Welcome back to our Lenten Series blog! Last week, we explored the call to sacrifice and self-denial, and I hope you’ve been encouraged to take up your cross and follow Jesus, even when it’s hard. This week, we’re shifting our focus to a theme that’s especially relevant when the journey feels long, and the challenges seem overwhelming: Hope.
O Almighty and Everlasting God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, You Who laid the foundations of the world, Who set the mountains in their place, who commanded and the seas were formed — I come before You in reverence, calling upon Your mercy for the lands shaken by destruction, especially the people of Myanmar and Thailand – seeking that You be their refuge, strength and comfort; let Your peace reign where there is fear; and let Your grace uphold those who cry out to You.
Lord God, Fountain of Life and Immortality, the wellspring of existence, from whom all things have their breath, Giver of Life and Keeper of all souls, I bring before You this day the sacred vessels of love whom You have called mothers — those who, through the mystery of Your divine will, have been entrusted with the holy labor of nurturing life – have mercy upon them and consider their plight as a gender that is much discriminated against world wide.
Almighty God, the Luminous and Omnipotent Majestic Father, Whose splendour fills the heavens, the Eternal Architect who laid the foundations of the earth, You who stretched out the heavens as a canopy and set the stars as lamps in the firmament, You who ordain the dwelling places of men and make their homes a sanctuary of refuge, and the the Fortress of the Righteous
O Lord God Almighty, Ancient of Days, Consuming Fire of Holiness, You who burn with an eternal flame that purifies, sanctifies, and refines the soul—make me a vessel of honour, an elect imbued with divine wisdom, set apart in glory. O One Whose Garment is Light, who wraps Himself in radiance beyond the brilliance of a thousand suns, the Creator who spoke and the cosmos unfurled — fashion me by Your sovereign hand into a person of excellence and renown.
Eternal Father, fount of great and ineffable wisdom, co-eternal with Yourself, Who in the birth of time created the Heavens, and the Earth, the Sea, and things that they contain, and Who vivified all things by the breath of Your mouth, Who made all things good and saves all from evil, Who wipes away our sins and forgives our trespasses, the One Immortal God, the Most Merciful
On this third Wednesday in Lent, and as we end the first half of the Lenten season, I pray Eternal Father, the Ancient of Days, God of Elijah, who calls fire from heaven, God of the prophets, who speaks in whispers and thunders alike — ignite within me the faith that rends the veil between the seen and unseen; grant me the faith that moves mountains;
God Almighty, Whose greatness no one can fathom Lord God, Who spreads the universe like a divination cloth, God the Great Reformer of the universe, the Gnome that sounds through human beings like cymbals, I come before You today praying as David for Your help in present trouble that You, O Awesome God, hear my just plea for mercy;
In Mark 8:34-36, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
Lord God, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the One from Whom nothing is hidden, I come before You, humbled and burdened, yet trusting in Your unfailing mercy. You, O Lord, know my condition and my plight in this country: my obligations, my duties, and my debts. Father, You see my plight, You know where I am hurting, and You understand the heaviness of my burdens.
