Remind us that we are to trust you fully, to obey you wholly, and to love you forever. We are fools when we do not trust you. When we kick against the goads, we only kick ourselves in the face. We only hurt ourselves and those who live with us. We sow the wind and we reap the whirlwind. We hurt our health, we shorten our lives, and we take away the peace and joy of others.

When we doubt you goodness in all things that happen, we heap upon ourselves worry and anxiety. We cannot survive constant worry and anxiety. Lord we need peace. We complain, and we heap upon ourselves guilt. We forget to confess our sins and we carry this guilt as a heavy weight upon our shoulders. When we complain and say things we ought not to say, Lord we need to bury ourselves in dust and ashes. When we think thoughts that we should not think, Lord we need to have a heavy mill stone tied around our necks and thrown into the depths of the sea. Sometimes, O Lord, we wonder if we are even worthy to be alive. Have we brought peace and joy to the world, or have we only brought a complaining and rebellious spirit that spreads like a malignant cancer.

Many (if not all) of us have cares and concerns in our hearts as this very moment. How can we enter into the worship of God? We must mortify our sins now before we sing any more hymns of praise. Otherwise we are only hypocrites in the flesh. Teach us to accept what we cannot control and to control what we can not accept. O happy is he whose trust is in the Lord.

Help us to live with a godly contempt of that which the world accepts as normal and yet is contrary to the word of God. Oftentimes what the world calls "normal," the Bible calls sin. Help us to know the difference between godly moderation and fleshly sin.

Lord, help us to put away all our squabbles. Help us to step into the shoes of our brother and understand him better. Let the young be cautious in their criticism, and let the old be ready to give advice.

Lord, grant that as we see our sins more clearly, that we see Christ more clearly. As the darkness grows darker, may the light of Christ shine more brightly. As we sink into despair and depression, may the hope and joy of Christ lift us up out of our dejection.

Lord, have mercy upon our nation. I fear for our nation. We have heaped upon ourselves debt. We have let greed drive us more than godliness. We have trampled upon the morals that were considered sacrosanct just a few years ago. We put our trust in our own power and our own wisdom. We don't need God except at the end of a speech. We don't need God unless some tragedy falls upon us. We live a lie thinking that we are an empire that will never fall. Yet, every empire in history has seen its last day. Kingdoms rise and fall. Only the King, Christ himself, sits upon an everlasting throne. Lord, prepare us for the day of the fall. Help us not to be surprised but prepared, because our trust was never in the princes of men, but in God. For we considered the things of this world as dung compared with the glories of the Kingdom that is to come. We never made idols of the things we see, therefore, when the idols fall, we will not be crushed.

Our Father, we grieve for the suffering souls in Haiti. Lord, there is sorrow, sadness, pain, and death. It is even beyond our imagination what they must see day by day. Lord, grant that the people of God arise and send aid. Grant for us ways we can give to relieve pain. Grant your grace and mercy on a suffering people.

Our Father, we would be so bold to say - You promised - Keep your promise. Refuse not to dwell with us today and give our enemies a reason to reproach us. Honor Your Name by honoring Your promises. Come here today our Lord and meet us where we are. We are here to meet you. Honor our plea.

Prepare us for the week to come for who knows what a day will bring. One day a friend is alive and the next day he is dead - gone the way of all flesh. One day we are full of vigor and the next day we lie on the bed of sorrow with the love of life gone. Help us to see our obstacles as coming from the good hand of a loving God who will use these obstacles to make us more like Jesus. Lord, don't disappoint us. Put a song in our hearts this morning that we will sing all week. Put a joy and hope in our lives today that will never flicker or fade away.