A prayer based on Ezekiel 34.

<aside> 🙏🏻 LORD God, we confess that we are people who are in desperate of a shepherd.

How we need a shepherd to lead us. To green pastures. To quiet waters. Along the path of righteousness. How we need a shepherd to protect us. Through dangerous situations. To a place of rest. So that we don’t get overcome and destroyed by our enemies. Without a shepherd we know that we will wander further away from You. Left to ourselves we are vulnerable against the world, the flesh and devil.

We praise You that there is a shepherd. We praise You that You are the shepherd and through faith in your Son, the Lord Jesus, You are our shepherd. You have gone to great lengths to save us, and Your strong arm is around us to lead us to the place of rest. You have searched for us. You have found us. You have cared for us. You have provided for our needs. You have protected us from harm. And You have done this by sending Your Son, the Lord Jesus who said “I am the good shepherd”.

We thank You Lord Jesus, That You came down from heaven to be among Your sheep to seek them out. That You leave the 99 sheep safe on the hillside to search for the one lost sheep. That You save them from all their enemies – sin and Satan and death and hell. That You feed them with your Word. That You protect them on the journey to the Promised Land so that they do not perish. How costly it was for You to do this. It cost You Your life. We thank You that You laid down Your life for the sheep by dying on the cross to bear the penalty their wanderings, their turning away from God deserves. We thank You that if we have repented and believed in You, You know us as Your sheep because You know everyone who is in Your flock – individually, intimately – that we are not anonymous to You. And we thank You that on that last day, You will recognise us, and separate us from the goats, and reward us with a place in the new heavens and new earth, where we will be with You, completely safe and utterly satisfied. How wonderful, how marvellous it is to have You as our good shepherd.

Forgive us we pray for those times when we have not followed you lead. For when we have doubted that obeying Your Word leads to green pastures, quiet waters, and dwelling in the house of the LORD forever, and have foolishly abandoned the path of righteousness. We confess that we are prone to wander. We do feel this. So, what a joy it is to know that You won’t let any of Your flock be lost, that You will keep us from ultimately falling though we stumble and falter.

Now Holy Spirit, we ask that You would help us to hear the voice of our good shepherd, to love the words He speaks to us, to trust that His way is holy, righteous and good, and to walk the path that leads to God. For His Name’s sake.

Amen.

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