down in the basement on the reclining couch. After living with the pain for a week, our friends and I pulled the reclining couch he’d been sleeping on upstairs. Weeks later, he was still sleeping there.

We take things for granted until they are taken away. Why does human nature have to be that way? God designed us, and did so perfectly… to need Him. He does give us more than we can handle and He does allow circumstances to bleed out beyond our control. There’s a lot of life He will withhold the answers to, and we don’t have the capacity to understand even if He explained it.

After weeks of pain, therapy, and doctor’s visits, it became clear there was something else causing his nerve to be pinched. Something, as I write this, only God holds the answers to. In prayer to Him, it’s tempting to beg for definitive answers over miraculous healing. But I know better from my own pain that hope deferred grows faith.

I pray for my husband to hear God’s voice through the pain, and feel His presence through the frustration. “Don’t be deaf to my call;”Jeremiah pleaded. When someone we love is in pain, we feel helpless to stop it. “Bring me relief!” When we are in pain, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, it takes over our focus. It becomes difficult to concentrate on the hope of healing, and hard to let go of what we think that should look and feel like.

Hold onto the hand that was nailed to the cross. That hand knows pain like none other. Our hope is in Him.

Father, we praise You for Jesus. No one has ever experienced pain like He did for us. Thank You for His sacrifice, which allows us to call out to You for help in full confidence that You hear us and will answer us and heal us. Forgive us for wanting to control what the answers to Your prayers look and feel like and when they happen. Bless us to be strong in Your Word, and rely on You for strength. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.