As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:13

Heavenly Father,

Although you are called Father in the Bible, 

may we never forget that you nurture and comfort us 

as a mother does her children:

To the rebellious Israelites, 

you are like a mother 

who will never forget her nursing child (Isaiah 49:15);

Over the city where he would soon be betrayed, 

Jesus cried, 

for he longed to gather Jerusalem 

“as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, 

and you would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

And here in Isaiah 66, 

you promise to bring a mother’s comfort 

in the day of restoration.

Because you comfort and care for your children 

as a mother and a father, 

because you have adopted us as your children, 

we lift up all who feel like orphans. 

Some have lost their mothers and fathers to death, 

others never knew the presence of a mother or father, 

still others have such broken relationships with their mothers or fathers 

that it would seem better to be an orphan. 

And yet, because you have made us your own 

through Jesus Christ, 

we need never feel that “it’s all up to us,” 

or that we are unwanted or unloved. 

Make that truth increasingly real to us, 

so that we may not live as orphans, 

trying to get through life on our own. 

When we feel alone, reach deep into our hearts 

through your Holy Spirit 

and bring us the comfort we crave. 

In Jesus’ assuring name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 66:7-24; Matthew 23:37; Isaiah 49:15.