As we look toward Canada Day weekend and give thanks to God for this country which we call home, please consider with me two words from our Canadian national anthem, “God keep”. This is from the line, “God keep our land glorious and free.” These words remind me that ultimately, we all need God to do the keeping of whatever we bring to Him in prayer. We are not able to determine what will be held in a place of keeping and what will not. God alone has this ability. This is why we choose to pray and to commit people and circumstances to God’s keeping. We can be confident that God does have the power to keep what we commit to Him. In Scripture we read, “You will keep in perfect peace those who are steadfast, because they trust you.” (Isaiah 26:3). This is what we can expect when we pray. We can expect that God will keep us in peace because our minds and hearts are steadfastly relying on God. This is a prayer to extend beyond ourselves. We think of prayers for peace in our world. Certainly we are grateful that our country of Canada is currently at peace. Yet, we know of countless people who do not have peace in their hearts. Peace can be so fleeting and the thought of being kept in perfect peace might seem impossible when we wonder what will be the next thing that will happen to us that will shake our sense of settled peace. The key here is being kept in perfect peace by God. As we pray this week, we will pray for ourselves and for those across our country who long to be kept in a place of peace. We will acknowledge that God alone can bring this about. Please plan to pray about this with us when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow, June 28st at 1 pm.
Praying that God will keep our land and each of us in peace as we trust Him, Pastor Lola
Thank You God for our country of Canada. We do not pretend that we are without challenges and that there is not anything in our country that needs to change. Still, we come to you today with gratitude for this our country and the freedom we have here to live our faith in You. Thank You for those who have gone before us who have built churches and sacrificed so that we today can still gather to worship You. Thank You God for the impact on our everyday lives of our faith in You. We are well aware that our ability to keep is so limited. With this awareness, we are inviting You to do the keeping of all that needs to be kept. We admit to You that sometimes our motivation for what we want kept is selfish. We do feel confident in praying that You will keep us in perfect peace as our minds are stayed on You, as we are steadfast in our desire to trust You. We extend our prayers now for those who long for You to keep them at peace. We include those who are facing illness and their caregivers. We lift up to You those who are undergoing tests and treatments. We also commit to You those who are waiting for results. We pray for those who struggle to hold on to hope with no answers on the horizon for the urgent needs they bring to You. God, we do wonder if our ideas of trusting You may need adjusting. Please reveal to us what it means to trust You when we cannot see where You are in what is happening for us. When we do not understand, we still want You to keep us in a place of trusting. When being kept in perfect peace seems impossible, we turn to You for reassurance. And our God we do pray for those who have recently celebrated school graduations. Thank you for the hard work that has resulted in these accomplishments. We pray for those who are young, who are pursuing their ongoing plans for the future. We pray that you will guide them and keep them in a place of trust in You and what You know will result in blessing for their lives. We pray that not only will they be blessed, but also that they will be a blessing. We consider living in our country of Canada a blessing and we do pray that You will keep our land free for all those who seek You to have the freedom to find You. In Jesus Name, AMEN