God Hears Our Cry

One of the appointed Psalms for the Daily Prayer of the Church today is Psalm 18, and the first 6 verses give us much to pray over:

 

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

   my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,

   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

   so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me;

   the torrents of perdition assailed me;

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

   the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;

   to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

   and my cry to him reached his ears.

 

When you read the Psalms, you will encounter every form of human emotion, from depression and grief to joy and exultation.  The Psalmist tells us that in our distress, when life seems to be closing in on us and death is near, God is there to hear us, and in Jesus, he also is there personally with us, suffering alongside with us.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Adult Christian Education every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.: Contemporary Moral Issues.

  

Sunday, 8 September we will: (1) begin Sunday School for the children, and (2) bless all of those participating in EFM which is being facilitated by Tammie Taylor.

 

Sunday, 15 September 2013: Invite Someone to Church Sunday.  The Anglican Communion will be doing this all over the world.  Be a part of it!

  

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Jim Reagan, Robert, all of those who are starting college and will be away from home for the first time, and for all of those who are suffering from addictions.  Let us pray: O blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: Look with compassion upon all who through addiction have lost their health and freedom. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy; remove from them the fears that beset them; strengthen them in the work of their recovery; and to those who care for them, give patient understanding and persevering love. Amen.

Your servant in Christ,

 

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550