SCRIPTURE READING: 2 Corinthians 1.1-11

PASTORAL PRAYER: For the Sick and Hurting

O GOD,

We worship and bless You as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

You alone have all the comfort we need in all of our afflictions, and …we all—every one of us—needs all the comfort You have to give.

Every one of us here before You today is afflicted…and in a world of hurt…

• our bodies are afflicted with diseases and sicknesses…and worn out from pain that won’t let up
• our hearts are afflicted from bereavements, conflicts, and broken relationships
• our spirits are afflicted from fear, anxiety, and depression
• our minds are afflicted with doubts and temptations to sin…or to quit
• our consciences are afflicted with addictions, and guilt and shame from our failures
• our souls are afflicted with dreams that have been shattered, hopes that remain unfulfilled, expectations that have been disappointed.

Our heads are bloodied and bowed down, our bodies are battered and bruised, our spirits are broken, and our hands tremble from weakness even as we lift this prayer to you [Isaiah 1.5-6].

We are all together a roiling hot mess of afflictions and brokenness as we come before you today for comfort.

But we set our hopes on you—knowing you can and will deliver us…again … from all our afflictions …just as you have before.

And we read in Your Word that Jesus Christ Himself was made in the likeness of our flesh so He could suffer as we do—yet without sin [Hebrews 2.17-18; 4.15-16; 5.7-9] …and “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” [Mt 8.17].

And HE was stricken and afflicted—even by You [Isaiah 53.3-4]—so He could become our sympathizing and Faithful High Priest.

And so we call on you to send your Word to us…now in this moment…and heal us [Psalm 107.20]!

• Renew our minds…
• Mend our broken hearts…
• Calm our anxious spirits.

And if You call us to suffer still ‘according to the will of God’ [1 Peter 4.19], give us the comfort of Your mercies to suffer patiently and well.

May we even be willing to suffer in the strength of your Grace so that Your strength may be perfected in our weakness [2 Corinthians 12.9-10], and we might be able to comfort others who suffer as we do.

May we pray for one another…love one another…and comfort one another with these words of promise and hope you give us through the Grace and Peace that is in our Savior, Jesus Christ…

And it is in the merits of His Name and in the hope of His salvation we pray.

Amen.  

NOTE: I would not post this on my own initiative, but some have asked me for a copy of the words of this Pastoral Prayer so they may pray it again for themselves and others. I can only bless God that this response is what Paul asked for and God promised in verse 11 of the Scripture Reading: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

• Paul asked them to pray for and help him [‘us’] in his afflictions he shared with them;
• God would grant the needed and requested comfort in all their afflictions [see chapter 7.4-7, 13];
• Paul would receive it from God and minister it to everyone else;
• they all would give thanks to God together for hearing and supplying the requested blessing in answer to their prayers.

But when our Pastors asked me to deliver this Scripture Reading and Pastoral Prayer, I immediately began meditating upon the Scripture—most often while I was out and about—because I know the text well. I have lived in the words of 2 Corinthians 1.1-11 for over 50 years due to my own experiences and wrestlings with God from this context (along with numerous other Scriptures, especially from 2 Corinthians {https://daveparksblog.com/2021/08/20/treasure-in-jars-of-clay/}]. Only God knows how autobiographical this prayer is for me—so I prayed it as much for myself as for my brothers and sisters who were joining with me on that occasion.

But while I was meditating on the Scripture text, I had the images of the faces of my fellow sufferers before my mind’s eyes. I mentally pictured them and scanned their faces and hearts before me as I would pray.  I would ask the Lord: “How would these words help them?” Many of their afflictions I know—their struggles, anxieties, griefs. Many of them I don’t know personally; but what I do know is that we all are created from the same dust [Psalm 103.14]. We all suffer alike [1 Corinthians 10.13; Hebrews 5.1-3]. And, many have allowed me into their lives to know their pains, share in their afflictions, and bear their burdens with them. That is a part of our Jesus-like fellowship with one another as we share our faith community life together. And so, the Holy Spirit just brought these specific requests for them to my heart, prompted by the words of the text.

So, to my fellow ‘pilgrims on the narrow road’ at Buck Run Baptist Church: you are actually the ones who ‘inspired’ the requests of this prayer by allowing me into your hearts and lives as partners in all our mutual afflictions. I thank you and love you every one!

[The Scripture references I have included in the text of the prayer were not cited during the prayer; I have just included them here because those Scriptures inspired the expressions I used—praying God’s own words back to Him.]