A Prayer about the Comfort of a Suffering Savior

by Elizabeth | Dec 7, 2023 | Christmas, Christmas, Grief, Seasons & Holidays, Suffering

A Prayer about the Comfort of a Suffering Savior

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4

Father of All Comfort,

With the losses of recent years mounting,

divisions among friends and families,

disease throughout the world,

death of dear ones,

we’re aware that this Christmas season

may not be so merry for everyone.

And yet, into the silent and dark season long ago,

you sent your very own Son,

a baby born to bear our griefs,

a child delivered to carry our sorrow,

an infant sent to suffer for our sins,

Because he submitted to this suffering,

we can know the “peace on earth”

we will sing about in this season.

Because he was “afflicted” by you (Isaiah 53:4),

we can know the “joy to the world”

we sing about in this season.

Even in the midst of sorrow,

may we see the profound hope of healing

we have in our suffering Savior.

Amen.

Read Isaiah 53:1-12.

Get Elizabeth’s Advent devotional for free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/34no8c805q.

A Prayer about Our Tear-Counting God

by Elizabeth | Nov 15, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Grief, Suffering

A Prayer about Our Tear-Counting God

You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8

Tear-Counting God,

It has been a long season of loss for many.

Our friends are mourning, as are we…

Some have lost homes in fires and floods,

Some have lost children to miscarriage and the misery of sin,

Some have lost aunts or uncles or mothers or fathers to dementia or death,

Some have lost relationships to betrayal and abuse…

Some have lost peace in their country to war,

We’ve shed so many tears.

How can we endure the pain, Lord?

Only by knowing that you care about our tears,

that you count and collect them.

Only by knowing that you sent your Son

to weep real tears before he died on a cross

to redeem all of our tears.

Only by knowing that one day, our Savior will return,

and in that day, you will ever so gently

wipe the tears from our eyes.

How we look forward to that day!

How we thank you for your love!

In Jesus’ weeping name. Amen.

Read Psalm 56; Revelation 21:4.

A Prayer about Affliction

by Elizabeth | Nov 7, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth, Suffering

A Prayer about Affliction

I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Psalm 119:75

Faithful Lord,

The truth is, we don’t like to think that you afflict us.

And then, when we do think you afflict us,

we don’t always remember that it is

“in faithfulness” that you do so.

Today, I can more easily see how and why

you might allow what feels like affliction in our lives.

We have had to withhold food

from our beloved dog-who-thinks-she-is-a-person

since last night at 8 p.m.,

because she is getting her teeth cleaned today.

She has begged,

she has nudged,

she has barked her displeasure

at not getting her morning treats,

her morning meal,

and her second round of morning treats.

(I know, maybe we’re too extravagant with her?)

(But not any less so than you are with us!).

To her, this feels like affliction.

But we know that if we fed her,

she might aspirate while under the anesthetic.

Finally, she has settled,

choosing to take a nap,

choosing to trust

that we have a good reason

for “afflicting” her.

Today, Lord, we pray that we would do the same—

that we would settle,

that we would trust you,

that we would know any affliction we experience

is faithfully, sovereignly, lovingly

administered by you.

In the name of our afflicted Savior we pray. Amen.

Read Psalm 119:67, 71, 75.

A Prayer about Being Persecuted as a Christian

by Elizabeth | Nov 4, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth, Suffering

A Prayer about Being Persecuted as a Christian

‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…. John 15:20

Precious Jesus,

We admit, we really like to be liked.

Reading that we will be hated and persecuted

“because [we] are not of this world”

unnerves us.*

Strengthen us to bear persecution,

for indeed,

it will come to your followers.**

Help us to remember that it is not personal,

especially when family and friends

mock or abandon us

because we follow you.

Help us to endure persecution

through looking to you,

the “author and perfecter of our faith,”

“who for the joy set before him

endured the cross,

despising the shame,

and is seated at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

And most of all, help us to remember

that we are not alone

as we face persecution,

for we have the Helper,

the Holy Spirit,

whom you sent to us.

The Spirit will give us the words

and the courage we need;

the Spirit will comfort us

and bandage our wounds.

Thank you for giving us all we need

to endure

until the day

of no more mourning,

no more pain,

no more shame.

Amen.

*Today is the international day of prayer for the persecuted church. We will pray about persecution today and tomorrow (and on an ongoing basis.)

**This prayer based on a sermon by our pastor, Joel Treick. You can listen here (Find October 23 sermon): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pinewoods-church/id1550803637.

A Prayer about Endurance in Suffering

by Elizabeth | Sep 26, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth, Suffering

A Prayer about Endurance in Suffering

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 1:9

Precious Jesus,

In your Word, and by your Spirit,

you have given us everything we need

to persevere in every seemingly new tribulation.

Even today as we consider Christians

suffering for their faith throughout the world,

we are reminded that the apostle John,

at eighty-four-years-old,

was sent by the Romans to rot and die

on the island of Patmos

because of his “testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9).

He speaks to your disciples who suffer today

as a “partner in the tribulation

and the kingdom

and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.”

As Bible scholar Graeme Goldsworthy puts it,

“John does not urge his fellow-Christians

to seek a means of escape from this tribulation,

for he understood only too well

that discipleship means suffering.”*

Jesus, in light of the suffering of the martyrs

throughout the ages,

we pray that you would make us bold

to partner with those in deep suffering,

to persevere with the patient endurance

that is our legacy as your sisters and brothers.

In your enduring name we pray. Amen.

Read Revelation 1.

*See Graeme Goldsworthy, The Gospel in Revelation, 181.

A Prayer about Praying in Stories of Suffering

by Elizabeth | Sep 7, 2023 | Bible study, Daily Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Suffering

A Prayer about Praying in Stories of Suffering

She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.

Luke 2:36

Answering God,

How we thank you for the story of Anna,

the 84-year-old widow who had known deep suffering.

In her world, losing a husband meant losing everything —

financial provision, status, power.

And yet, Anna, who lost her husband after only seven years of marriage,

by your grace,

chose not to become embittered by suffering,

staying close to you in the temple,

listening to your Word,

worshiping you,

fasting and praying,

“night and day.”

May we follow Anna’s lead when life seems out of control—

When our adult children make decisions we disagree with,

When our grandchildren make mayhem of their young lives,

When our bodies make a mess of our plans to age gracefully….

Let us pray.

As we pray, our faith grows:

we remember the countless stories of your redemption.

As we pray, our hope grows:

we envision the redemption that will come in the midst of hard stories.

As we pray, our love grows:

we live out Christ’s love in a way that invites the hurting to come to you.

In prayer, we learn to wait well for your redemption.

In prayer, we hear your astounding answer,

redemption in Christ,

And we begin to pray again,

thanking you for your kindness

sharing the good news of Christ with others.

In Jesus’ redeeming name. Amen.

Read Luke 2:36-38.