Prayer Remembering God's Faithfulness in 2020

NEWS ON REVIEW

Well it started a few days ago but we have officially moved into the “Year In Review” news cycle.  I’m not sure if these are packages that are pre-recorded so online personalities can have a few days off after Christmas or fill-ins for lack of news as we all take a breather and stay home with our loved ones.  In any case, whenever you turn on the TV and watch the news there invariably will come a “Top this or that from 2020.”  Some are cute stories.  Most this year are covid-19 related – not a surprise. 

What rings in my heart as I reflect on this year are the words of an old hymn that many of you will know so well: 

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Chorus:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

And then a song we sang for such a long time, and it still resonates in my heart – written by a local guy around here Brian Doerksen – Faithful One

Faithful one, so unchanging

Ageless one, you’re my rock of peace

Lord of all I depend on you

I call out to you, again and again

I call out to you, again and again

You are my rock in times of trouble

You lift me up when I fall down

All through the storm

Your love is, the anchor

My hope is in You alone

Well, I thought we might pray today with poets and prayer warriors from the Bible who had lots to say about God’s faithfulness.  As we rehearse our own 2020 events and look towards 2021, I can’t think of anything that stabilizes my heart more than to consider the faithfulness of God – to us.

With King David we pray:

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.  For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.  Psalm 57:9-11

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas.  Psalm 65:5

But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Look down and have mercy on me.  Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant.  Psalm 86:15-16

Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.  Psalm 40:11

And with the Apostle Paul we pray blessing on all of us for an impartation of this faithfulness from God to come alive in our own hearts and lives because we know: 

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  Galatians 5:22-23

Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 6:23-24

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24