“You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.” Nehemiah 9:6
This prayer of the Levites, recorded by Nehemiah, confesses the truth that the LORD, the one true God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – created the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all that is in them, and He still preserves them all. The stars and the universe glorify His holy name, showing His infinite wisdom and power in creating and preserving all things by the power of His word.
I, too, worship You, O LORD, and glorify Your name for creating this vast universe and yet loving me enough to send Your Son to suffer my punishment, die in my stead, and redeem me that I might look to You in faith, receive Your mercy, and glorify You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7
To walk in the light is to walk in the truth and allow the light of God’s Word to shine into our hearts and upon our lives, revealing our sins and failures under God’s law but also revealing to us the redemption God provided for us through the blood of His Son which was shed upon the cross for our sins and the sins of the world.
O God, grant that I not hide from the light but allow the light to expose my sin and point me to Christ Jesus, who shed His blood on the cross to atone for my sins and restore me to fellowship with You. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from King James Version of the Bible.]
“By faith we understand that the ages were set by the word of God, so that things that are seen were not made out of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:3
The ages, which include the universe and the world in which we live, were created and established by the Word of God at God’s command. He said, “Let there be …” and “there was” (Gen. 1). What we see and know today in this world and the universe was created from nothing and exists solely by God’s command and decree.
O Creator of all, grant us faith to believe Your Word and to trust in Your wisdom and power to create and preserve all things by Your command. In the name of Christ Jesus, the eternal Word made flesh to redeem us, we pray. Amen.
“But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You, I will worship toward Your holy temple.” Psalm 5:7
Nothing we can do will make us or our worship acceptable to the LORD God. It is only because of God’s abundant mercy in Jesus Christ — for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross for our sins — that we can, by faith, enter into His presence and honor Him with our worship and praise.
Have mercy upon me, O God, for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death in my stead, and receive my worship and praise. Amen.
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
The only real solution to droughts, plagues and pandemics is to humble ourselves before the LORD God, pray for His mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, and to repent of our evil ways. Only then will God forgive our sins, deliver us from His judgments and heal our land.
Have mercy upon us, O God. Pardon our sins in the shed blood of Your Son, our only Savior, and give us the wisdom and strength to turn from our wicked ways. Mercifully grant healing to our people and to our land. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
