Welcome again to Saturday! We’ve come to the end of another week in the Pastor’s Workshop. And as you know, Saturday is the day we shift from the Work Room to the Prayer Room.
As we prepare for Sunday we understand that a morning message is not just a presentation with a speaker and listeners. What we believe about worship is that God would be in these sacred moments, blessing the word of Scripture in a way that it would be a helpful, healing, hopeful word – that it might be a holy word for us. Our prayer is that the word of scripture, read and proclaimed, would comfort our hearts, enlighten our minds and inspire our living as people of love. Only God can do that!
And so as we prepare for this Palm Sunday with prayer, what will you lift up?
In the midst of all we face In these days, the prayer of Palm Sunday, Hosanna, “God, Save Now” has particular poignancy. That is part of what I pray for on this Palm Sunday, “Lord, Save Now”.
I pray that as I lift that prayer we would be open to how God would answer this prayer by Christ’s coming to be with us. Just as he rode that donkey into Jerusalem to be with the people of that day, I pray that he would come to us in our day. I pray that we would have an abiding assurance, a core courage, an inner encouragement that is a reflection of his presence.
I pray that we would know that Christ comes to embrace the Cross; that we would be awed, again and always, how our Lord makes this choice of ultimate, self sacrificial love so we might have the gift of life in his compassion.
But more than that, I pray that even as Christ comes to be with us in compassion, to join with us In our places of fear and frustration, that we would be with others in that same “Christ spirit” of compassion. I pray that we would see and seize the opportunities around us to offer help and hope. I pray that we would pick up our cross in compassion and be God’s blessing to those around us who are crying out, “Save Now”. I pray this would be part of our Holy Week witness.
What are you praying for this Palm Sunday? For Holy Week? For your life and our world in this week of all weeks? Jot down your thoughts. Lift up your prayers!
Prayer: Gracious God, as we cry out “Save Now”, you come as Christ in all compassion, to embrace the Cross and to be God with us, even in our darkest days. Strengthen us in this assurance and empower us to live as those who follow you by picking up our cross and being people of compassion in the opportunities these times give us. This we pray through Jesus Christ, our humble King. Amen