A Prayer

We thank You, Father, that You are a God who blesses His children. You bless us. And You do that in so many beautiful ways.

We thank You that You have blessed us with hope. As we live this life, day by day, we can be assured that it is all leading somewhere and that that somewhere is really very good. As we start each day, we can know that You will make that day worth living. And this is a real hope, not just some wishing. It is a real hope because You have promised these things to us. This, with so much else, is a gift of the Gospel of Jesus, and we are so grateful for it.

Father, it is sad to think, but the world does not have this hope. Oh, they talk themselves into thinking that there are reasons for hope, reasons for optimism, but they don't really have any such reasons. How can they? They don't have You. And while they can talk themselves into believing that there is hope, there are too many times when reality comes crashing in on them. Something terrible happens, and all their hope disappears. It's at those times that it becomes obvious that they have no savior, that their attempts at creating hope are not working. That is when life gets so hard for them. And that is so sad.

There are times when we are tempted to live like them, Father. We are tempted to place our hope in things that can give no hope, just like they do. Forgive us. In sinning in this way, we try to create our own reasons for hope instead of entrusting ourselves to Jesus and the hope that He gives. We do ask that You would help us to see those times of temptation for what they are so that we can avoid them.

We also ask that You would use us for the sake of those who do not have the sure hope of the Gospel. We ask that we would display that hope in how we live so that they will see where true hope can be found, only in Jesus. Be merciful to them and rescue them from their hopelessness and the terrors that it creates.

And now, as we turn to the preaching of the Word we ask Your blessing. Please bless the one who speaks as well as those who listen so that things like Gospel hope will grow in us and overflow into the world, for Jesus' sake, Amen.