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Intention

Our cries for help do not go unheard. Because of Christ, God hears our prayers and responds to us with His mercy.

Scripture

“Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.”
—Psalm 79:8

Reflection

We live in a very unforgiving society. One tweet posted years ago can condemn you forever. Some people think that God is like that. But He is a gracious and forgiving God. Because of Christ and His cross, God can forgive us for our sins—and even the sins of our ancestors. We need individual, church and nationwide repentance. Psalm 79 is a great prayer to pray.

Jesus Have Mercy
In Mark 5:19, Jesus is speaking to a demon-possessed man who had been set free of his oppression, and who wanted to go with Jesus. “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.’” The man wanted to follow, but Jesus told him to go home to share the good news of what had happened to him. That is a message for us. To God, we need to confess our sin, but to others, we must confess what Christ has done for us.

Have Mercy on Australia
Today we remember South Australia. It has been a relatively unaffected state with only 868 cases and four deaths. Only 187 of the cases were locally acquired. Nonetheless, with the spread of the Delta strain in much of the rest of Australia, there is concern that the population, and economy, remain vulnerable.

Have Mercy on the World
Today we pray for South Africa and Ethiopia. We also continue to remember the people of Afghanistan. South Africa has officially seen 2.6 million cases and 78,000 deaths. This suggests an extraordinarily high death rate, but most consider that there have been far more undetected cases. South Africa has administered 9.6 million doses of the vaccine, or 16 per 100 people. Ethiopia has had 291,000 cases and 4,500 deaths. There have been 2.3 million doses of the vaccine administered in Ethiopia, or two per 100 people. The population of Ethiopia is massive: some 120 million people.

Have Mercy on Your Church
Pray for the elderly in the church—those who are alone and miss not only their families but their church families. May we remember our responsibility to the widows and the orphans.

Have Mercy on Our Families
It’s not just the elderly in the church we should consider. We have a responsibility to look after our own families, and also to care for those in our communities. What a great opportunity we have to bear witness to the love and compassion of Christ.

Prayer

From Bishop Michael McKenna, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Catholic Diocese of Bathurst

God of mercy and compassion, we look to You in our sufferings and ask that You enlarge our hearts with Your love that we may care for one another.

We pray that the disruptions of this pandemic may bring a good disruption of our habits of thinking where we have forgotten You. Lead our minds to reflect on what You are saying to us in the midst of this distress.

May we keep in prayer our sisters and brothers beyond these shores, suffering more greatly from the effects of the virus than we are, lacking the resources and political stability we take for granted.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.

Australia Prays

These devotions are brought to you by Rev David Robertson and the National Day of Prayer and Fasting (NDOPF).

Join us for Australia Prays this coming Sunday via Zoom:

DATES: 22nd August 2021
TIME: 9am–9pm (AEST)
ZOOM LINK: https://zoom.us/j/776881184
MEETING ID: 776881184
(Watch: Zoom tutorial)

Additionally, join us on our nightly one-hour Zoom prayer calls:

DATES: 16th–21st August 2021
TIME: 8pm–9pm (AEST)
ZOOM LINK: as above

Register here to receive these daily devotions by email.