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¹ In You, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
² In Your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn Your ear to me and save me.
³ Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
~ Psalm 71

Psalm 71 is the song of someone who is older. He asks not to be cast away, and for the Lord to be his strength, when his strength is gone. He wants to be able to declare God’s power to the next generation, His mighty acts to all who are to come (v.18). That should be our purpose in prayer — not just for the Lord to save us, but for us to be able to declare His glory and power. I love the hope of verse 20:
“Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again.”

“And sometimes God preserves by not preserving from death; for indeed death keeps a man from all danger whatsoever. He is out of all gun-shot, when he is once dead. Death is a deliverance and a preservation of itself; it sends a man straight to heaven; that therefore the apostle knew what he said, ‘The Lord will preserve me to this heavenly kingdom.”
~ Sibbes

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. The World — The number of confirmed cases is 37,347,102 (up 2,330,940 from last week ).
There have been 1,074,732 deaths of people with Covid-19 (up 39,758). Almost all European countries (except Sweden and Norway) have seen significant increases in the so-called ‘Second Wave’.

2. Australia — now has had 27,264 cases (up 128 compared with 94 in the previous week), with 898 deaths (+4 compared with 22 the previous week).

There are 32 people in hospital (-14), with 1 in intensive care (-5).
8,008,111 tests have been carried out, with 0.3% being positive.
24,855 people have recovered. There are 239 (-65) active cases.

3. Vaccine and Cures — The World Health Organisation (WHO) is now advising that lockdown is not the way to deal with Covid-19.

Although this is being portrayed as a ‘backflip’, to be fair to the WHO they also said this in March, warning that lockdowns only suppressed the virus, which would return with a second wave — as is now happening in Europe. Politicians seem to have gambled on getting a vaccine quickly, but hopes for that are now fading.

4. Church — It was good to join with hundreds of others in the National Prayer Breakfast today.
Pray for a spirit of unity amongst the Lord’s people, and may it be that we will continually pray — and not just on one day. We may be hindered in publicly meeting together, but we are never hindered in prayer.

5. Personal and Family — The attacks on the family are never-ending. That is because our enemy, the devil, goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may destroy. The family is a creation of God, given for the good of humanity — little wonder that the devil seeks to destroy it. Pray for the Lord’s protection on families.

A Prayer of Repentance:

This beautiful prayer was made in a time when there was great trouble in the nation.

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Maker of all things, Judge of all men;
We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness,
which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed by thought, word and deed, against Your Divine Majesty, provoking most justly Your wrath and indignation against us.
We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings;
the burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father,
for your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please You in newness of life,
to the honour and glory of Your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ Book of Common Prayer

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:

And then there was this response:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
Who of His great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto Him; have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~ Book of Common Prayer

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