May His name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through Him, and they will call Him blessed.
~ Psalm 72:17

Psalm 72 is about the ultimate Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is about peace, justice, prosperity, deliverance from oppression, helping the weak and needy and all the other things our politicians promise, but cannot deliver. They come through Jesus Christ. The best thing that can happen to our communities is that Christ is glorified. When the earth is filled with His glory, then all the peoples will be blessed.

“Faith makes us kings, because thereby we marry the King of heaven;
the church is the queen of heaven, and Christ is the king of heaven.
Where this grace is in truth, happiness belongs to the soul.’”
~ Sibbes

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. The World – The number of confirmed cases is 39,848,304 (up 2,501,202 from last week).
There have been 1,111,944 deaths of people with Covid-19 (up 37,212).
Although the number of cases continues to increase, it is encouraging that there has been no exponential growth in either the number of cases or the number of deaths.

2. Australia – now has had 27,390 cases (up 126 compared with 128 in the previous week), with 904 deaths (+6 compared with 4 the previous week).

There are 16 people in hospital (-16) with 1 in intensive care (+0). There are 218 (-21) active cases.
There is considerable disagreement about the way ahead for Victoria — with the Premier Daniel Andrews insisting on a slow reopening and others asking for the State to move quicker.
Pray for wisdom and compassion.

3. Vaccine and Cures – The UK government is planning to start offering a vaccine by the end of this year after stage 3 trials of their preferred vaccine have gone well. China is offering a vaccine which has not yet been fully trialed to citizens who are prepared to pay for it. And the WHO are warning that a vaccine may not be either available or work for all.

4. Church – A number of churches are facing difficult decisions with staff due to a shortage of funding. Pray for those who may lose their jobs.

5. Personal and Family – Many of us have the heartache of family members who are not (yet!) believers. May we be faithful in prayer and live lives worthy of the Lord.

A Prayer of Repentance:
O Lord Jesus, we confess that rather than live with You as our king,
we set ourselves up as the rulers of our own lives.
Help us to glorify You and not ourselves.
May it be that when people see us, they see something of You. Amen.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who alone does marvellous deeds.
Praise be to His glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
~ Psalm 72:18-19

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Twice-weekly devotions by David Robertson via Christians United — COVID19 Call to Prayer.[Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash]