Prayer For Help - 11 Months In To Pandemic Restrictions - To Maintain Simple Good Practices That Help Everyone

 So much of life is about us being faithful to do the things we know to do.  Since day #1 of this pandemic we’ve been told to wash our hands, not touch our faces, cough into our sleeves, and keep 6 feet apart from others.  We’ve added in the wearing of masks and then had to stop meeting together in indoor groups of any size because too many people wouldn’t or just didn’t follow the simple practices that keep us all safe.  But here we are in month 11 and most of the instructions from health officials are the same today as they were back in the beginning if we want to flatten case numbers and bend the curve down. 

Most of life does not require heroic actions of us.  It often more about being faithful in the small things – whether we are on our own or someone is watching.  We are encouraged by these words from the Bible:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

God is with us whether another human being is or not.  God sees everything that we do and He also knows our hearts – our willingness to care for others by practicing these measures or our self-centeredness in wanting our own way and our own freedom no matter how much it might impact others down the line. 

As we wash our hands and wipe surfaces to protect ourselves from the covid-19 virus, let's also remember to ask God to wash our hearts and lives because the disease of sin is far more contagious than the most mutant form of covid-19 and much deadlier.

Let’s hear again this invitation from God’s word:

So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water.  Hebrews 10:22

We respond with the Anglican prayer for purity:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your holy name through Christ our Lord.

(Anglican Collect for Purity -Thomas Cranmer)

Lord, here we are these many weary weeks and months into this pandemic.  We would so like to be free from the daily statistics of cases and hospitalizations, ICU beds filled, number of people on ventilators and so on.  We’d like to go back to meeting together at church, in a restaurant, at a sports event, or a family dinner.  We’d so like our loved ones in long term care facilities to be able to get back an improved quality of life and have a chance to hug grandkids again and not have to worry every time they move beyond their rooms. And Lord, we recognize that much of this is in our hands – literally.

Lord, would you help us to be willing to carry on doing simple things that keep all of us safe. We’re grateful for things like the vaccines that are rolling out with more and more people being vaccinated every day.  But, that’s a solution for the long haul with many days and weeks between now and when enough people will have built up an immunity to protect all of us.  Would you make us generous and courageous people who are simply willing to do the ordinary, the necessary, the unnoticed, the drop-in-the-bucket good thing that, together with the good choices of the majority, bring about effective change in covid-19 conditions around us.

He [Jesus] gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.  Titus 2:14

Lord Jesus, you gave your life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us your very own people, so we could be totally committed to doing good deeds.  That’s what so many of us need these days – willingness to be totally committed to do what is good for our wider community.  He put himself out far more than we are being inconvenienced and yet Jesus left heaven, suffered all manner of injustice and inconvenience and eventually even gave His life to provide life – the good life with God forever – we could never attain on our own.

So, in Your presence, God, we commit to doing the right things that are being asked of us in this time for the greater good of the community - one more time, one more day, for as many days as it takes, we’re in.  You can count on us, Lord.  We’re going to trust You to give us the grace and courage we need to stay focused, to stay optimistic, and to stay patient.  You’ll see us through.  We pray all this with faith and thanks.  Amen