Jesus is Lord
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16).
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35).
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out."
These references show the mercy of God and his understanding of our humanity. We can pray for ourselves and others with confidence.
Creator and loving Saviour, we thank you for these assurances. We pray for those who are bruised reeds and smouldering wicks. Where they are in difficult situations such as natural disasters or murderous wars we pray that you will gently remind them that they are yours. We pray that you will prompt them to respond as you would want them to and we pray that you will glorify yourself in these difficult situations through them.