A prayer based on Daniel 1.

<aside> 🙏🏻 Sovereign God, we praise You that You rule over the heavens and the earth; that nothing is outside of your control; and that nothing is too hard for You. You, our God, are working all things according to the counsel of Your will. In Your wisdom, all that happens is for Your glory and for the good of Your people; to save many lives; and to conform them to the image of Your Son. We honour You as our King. We praise You for Your wisdom and might. We trust that You know what You are doing when You give and when You take away. Yet, we confess that we find this hard.

Lord, it is hard to be in exile. To know our home is heaven, but to live here in this world, this word opposed to You and to Your ways. We recognise that the Devil is a real enemy. We see the darkness over the earth is great. And Lord, we are tempted: tempted to withdraw; tempted to blend in with those around us who do not love and follow You. We need You help, Sovereign God. Remind us afresh that You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords, that there is no throne in existence that is higher than Yours, because this will enable us to live where we are as Your people. To settle down. To be good citizens who make meaningful contributions to society and to our community. To honour those in authority. To love our neighbour. And to make disciples. For we know that it is no accident where You have placed us, and it is here that we are to serve You and live lives that glorify You. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit to enable us to stand firm against the pressure to conform and live like the world, because You are our Lord, and we do not want to be unfaithful to You. Strengthen us to obey Your Word, and to walk in paths of righteousness. Provide for us ways of escape when we feel like we are going to fail You. For You have not only rescued us from sin’s penalty through Jesus Your Son, but also from sin’s power over our lives.

We thank You that one day our struggles and failures will be over; that we won’t be strangers and aliens in this world for eternity; that one day we will be home because Christ will return, and Your kingdom will come. We give You our thanks that He will come again to subdue the nations, reward the righteous, execute justice and judgment upon the wicked, and that every knee will bow to Him and confess that He is Lord to Your glory and honour. We pray, come Lord Jesus come. But we also know that You are patient, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance, so we pray that You will continue to save people from all nations, from this nation, and from this neighbourhood. For You are the God who saves from the wrath that is to come.

Amen.

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