Text: Psalm 17:1-7
Focus Verse: “Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!” (Verse 1)
Can we read Psalm 17 without being convicted of our sin? Who among us has held fast to the Lord’s paths, never straying or slipping? Yet, thanks be to God, our prayer is based not on our purity but on Christ’s!
Thus our prayer in these end times is ever that the Lord may “hear a just cause,” and we lean always on God’s mercy and faithfulness. This is especially true as we pray for the tiniest and weakest and sickest among us who, if they even have ears to hear, may be deafened by the world’s lies that their lives have no purpose.
Yet God is the “Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries.” This is most certainly true for the frail and vulnerable—and at the same time, God’s mercy and justice is also meant for those who have been deceived by the world’s fear and lies, including parents who have been convinced to kill their children, children who have been convinced to kill their parents, and doctors who have been convinced to take rather than preserve life.
We thus pray for the lives of the frail, and for the repentance and healing of those who are blinded by Satan’s darkness. For the true adversaries of the Lord are sin and Satan and all his horde, yet God is still merciful toward us. And so we pray, certain that our Creator does hear our words and shows His love to us and all His creation.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, in Your mercy You listen to our prayer for the sake of Christ’s sinlessness. Grant that our lips may be free of deceit as we seek to defend life and protect the lives of all people from Satan’s deadly power. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Bethany Stoever, 2nd-Year Deaconess Student)
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
κήρυξον τὸν λόγον. Preach the Word.