Prayer Request

Today's reading: Daniel 1-3

....and told them to seek mercy from God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Daniel 2:18 NRSV


The King of Babylon is mad because no one will tell him what his dream was nor interpret it. In fact, the reason for his anger is that his advisers said they could interpret but he figured that they were just going to lie about it. The king plans to put all the wise men to death unless someone comes forward to do as he asks. I am finding it hard to get the logic with this decision. Won't he be out of wise persons to advise him if he carries this out?

Daniel is among the king's wise advisers. Daniel needs God's help to tell the king what he wants to know and save many lives, including his own. To get God's help, Daniel asks his three friends to be praying on his behalf.

They pray on his behalf, and Daniel receives knowledge and wisdom from God. He is able to tell the king what he dreamed and the meaning of his dream. He not only saves his life and the life of the other advisers, but gets a great promotion at court as well. 

What prayer requests have you recently given to others and clearly received God's mercy as a result? Is there anyone you know who might request a prayer from you?

God, have mercy on us and bless us. Cause your face to shine upon us and grant us your peace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims

Have Mercy

As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us. Psalm 123: 2 NRSV

Several thoughts in my head concerning this passage:

• hands of a master or mistress: does this entail punishment, i.e. a slap for doing wrong?
• looking at a person's hands means that you are lower than they are, at least to some extent
• the visualization here is someone on their knees, kissing the master's/mistress' hand
• if you look at someones hands, you can't be looking at their eyes: sign of shame
• if you look at someones hands, you can't be looking at their eyes: sign of subservience
• until God has mercy: how long is the servant/slave bowing before their superior?

In asking for forgiveness and mercy, it may seem as though we expect punishment. Will the same hand that feeds us become the hand that hits us? In asking for God's mercy, we recognize that we are lower than God. In asking for God's forgiveness, we must be obviously in supplication, whether truly on our knees or not. In asking for God's mercy, we come face-to-face with our shame. In asking for forgiveness, we admit our subservience. God will have mercy, but it won't happen immediately. We may have to keep asking until we are truly sorry and God sees this in our hearts. And we may have to continue to ask for forgiveness again and again until we are ready to accept God's complete forgiveness.

God, we come before you to entreat you for mercy. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy upon us! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims

Departing With No One's Regret

He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 

II Chronicles 21: 20 NRSV

Well, I have been to many interesting funerals but I have never heard of anyone spoken of who “departed with no one's regret.” I find this to be bible humor. Hope some of you laughed.

Our laughter aside, there was a very clear reason that he departed with no one's regret. Jehoram was a really bad “dude.” He killed all his brothers as soon as he ascended to the throne. He took King Ahab's daughter as his wife and was greatly influenced by that evil household. He set up the high places and made the people of Judah be unfaithful to God. He caused several neighbors to become enemies of Judah. The prophet Elijah wrote him a letter prophesying his downfall and death because of his evil deeds. His country and household were invaded by Judah's enemies and he died in misery and pain. The only thing which saved him from an early demise was that he was of the house of David.

What can we learn from such a man? Not to be bad “dudes” is one possibility. Certainly none of us wants to go to the grave with no one mourning our death. But the worst is God's own condemnation of Jehoram. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and aroused the Lord's anger.

Have you ever done anything in your lifetime that aroused God's anger?

Thank God for the mercy offered to each one of us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

God, be merciful to us and forgive us. Be not angry at our deeds and mistakes. Cause your face to shine upon us and be merciful to us. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims

Total Defeat

He burned the house of the Lord, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon - all the rest of the population. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil. II Kings 25:9-12 NRSV

Total defeat.

Jerusalem is not just besieged, it is totally destroyed. The Lord's house, the king's house, all the houses of the rich, the important, the talented and the intellectual are torn down. The last of the city's protection is broken: the walls around Jerusalem. The king, the royal family, the priests and their families, all the ruling upper classes and creative middle classes have already been taken into exile. All the rest, except for the poorest laborers, are now carried away. This is total defeat of God's city.

Was this defeat carried out on the orders of the King of Babylon? Yes. But it was by God's will, God who was so angered by the people's unfaithfulness that he "expelled them from his presence" (II Kings 24:20).

Have you ever felt expelled from God's presence? What did you do about it? What would it look like if you were to be expelled today?

God, we pray that we may never anger you so much that you expel us from your presence. Have mercy on us, dear Lord! In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims 

God's Mercy

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. Luke 1: 57-58 NRSV

When a baby is born, most people do celebrate and rejoice with the family. If the woman had previously been barren or suffered a loss of a baby, then friends call the child a miracle or a gift from God.

Elizabeth's friends and neighbors see this birth as an example of God showing Elizabeth great mercy.

When I think of being merciful I tend to think of someone being saved from the brink of some disaster. I tend to equate mercy with helplessness or perhaps some kind of sinful state.

The friends and neighbors saw the birth of this son as a way of God giving Elizabeth forgiveness of sins as well as better standing in the community. If she had never given birth, would that mean she lived in an unforgiven state? Without the birth of John, would Elizabeth fallen into some kind of disaster such as divorce, depression, or loneliness?

Are we to immediately assume that those who are barren today do not receive God's mercy. No! We must remember that these are the impressions and statements of Elizabeth's friends and neighbors. They are much like our own friends and neighbors and we always must be careful not to equate their opinion with God's mercy, love and grace.

God, you show mercy in ways that we cannot see. Free us from gossip and feelings of superiority over others who suffer from misfortune and loss. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims

God's Anger and Mercy

Then the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them out of the power of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen even to their judges: for they lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord; they did not follow their example. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they would relapse and behave worse than their ancestors, following other gods, worshipping them and bowing down to them. They would not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against them.... Judges 2:16-20a NRSV

Here is the pattern of the book of judges:

The people of God stray. This causes them to get into trouble. Then they complain to God. God calls a judge and guides that person. The judge saves the people for a period of time. Then the judge dies. And the people stray again. God gets angry and refuses to drive out anymore people from the promised lands....until God's people start whining again.

I am not sure who is more frustrating in this book: the people of God or God. The people should be incredibly grateful and follow God's laws. Yet they are constantly rebellious. God keeps getting angry...yet seems to forget all their sins when they really get into trouble.

Sounds like some parent/child relationships I know.

I can't stay too upset with God, however. This is because I know that I too get into a similar pattern of straying then crying out to God.

Thank you, God, that your anger is not as prevalent as your mercy and salvation! Amen.

Question for the day: What kind of pattern do you see in your relationship with God?

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims