A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS
COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD.
Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh.
I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
I like awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,
because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favour her;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
Nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
For the LORD builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD;
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoner,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
He has broken my strength in mid-course;
he has shortened my days.
“O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days-–
you whose years endure throughout all generations!”
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe,
and they will pass away,
but you are the same,
and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.
Gracious God and Heavenly Father,
In the spring of our days we are full of joy and hope and all seems right with the world. As we age and we start to get more aches and pains, and things don’t work as well as they used to, we become more acutely aware of how short our time is on earth and we cry out for relief and for the hope and joy that we used to have.
We can’t rely on ourselves and must turn to you. You, O LORD, are eternal and unchanging; ever true to your promises. And you have displayed mercy to your people over and over for generations. You listen to our prayers. You answer them. You are with us and have promised never to leave us. You are our joy, our hope and our salvation in times of need. We may suffer for a little while, but you are faithful and we can trust you. You have us in your hands.
Be with us today, LORD. Be with those of us in physical or emotional pain. Be with those who need to confess and turn to you to experience true joy and peace. And if we ourselves are blessed enough to be in happier circumstances, we pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering and being persecuted for their faith in you. Lift them up, LORD. Help them to endure what they must and keep the faith. We are all part of the same body, the body of Christ. Have mercy on us and hear our prayer, LORD.
We ask it in Jesus’ name. AMEN