COVID-19 Call to Prayer – September 20: Jesus the Messiah
Psalm 117 Please read the whole Psalm:
“Praise the LORD,all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his lovetoward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.”
This psalm is quoted in Romans 15 by Paul, to show that Jesus is the Messiah for the world. One Lord, one world, one joy.
In a divided world with many gods and many miseries, this is the message we want people to hear.
“It is not religion, but lusts that make the world so unquiet (James 4:1-2). Not godliness, but wickedness that makes people bite and devour one another. One of the first effects of the Gospel is to civilise those places where it comes, and settle order and peace among men.” John Flavel
Petition: Please join with us in praying for:
1. The World – There have been 228,493,023 cases (+3,884,396 – about the same as last week). There are now 4,691,081 (+61,086 – a slight decrease) deaths of people with covid. The US, the UK, Vietnam, Israel, Cuba and the West Bank/Gaza are all seeing increases.
Sixty-four cases of the Delta variant have been reported in the Chinese city of Putian in the last three days. The city has been sealed off.
2. Australia – There have been 85,629 cases in total. (Up 12,024 – similar to last week)
| State | Total Cases | Weekly Change TW/LW | Total Deaths | Change in Deaths TW/LW |
| ACT | 742 | +125 (+119) | 3 | 0 |
| NSW | 51,986 | + 8,850 (+9,454) | 295 | +64 (+51) |
| NT | 204 | +1 (+1) | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | 2,015 | +12 (+25) | 7 | 0 |
| SA | 898 | +4 (+14) | 4 | 0 |
| TAS | 235 | + 0 (+ 0) | 13 | 0 |
| VIC | 28,456 | +3,328 (+2,186) | 831 | +7 (+1) |
| WA | 1,093 | +4 (+3) | 9 | 0 |
NSW continues to see a steady decline – today it dropped below 1,000 cases for the first time in three weeks. Victoria is seeing increasing numbers every day. There have been 1,569,182 tests in the past week. There are 1,468 people in hospital (+90) with 291 in ICU (+38). There are 19,595 active cases (+1,686)).
3. Vaccine and Cures – There have been 5.92 billion vaccine doses (+260 million). 77 doses for every 100 people. Australia now has 24.40 million (96 per 100 people). Unvaccinated people are 11 times as likely to die from Covid than vaccinated people, according to three US studies. Unjabbed people are also almost five times as likely to catch it, and ten times as likely to be admitted to hospital.
4. Church – Church leaders are negotiating with politicians about the prospect of Covid passports. Pray for wisdom, grace and boldness. Some Christians are concerned about going to church with unvaccinated people, others are concerned about excluding people.
5. Personal and Family – Some grandchildren have not seen their grandparents for months or even years. Barriers caused by the tightening of borders both internationally and between Australian states are causing heartache and distress. Pray for these to be raised soon.
A Prayer of Repentance:
Father in heaven, we confess that we are not the people of joy, praise and unity Psalm 117 tells us we should be. We ask that you would forgive us for our self-absorption and teach us to look up to you, and out to others, in the name of Jesus – Amen.
Song: One of the oldest and most beautiful forms of Christian praise is Byzantine chant – here is a version of Psalm 117… it’s chill!
A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
“Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” (Ps 117)
___
Originally published on ChristiansUnited.online. Image by Warren Wong on Unsplash.
Recent Articles:
4 December 2024
4.5 MINS
Australians threatened to boycott 200 pubs that were plotting to scrap Australia Day celebrations. Now the hotel group has apologised, in just the latest evidence that Aussies are taking back their country from woke ideologues.
4 December 2024
11.4 MINS
After repeatedly insisting he would never do so, President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for any and all crimes he committed over the last decade and disdained his son’s prosecution as “a miscarriage of justice.”
4 December 2024
2.8 MINS
Flanked by John Ruddick on early Monday morning, Craig Kelly announced he had joined The Libertarians. Kelly defended limited government, and the Libertarian goal of releasing the economy to power opportunity, responsibility, and individual liberty.
4 December 2024
3.3 MINS
God knows every star in every galaxy (in fact, He created them) as well as the tiniest, nearly invisible microbe that the world’s most powerful microscope can barely see. What’s more, this infinite, transcendent God cares about us deeply.
4 December 2024
5.6 MINS
We now have a brand new book by Jordan Peterson that has many people talking: "We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine". There are already many Christians discussing it, and pointing out his many shortcomings in terms of expressing orthodox Christian teaching.
3 December 2024
1.6 MINS
In a cost-of-living crisis, with Australians facing higher bills, growing debt, and an energy system at risk of instability, Albanese and Labor are making life worse for all of us. Labor's plan relies on a carbon price to justify their renewables-only approach.
-
3 December 2024
3.3 MINS
MPs in the British Parliament have voted for Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill on its second reading by 330 votes for to 275 against. It is highly appropriate that this Bill should have passed its second reading on “Black Friday”.
