JanBeek

So, what is mercy?
Is it something that you need?
No?! So you’re perfect?

Well dear, guess again!
We’re all in need of mercy.
It’s undeserved grace.

You ask, what is grace?
Well, it’s undeserved mercy!
Don’t you just love it?

Definitions are
Often so convoluted.
Good thing for mercy!

Mercy me! Oh my!
I sure need grace and mercy.
Both are found in prayer.

Prayer for Help, Mercy and Grace

Prayer from Rev. Steve Hundley
PASTORAL PRAYER
prayed at
Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
ZOOM service
2-7-2021

“Loving God, we thank You that You treat us as if all were one; and each one as if there were only one.  We thank You that we are all held together in Your love; and none are beyond Your caring reach.  Thank You that You hear our prayers:

• the prayers we feel awkward about;
• the prayers we are hesitant to pray;
• and, the prayers we feel that we do not know the right words to pray.

Thank You that You know us well enough to hear our thoughts, our yearnings, our stumblings, our grumblings, our secret hopes and fears, even when we dare not, or cannot put them into words.  We are eternally grateful that anytime we turn toward you, the arms of Your grace and love are there to enfold us with Your love that cannot be bought, earned, or bargained for.  Since it is the gift which You give and which we can only receive, give us wisdom to joyfully receive it.

O Lord, this past year has reminded us just how fearful and fragile; yet, precious and wonderful life can be.  We need Your help. So Jesus, grant us this: the ability to as easily recognize and celebrate the beautiful as we are able to itemize the ugly.  Grant us the ability to as easily praise as we are to condemn.  Grant us the ability to as easily unite as we are to divide.  Grant us the ability to as easily support and help one another as we are to ignore.  And, grant us the ability to as easily express joy as we are to display our disappointment.

Grant us some sense of worth and accomplishment which places the mark of meaning to our days.  In spite of the many limitations this pandemic has placed on our daily lives, grant us some sense of purpose, that tomorrow is something to look forward to, rather than to dread.  Encourage us to reach outside of ourselves, and find ways to express our faith and love in ways that would benefit this world and its people whom You love. 

Jesus grant us this: though life tumbles in, and almost everything seems to crumble around us; when the simple things we took for granted seem a distant memory; when hope frays and a simple touch, or a caring hug is something we remember we used to do; O Lord, find some special way to hold us in the palm of Your hand.

We pray for this wonderful yet sometimes unhappy…this divided yet dependent…this brave but fearful, mixed-up world we live in.  We have created enemies by the misuse of its power; and, what could have been a blessing for all has become a curse to many by our misuse of its abundance.  O Lord, give us and the leaders of this great nation the will to break out of destructive patterns, and grant us peace in our time. “

Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we pray this prayer in the name of Our Father Who art in Heaven… Amen!

So, what is mercy?
Is it something that we need?
You bet! Every day!!

Have a wonderful week.
I pray for your health, happiness, and safety –
every day!
Thanks for visiting.
See ya later,
Love, JanBeek

Before you leave, take a few minutes to treat yourself to the story behind “The Prayer” and hear the most beautiful voices (my bias) in the world. Where do you see God’s mercy at work in this duet??