It is true that we make time for what we consider important. If there is a crisis or a pressing need, nothing else matters as much as the people we need to be with in those moments. We will literally drop everything to respond and to demonstrate love and support. People know how much they mean to us by our willingness to adjust our plans for them. When we do alter our plans because we are needed, it demonstrates to those needing us that they are a priority. And when we are needed, we are thankful to be able to express care and to help those to whom we reach out. Prayer is a way for us to support and care for others. It is something that lifts up and provides strength as we come to God and ask Him to be near and to help. One of my favourite Scripture verses is, “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7) This rings so true when we are faced with a heavy care and we encounter God’s love and compassion in the midst of the heaviness of our care. God confirms over and over His love for us as we come to Him with every care. We can see that God responds and cares for those for whom we pray. We witness them casting their cares on God and being assured that God cares for them. Then when it is our time to be walking through a dark valley, we are already convinced that God cares and will care for us and those we love. When we come to God with our burdens and cares, we can picture God deciding that nothing else matters more at that moment. God embraces us with His love and tenderly tells us how much He cares for us. This week for our Wednesday Prayer Together tomorrow July 6th at 1 pm we will come again to cast all our cares on God and to renew that steadfast promise that God cares immeasurably for each of us.
Praying that the depth of God’s care for us will be apparent, Pastor Lola
Eternal God of love and grace, we marvel at how expansive is Your love and Your mercy extended towards us. We know that we will never fully understand Your care for us. We keep coming back to You in prayer because every time that we come, we are met with Your generous expressions of care. You God never turn us away. We want to sit awhile with this truth that You care for us. If we were not convinced that You care so much for us, we would be reluctant to come to You in prayer. We do believe that You care for us always and so here we are right now choosing to bring our cares to You. We think of the many cares of our whole world and this seems so much for You to bear, yet we know that the immensity of the cares of our world is held in Your loving care. Our God, what would it be like for us to learn more of what it means to care for people in the way that You care? How could we expect this to transform our lives, our homes and families, our workplaces and our quiet places of rest and relaxation? Please allow us to move closer to You as we find ways to demonstrate something of the care and concern that You have for each person. God we pray that You will be at work in Your wise ways to bring healing where frustration and judging and blame have been evident. Remind us again what it means to care about each person made in Your image. We do pray that we will never become so focused on our own cares that we disregard the cares of others. We pray that we will not be exclusive in only caring about and for people who seem like us. Show us God how to love through our differences and varied perspectives. We look to Your Son Jesus to be the One to help us to build bridges of understanding as we discover how You want us to be in relationship with each other. We continue to offer prayers for those who are sick; those who dealing with depression and other types of mental illness; those who have been treated unfairly, those who are discouraged and feeling without hope; those who are frightened for what the future may hold; those who have been parted from loved ones and feel the ache of grief; those who do not know which way to turn; those who are struggling with financial challenges; those who want to trust You but don’t know how. Thank You God that these cares we have named and all the other cares we know and experience can be brought to You with the confident assurance that You care for us. We commit all of our cares to You and are actively watching and waiting for what You will do to extend Your care. We pray this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.