A Prayer In Times of Crisis

 

 

Holy God, our heavenly Father, grant that You and Your Son Jesus and Your holiest of Spirits may be honored, exalted and glorified in all we say and do this week.   We are being reminded again and again, in numerous ways, that we live in a time of crisis.  To be sure, we all face crisis, even though not all of us face the same crisis, nor are all crisis equally as demanding or devastating as others, yet all can make us fearful, anxious, cynical and even pessimistic.  As Your children, we pray for faith that keeps us sane, positive and hopeful.  Above all keep us from becoming alarmist who see and fear the worst and thus add to the problems of the world.  We are reminded of the tsunami of hunger which has stricken our world.  Father, forgive us when we complain about the increasing cost of food, when in many places there is no food to buy at any cost.  Forgive us for complaining of the cost of filling our gas tanks when so many in our world have no gas tank to fill.  Forgive us when we complain because we must change our life style when a change of life style is exactly what we need to be striving to change.  Hear us, O God, when unlike our Savior, we cry out: “Father forgive us for we know what we are doing.”   We too often plead ignorance when we should be pleading for Your mercy and forgiveness.

 

We are reminded of the financial crisis which our nation and many like us are facing.  Again for some it means the loss of jobs and homes, while for other it means only that when more is needed for the necessities of life, there is less for the comforts and toys of life.  May we, who know so little about sacrifice, starvation, depredation and deprivation, be willing to be an example of what it means to truly trust in You and turn to You for all our needs.  Let those of us who know You be examples of how, in time of feast or famine, we can cry out: “God is good all the time, all the time God is good.”  Let us use every time of crisis to prove the truth of Your Word when it states:  “Though we walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive us; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of our enemies, and Your right hand will save us.”  

 

Father, we pray for our children and our children’s children.  Many have known only prosperity.  What they have wanted they have gotten.  May they be reminded that has not always been so;  that it may not always be so; that changes in our world may demand sacrifices that we may not wish to make; that the challenges we face can be resolved only when we are willing to make changes which will be demanding and in some cases sacrificial.  Above all, O Father, save us from ourselves and help us to cast ourselves on You and You alone.

 

This we are bold to pray through Him who turned the greatest crisis ever faced by man into the greatest blessing ever known to man.    Amen