Prayer of Thanks To The God Who Is With Us During Times of Suffering And Death

 Hello again on this Monday of the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday called by many – Holy Week.  Every day is holy, actually.  Every day is a gift from God.  We’ve never been more aware of that fact than during these days of the covid-19 virus outbreak in our country and around the world. 

It is during times of danger and crisis that we somehow find ourselves focusing a bit more clearly on what really matters, what’s important to us, who’s around us that we appreciate and want to care for, and what makes this day of our lives meaningful.  There’s never a better time to thank God for all that we have than during such times.  Others before us, like the writer of this Psalm in the Bible, show us that it’s important to give thanks even when times are tough – when it’s a sacrifice to do so.

I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.  Psalm 116:17

And so Gracious God, in this Holy Week that once again is very different for so many of us than outside of pandemic times, we come to You with thankful hearts.  You are God. You are with us.  You understand what is going on.  You are responding to our cries for help.  Even though there continues to be much sickness and death around us, we give thanks.  We give thanks for the millions of individuals today who have  tested positive at one point and who have now been declared recovered. We give thanks for those who worked so hard on vaccines – to develop them and now to distribute them and get them in the arms of people so immunity can be built up across our communities.

We thank you for the signs of life that we see all around us in nature – the blossoms on many trees and new spring flowers.  We rejoice to hear the song of so many different birds again.  The spring moon came full a day or so ago and is so beautiful in the night sky.  The wonder of animals coming out of hibernation reminds us of the amazing plans that you have in place to care for all of creation. 

In this Holy Week we most deeply give thanks for the life, death, and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Through Him we have the life that You always intended for us – a life we can enjoy with You in this life and the next.  Help us to honor You in these days and going forward as God our Creator, God our Saviour, and God our Sustainer. 

With King David who wrote Psalm 51 we pray: 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.   Psalm 51:10-12 NIV

And even though these are days filled with suffering and death across the planet – not only from the covid-19 virus but also from all the other diseases and accidents and aging – we give thanks that You are not a God who wanders off and leaves us to face difficulties on our own but You are the God who stays with us and comforts us.  We give thanks and praise to You God,

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT

You use even the things that are difficult for us and turn them around for good.  We don’t like having to face the challenging things but with You not only can we rise above these painful realities, but we can also become stronger and become better people who have more compassion and care better for others. 

And so, like Jesus who faced the knowledge that there were difficult days ahead and still gave thanks and praise to You, so we lift our hearts to you with gratitude and commit ourselves to following Your path for us in these days.  We trust You and so with King David once again we affirm:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 23:6 NKJV

Have a wonderful day in the blessing of God on this Monday of Holy Week.  See you tomorrow.