It is good to return to our weekly WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER in this New Year of 2021. Many times in this past year, we have turned to God in prayer. It is our natural response as people of faith. This will continue to be our practice in the year ahead. This is where we find the dependable constant of God’s Holy Presence. We enter this new year conscious that there are and will continue to be numerous occasions that will require prayer. At the outset of this New Year, several people were posting New Year’s messages on Facebook. Many expressed an urgent and determined desire to say good bye to 2020. The message I composed for Facebook on January 1st was this: “As we enter this new year of 2021, choosing to give all that was; all that is; and all that will be to our God.” This is what we do when we pray. There is Scripture in Revelation that declares, “Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was and who is to come.” (Rev. 1:4) When we pray, we affirm that Jesus is and was and is to come. This makes Him the ideal One to choose to give everything to in prayer. Whenever we hear a latest report of the increase in the number of COVID cases in our communities, I urge us to bring this to God in prayer. When we think about what has been and all that we have come through, we can turn to God with prayers of thanks and awareness of God in what was. Then there is the hopeful anticipation that Jesus goes before us for what is to come. Jesus is the One who has promised to come again , to return to our earth. Whatever happens between now and then, whatever lies before us, we also choose to bring that to God in prayer. There is a gospel song that expresses this desire to face each new day with words of praise and blessing toward God on our lips. In “10 Thousand Reasons,” we hear, “The sun comes up. It’s a new day dawning. It’s time to sing Your song again. Whatever may pass, And whatever lies before me, Let me be singing when the evening comes. Bless the Lord oh my soul. Oh my soul . Worship His Holy name. Sing like never before. Oh my soul. I’ll worship Your Holy name.” Tomorrow Wednesday, January 5th at 1 pm we will look for God’s grace and peace from “Him who is and was and is to come.”
We bless You LORD and give thanks that we can come freely to You in prayer. In this New Year, we continue to come to You asking for Your wise timing in the eventual end to this COVID virus. As numbers of positive cases have been steadily increasing in recent days, we are concerned. Many of us know someone who has tested positive. Particularly now, we think of Long Term Care and Retirement Homes where there has been a marked increase in both residents and staff contracting COVID. We pray specifically for Maple Manor in Tillsonburg. We pray for all the residents there. We pray for staff trying to provide care under such challenging circumstances. Our prayers also extend for family members who are concerned for their loved ones and not able to be with them at this time. Please bring healing and restore health for those who are off work and isolated at home. We ask for your comfort for the grief and loss that has come about as a result of this outbreak. Into Your hands we commit Tillsonburg Hospital experiencing the strain of several requiring medical attention. In all places where health care workers are feeling extended beyond their capacity, we pray for strength and for the chance for refreshment. Yes, God bring Your grace and peace for those dealing with what is and we look to Jesus, the One who is to provide what is needed. Then we choose to pray for what was. Thank You for attending to us in the past months in navigating such unfamiliar territory. Thank You God for the ways that we found meaning over an unusual Christmas in 2020. As we take down and put away our Christmas decorations, we pray that we will keep the meaning and hope of Christmas in our focus. Please remind us that Jesus is the One who was. He is the One who entered our world and enters our lives and everyday circumstances when we let Him. Thank You God for this. We are asking and trusting that Your grace and peace will cover what was. And then we lift our hearts in worship to You Jesus as the One who is to come. Every day and every detail of this New Year ahead, we place in Your hands. Whatever lies before us, please show us what You intend and how You will be among us in that. We choose to worship your Holy Name. We want to listen intently for what You want to say to us in this year before us. May we be who You need us to be and may Your grace and peace surround and inhabit all that we are and hope to be. We offer prayer for the political scenes in both Canada and the United States. We pray for the implications for the future that will arise as a result of decisions and actions now being taken. Please guide us to live individual lives of integrity and faithful witness for You. We pray that each day of this new year, we will draw attention to You who is, and was, and is to come. May Your grace and peace will flow generously through us. In Jesus’ name and for His glory. AMEN.