Thursday - The Letter of James (James 5:11)

Welcome to Daily Prayer. Today we reflect on the steadfastness of Job and the purpose of the Lord.

As we begin our time together, let's pause to be still.

Let's gather our scattered senses and look to the Lord.

Lord, we love you.

We are so small, and you are so great,

and you have chosen to adopt us as your children.

You are our Father. We are your sons and daughters.

Inspire us to see and act on the wisdom of your Word.

A Scripture reading from James 5:11:

"You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,

how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

A prayer of adoration:

Lord, we adore you. We worship you as the compassionate and merciful God.

You've revealed Yourself, and Your purposes are good.

Even when we do not understand, we humble ourselves before You.

You have shown us Your heart in the sending of Your Son for us and for our salvation.

Even when we don't know what You're doing, we know what You're like.

We may not understand in every moment, but we know what it is not.

You have not abandoned us. You will not abandon us. and we know that your love lasts forever.

Prayers of Confession:

Lord, the story of Job humbles us to the dust.

There are things that are beyond our understanding, and we hate to be out of control.

We confess how often we've grumbled in our struggles.

There is so much that we do not understand, so much beyond our control,

and in our pride and pain, we've accused you of forsaking us and forgetting us.

We've judged you when we need your mercy.

We turn away from the lying and accusing voices around us that tell us to turn away from you.

We look to you for life.

Where else can we go?

Lord, we don't know every chapter of our story. We know the end. There's redemption and

restoration.

Thank you for the story of Job that reminds us that even when we experience misery and undeserved

suffering, You will ultimately make things right.

You're the Redeemer of all who look to you.

We join with Job's proclamation of faith in the midst of his suffering in Job 19:

"I know that my redeemer lives,

    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

    yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him

    with my own eyes—I, and not another.

    How my heart yearns within me!"

You're coming again, Lord, and we yearn for you to come and make all things right.

A moment of reflection:

Lord, are there any lies that I'm believing about you that are keeping me from drawing near to you

in this season?

Let's listen to the passage again:

"You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you've seen the purpose of the Lord,

how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

And now our weekly memory verse to memorize and embrace together.

James 5.8

"You too, be patient and stand firm,

because the Lord's coming is near."

A closing prayer:

Lord, we want to be found faithful in the end, and we need your grace.

You are the only one who can keep us steady. so we humble ourselves before you and ask for help.

We know that in the end it will be worth it, so we turn away from worthless things and we commit

our way to you.

For every troubled heart, we hold fast to your promises.

May we experience the humbled and blessed reality of Job, who was able to say,

My ears have heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.

Preserve us, O God.

*"Don't give up, just hold on. Even in the dark sing the Hallelujah song

Jesus will return and right every wrong. Believe the truth, stand strong!"

*Episode 12 the Epistles (Believe the Truth Stand Strong) from The Greatest Story Ever Told- High Point Church