prayer for the hurting

 Tuesday, October 1, 2024 (3:57 a.m.)

Blessed Holy God,

Thank You for the honor and privilege of coming before You in prayer. Asking. Seeking. Knocking (Matthew 7:7). Wondering who and what You would have me bring before You.

Hurting people. And their relationships. People who are feeling profoundly deep sadnesses. Yes Father, I bring to You my concerns for those who don’t yet know You to be the good, good Father You are.

(4:31 a.m.)

Thinking of You as Dad and Daddy leads me to finding this prayer I pray here for the hurting. ‘Father, I want [them] to know and experience Your love in their hearts. Father, would You go and take down the walls they’ve used to protect themselves and show them Your love. Would You show them what holds them back from being loved by You?’

I follow this with another request. ‘Holy Spirit, would You come and reveal the Father’s love to them?’ A catch the fire blogpost refers to this as what “starts us off on a journey into love.” A journey into Your heart.

Oh Blessed God, how truly I ask that minds and struggles be transformed by the power of Your glorious peace and love. Bring to their hearts the safety and security that come only from You and Your abundant love.

Here I quote Ben Campbell Johnson’s paraphrase of the apostle Paul’s prayer to the Father for personal growth. Ephesians 3:16-20.

“May He give you an infusion of strength in the depths of your being by the Spirit. I pray that your trust will enable Christ to settle down in you so that you will be grounded in love. I hope that you will be able to grasp with all Godpersons the multidimensional love of God - a love broad enough to include everybody, long enough to reach to the ends of the earth, deep enough to unify our human fragmentation, and high enough to reach the very heart of God. Actually, I want you to know the love of Christ which is beyond knowing. Experiencing love like this, may you be overwhelmed with the awareness of the presence of God.”

Yes! That is what is needed by all who are hurting! To be overwhelmed by the awareness of Your presence. Come Lord Jesus, I pray. Thank You. Praise You. You are loved, needed, trusted and wanted. Use us. Amen.

(403 words ~ 5:11 a.m.)