The Pastor's Daily Prayer (Part 5 of 13)

The Pastor's Daily Prayer

(paragraph 5 of 13)

The following paragraph comes from the Pastor's Daily Prayer from The Lutheran Agenda (c) 1941.  It has been slightly edited (thee's and thou's to you and yours) to make it sound a bit less archaic; nonetheless, some archaic terms have been retained for the sake of endearment of the original version.


Graciously take into your fatherly care the sick and the needy, all widows and orphans, and all who are in any trouble, temptation, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity. Comfort them, O God, with your Holy Spirit, that they may patiently endure their afflictions and acknowledge them as a manifestation of your fatherly will. Preserve their soul from faintheartedness and despondency, and help that they may seek you, the great Physician of their souls. And if any pass through the valley of the shadow of death, sustain them so that, in the last hour, no pain or fear of death would cause them to fall away from you, but let your everlasting arms be underneath them, and grant them a peaceful departure and a happy entrance into your eternal kingdom. 


This intercession covers all who are enduring any physical afflictions.  It remembers people whose afflictions are happening because they have lost the support that the Lord usually provides through a family.  The widow does not have the support and headship of her husband whom God gave her for her benefit.  Because of the harsh reality of death, this grieving wife now bears the full responsibility of the household and the children in it.  Even more dire is the circumstance of the orphan who has lost his/her parents.  Besides concerns over the source of their meals, clothing, and shelter, these children have lost the love, care, and discipline of the parents to whom they were given.  The children were a gift to their parents, and the parents were a gift to their children.  For whatever reason, that blessed relationship was severed too early.  Such children need our prayers, our compassion, our attention, and our physical aid.

While widows and orphans bear their own particular crosses, much more common is the sickness that afflicts people.  Hospitals are often too full.  And while sickness and disease are common, that does not mean they are easy to endure--whether we are enduring it personally or we are watching a loved one who is afflicted.  

God never tells us why we have to endure a particular illness or a disease.  Often, the reason is this: The world is broken and bad things happen in it.  But even when they do happen, God's people have the comfort of knowing that the Lord remains our good and merciful Father in heaven.  He has also extended this promise:  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)  We may never know how things work for our good; but we can remain confident that they do because God does not lie to us.

Finally, not all who get sick get well.  Many die.  We know that death will come for us at some point.  But when you are bedridden and have too much time to do nothing but think, the devil will taunt you and try to bring you to despair.  To do this, he simply reminds you of your sins.  And he does not have to make anything up.  He simply reports, and your conscience convicts you.  The above prayer is for such people, that the devil's lies will not cause fear or despair to rob someone of comfort, or worse, to cause them to fall into disbelief.

The devil is a liar.  Even when he reminds us of sins that we know full well we are guilty of, the devil is a liar.  For this is what the Lord says: "The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)  That overrules all sin and guilt.  This enables us to have a peaceful departure from this world, whenever that day should come.  For, since we have been marked by the blood of Christ, we already have our verdict--forgiven and, therefore, heirs of eternal life.