Psalm 9

9The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

10And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

May we bring our hearts in prayer asking to commit them to the care of the One whose promise of strength always holds true. May we seek to rest our hearts even more fully in the One whose presence we have known when all else seemed beyond our strength, when our suffering seemed far too much for us to bear, and when the pains of our daily living seemed more than we could endure. Let us come calling upon the Name of the One who is the stronghold of our hearts, asking to trust them and all that is our daily living, to the care of the One whose strength has always proven true. Amen.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without

purpose and direction.”
John F. Kennedy

We have much to lift in prayer this week: those whose efforts and courageous lives have been given across the years to maintain the purpose and direction that we in this nation hold dear; those who through their courageous efforts, daily, risk their lives that those dear truths might endure; and those whose lives of effort and courage support those lives dedicated to protecting and defending us all. May we lift high as well, our own living, that in our daily strivings we might find strength and a renewal of purpose and direction in the living of our days. Amen.