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“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in Whom I trust.’”
~ Psalm 91

Psalm 91 is my favourite psalm. When I was seriously ill in hospital ten years ago, a friend laminated it for me and stuck it beside my bed. When I was in and out of a coma, it was the Sons of Korah version that played beside my bed to help me sleep.

It was beautiful to be assured that I need not fear the terrors of the night. To know that ‘because he loves me, I will rescue him,’ says the Lord. ‘He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.” We pray on the basis of the promises of God. And we get the promises from His Word — from the God who cannot lie. Pray on!

“If God is wiser than we, His judgement must differ from ours on many things, and not least on good and evil. What seems to us good may therefore not be good in His eyes, and what seems to us evil may not be evil.”
~ CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. The World — The number of confirmed cases is 114,037,377 (up 2,707,524 from last week — a 10% increase). The number of deaths of people with Covid-19 is 2,530,014 (up 64,512 — static).
The number of cases in Brazil continues to rise with the Brazil variant. The number of cases in the UK continues to drop dramatically as 1/3 of the population have now been vaccinated.

2. Australia — There have been 28,970 cases in total (up 42 compared with 28 the week before, with 2 being community transmission — 4 last week). All of the community transmissions are in Victoria.

There are 19 people in hospital (+9), with 0 in intensive care (-1).
295,659 tests have been carried out in the past week, with 0.2% positive.
There are 73 active cases (+34).

3. Vaccine and Cures — The Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been approved for use.
The significance of this is that it is a single-use vaccine which also reduces transmission.

4. Church — Christian social work agencies play a significant role in Australia’s care.
Pray for those which face particular pressures at this time.

5. Personal and Family — Psalm 91 reminds me of my own brush with death.

Pray for those who are faced with serious life-threatening illnesses, and their families who have the burden of care and concern. May the Lord uphold and keep them under ‘the shelter of His wings’.

A Prayer of Repentance:

O Almighty God,
Who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings has ordained strength,
and made infants to glorify You by their deaths;
Mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by Your grace,
that by the innocence of our lives, and constancy of our faith even unto death,
we may glorify Your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ Book of Common Prayer

Song: Sons of Korah with their beautiful version of this psalm —

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
O Lord, how blessed we are to be under the shelter of Your wings.
You are our refuge and fortress. You send Your angels to guard and keep us.
You satisfy us and show us Your salvation.
O Lord, how much we have to praise You for. Enable us to do so. Amen.