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⁵ I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
⁶ I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
⁷ “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will He never show His favour again?
⁸ Has His unfailing love vanished forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”
~ Psalm 77

Sometimes we really feel that our prayers are not being answered.
We cry out to God and the answer is not immediate.
We remember the good times in the past, and we ask the questions the Psalmist does.
Has God’s unfailing love gone? Has His promise failed?
Whatever our heart tells us, we need to remember that God’s love never fails, and His promises never fail. Sometimes our head needs to rule our heart.

“When once we are in Christ, we live for others, not ourselves.”
~ Sibbes

Petition: Please join with us in praying for —

1. The World – The number of confirmed cases is 58,533,531 (up 4,260,128 from last week).
The number of deaths of people with Covid-19 is 1,386,204 (up 70,437).
The US, Europe and South America are the areas where Covid-19 is growing the most.
Iran is also giving considerable concern, with almost one million cases.
Japan has also seen its highest numbers, over 3,000 cases per day, since the pandemic began.

2. Australia – There have been 27,821 cases in total (up 96 compared with 67 the week before, with 26 being community transmission – 1 last week).

State	Total Cases	Weekly Change TW/LW	Total Deaths	Change in Deaths TW/LW
ACT	115	+1 (0)	3	0
NSW	4,538	+ 43 (33)	53	0
NT	46	+0 (+5)	0	0
QLD	1,196	+6 (8)	6	0
SA	555	+32 (8)	4	0
TAS	230	+ 0 (0)	13	0
VIC	20,345	0 (0)	819	0
WA	799	+12 (11)	9	0

There are 22 people in hospital (up 1), with 0 in intensive care (0).
9,709, 190 tests have been carried out, with 0.3% positive.
25,539 people have recovered. There are 90 active cases (+21).
The big scare this week was in Adelaide, but that now seems to be under control.
The rest of the States have now gone several weeks without any community transmission.
The border between NSW and Victoria opened today. We have much to be thankful for.

3. Vaccine and Cures – There are now four vaccines which are nearing the end of their stage three trials, with the result that vaccinations are expected to start within the next month.

4. Church – Pray for those who are church planting in the poorest urban housing areas throughout the world. Mental health, drugs, family breakdown are all significant factors which have not been helped by lockdowns.

5. Personal and Family – Pray for those whose marriages are in difficulty.
May the Lord grant healing and renewal to those who are under attack in this area of their lives.

A Prayer of Repentance:
O Lord, every time we sin, we feel regret and remorse.
Grant that we would go beyond this to real heartfelt repentance.
May we feel the pain of our wounds and the sorrow of Your heart as we sin against You.
Give us a new joy in obedience and faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Song of Praise: Virtual choir – When I was Lost.
This is a beautiful rendition of a great song teaching us vital heartfelt truths.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.
¹² I will consider all Your works
and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.
¹³ Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles;
You display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵ With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph…
¹⁹ Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
though Your footprints were not seen.
Praise the Lord.
~ Psalm 77:11-15, 19

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Weekly devotions by David Robertson via Christians United — COVID19 Call to Prayer.[Photo by ara ghafoory on Unsplash]