Psalm 103:8
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We are blessed to know you and your compassion for us. We can quickly become despondent when the world comes at us with all its trials and challenges; we must remember that world wants to cause a division between us and you, to pull us from you. Wicked people accost us, temptations tear at us, and the Devil constantly assails us, but none of that is from you. Instead, you are the anchor that grounds us when the world’s waves threaten to drown us. You are slow to anger when we complain about how things are going down here on earth or when we accuse you of being absent from us.
But in your word, you show us your compassion. Jesus shared with us that not one sparrow will fall out of the sky without your permission. Moreover, are we not more valuable than many sparrows? You are with all believers in your compassion and love, and You provided us our salvation; when You sent your Son to suffer and die for us on that cross. There, Jesus took away all our sins to restore us to you. So that on our last day, we can be confident of the everlasting life you have won for us.
We thank you for being slow to anger because we can react to the world in some pretty dumb ways at times, forgetting the love you have already demonstrated for us. In your mercy, you don’t give us what we deserve—punishment for our sins—that you placed on Jesus. However, you have provided us with what we do not deserve, and that is salvation. So we ask that in your mercy, you will send your Holy Spirit to create new hearts in us today; let us bring all our sins before you, and please forgive us, especially when we try to blame you for the troubles we are facing. Can we ask that in your grace, you would also give us your peace? Many of us could use an extra measure of true peace that comes only from you.
Finally, please bring people into our lives today so that we can share the good news of your love, compassion, slow anger, and mercy with them. So that they, too, would be forgiven by faith in your Son our Savior. We ask that your will would be done according to all our requests. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
When the world’s waves are coming at you, you feel like you are about to be swamped. Know that Jesus is with you with the forgiveness he has already won on the cross and will carry you through the storms. So as a good captain might say, “Be quiet! Sit down and hang on!”