Daily Prayer in Lent - Saturday, Week Four

Word for the Season

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart...
Joel 2:12

Word for the Day

Do me justice, O Lord, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
(see today's readings for Psalm 7)

Reflection

The suffering of the innocent and the just
is a hard question in every age...

Christians follow the path of the One
who was Innocent and Just
above all others...

The suffering of the Just One
is at the heart of our faith:
the table of the upper room
offers us the gift of the sacrifice on Calvary
which pours forth the new life that is ours
in the resurrection of Christ...

Prayer
I return to you today, Lord,
with a heart I know to be imperfect
and yet a heart no stranger
to the innocence of faith,
to the justice of walking the path
you mark out before me,
along which you guide me...

On some days, Lord, I cry out to you
for an end to the suffering my heart harbors,
and from which I long to be free...

You do search my heart, Lord,
and you search my soul...

You heal my sins with your mercy:
will you heal my suffering with your peace?

Will you give me the stillness,
the rest, the serenity that comes
when a heart's battles are done,
when the conflict is resolved,
when, like a warm blanket on a chilled night,
blessed peace enfolds?

Let this above all others
be the longing of my heart,
the prayer I offer
until your joy crowns my heart with peace:
that my heart be at peace with yours...

I trust you, Lord,
and pray you will trust me
to return to you this Lent, day by day,
with my whole heart...
Amen. 2009LentPostCollection

Image: Gwen Meharg

-ConcordPastor