Book of Common Prayer

A Prayer in Time of Sickness

A song of David to remember.

The Seventh Seal

8 The Lamb opened the seventh seal. Then there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God. They were given seven trumpets.

³ Another angel came and stood at the altar. This angel had a golden pan for incense. The angel was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all God’s holy people. The angel put this offering on the golden altar before the throne. ⁴ The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God. It went up with the prayers of God’s people. ⁵ Then the angel filled the incense pan with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. There were flashes of lightning, thunder and loud noises, and an earthquake.

The Seven Angels and Trumpets

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet. Then hail and fire mixed with blood was poured down on the earth. And a third of the earth and all the green grass and a third of the trees were burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet. Then something that looked like a big mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood. ⁹ And a third of the living things in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet. Then a large star, burning like a torch, fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood.^[a] And a third of all the water became bitter. Many people died from drinking the water that was bitter.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet. Then a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were hit. So a third of them became dark. A third of the day was without light.

¹³ While I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air. The eagle said with a loud voice, “Trouble! Trouble! Trouble for those who live on the earth! The trouble will begin with the sounds of the trumpets that the other three angels are about to blow.”

Satan Falls

¹⁷ When the 72^[a] men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”

¹⁸ Jesus said to the men, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky. ¹⁹ Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. I gave you more power than the Enemy has. Nothing will hurt you. ²⁰ You should be happy, but not because the spirits obey you. You should be happy because your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Prays to the Father

²¹ Then the Holy Spirit made Jesus rejoice. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because this is what you really wanted.

²² “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows. And only the Son knows the Father. The only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.”

²³ Then Jesus turned to his followers and said privately, “You are blessed to see what you now see! ²⁴ I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see these things. And many prophets and kings wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear these things.”