Hey everyone. Pastor Mike here from Time of Grace.
In the midst of the craziness that is this whole corona thing,
I want to say say a special prayer today for doctors and for nurses,
for those who are in medical technologies and for all those who are working the front lines
in our hospitals and clinics right now.
Actually, there's a doctor at our church, really amazing guy,
and he generously texted and offered to bring my family sushi the other day.
So, quarantine sushi is pretty sweet.
But in the process of dropping it off and keeping a safe social distance
he told us that his practice would be on the front lines
with people who were actually sick.
And it kind of hit me.
The reality of what so many of you, so many of our loved ones are dealing with.
And what was even more
is that I know this doctor's wife. She's actually a co-worker of my wife.
And I know this doctor's kids.
And so I thought about the impact of his work.
I'm guessing the extra hours,
the stress and the fear,
the fear of what he might bring home.
Keeping his family healthy, his, his wife, his own kids.
And it reminded me of the importance of this passage from James, chapter 5.
In verse 16, James writes,
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
So would you join me right now in praying for doctors, for nurses, for those who work in hospitals.
God says that, because of Jesus, we are righteous, and because we're righteous,
when we talk to our Father, it's powerful and it's effective. So let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I praise you today.
You are a Father of compassion. You're a God who listens
and you're a God who loves every one of his children.
You know the doctors and nurses at our church and so many more.
All of the Christians who serve and all those who aren't Christian,
and we pray right now that you would bless them.
So often, we think of doctors and nurses when we ourselves are in need,
but in the midst of a global pandemic, they are on our hearts and minds today.
And so, God, I pray for their health.
If too many of them would get infected and sick,
if they'd need to be quarantined, this would snowball so quickly.
And so Father, spare us from that.
In your mercy, keep them healthy. Protect them supernaturally if you have to.
I pray for their endurance.
I can only imagine the kind of pressure, stress, the hours that they're gonna have to put in.
Help them to keep going. Like good marathon runners, God, even when it hurts,
even when all of their body wants to quit,
give them the energy and the spirit that they need to serve us well.
I thank you, Lord, that they're a glimpse of Jesus.
Jesus who sacrificed his own health, even his own life, for the good of others.
I thank you that through their work we see a little bit of the
beautiful work that Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago.
I pray for their friends, for their parents, for their spouses, their significant others
and their children. Keep them healthy when they come home from work.
God, let nothing happen that would have to separate
husbands and wives, fathers and children, mothers from the little ones they love so much.
I know God, you don't owe us anything. You're God and we're just
little people but you've said that because of Jesus we're more than that.
We're your righteous people. We're the children that you cherish.
So on behalf of everyone who's serving us to keep us healthy and to keep us safe,
bring your blessing. God, you said that prayers like this are effective.
And so we wait to see what you will change,
what you will affect, as we come to you today in Jesus name.
And all God's people said, “Amen.”