Book of Common Prayer
This is the prayer of a man who is weak and in trouble. He tells the Lord that he is very sad.
A young man's prayer[a]
102 Lord, please hear my prayer!
Listen to me when I call to you for help.
2 Now that I am in trouble,
please do not turn away from me.
Listen carefully to me.
Now that I am calling to you for help,
please answer me quickly.
3 My life is quickly disappearing,
like smoke from a fire.
My bones hurt very much,
as if they were burning in an oven.[b]
4 I am very weak and upset,
like dry grass that will soon die.
I even forget to eat my food.
5 I cry aloud with pain,
so that I am just skin and bones.[c]
6 I am like a wild bird in the desert.
I am like an owl in the wilderness.
7 I am awake in the night,
like a bird that sits alone on the roof.
8 All day my enemies insult me.
They laugh at me
and they use my name as a curse.
9-10 Because you are so angry with me,
I eat ashes as my food.
My tears drop
into the water that I drink.
It seems that you have picked me up,
and then you have thrown me away.
11 My days are disappearing,
like a shadow in the evening.
Like dry grass,
I will soon die.
12 But you, Lord, rule for ever as king.
People will always remember you.
13 You will soon be kind to Zion again.
Now it is time to forgive her.
Yes, the time is now right for you to do that.
14 Her buildings have become broken stones and dust.
But your servants still love your city.
We are sad to see that it is broken down.
15 The nations will respect the Lord's name.
All the kings of the world
will praise your glory.
16 That will happen when the Lord builds Zion again
and he appears there in his glory.
17 He will answer the prayers
of poor people who have nothing.
He will not refuse to help them.
18 Write these things down
for people who live in future times to read.
Then they too will praise the Lord.
19 Tell them that the Lord looked down
from his home in heaven.
He saw what was happening on the earth.
20 He heard the prisoners call out in pain.
He saved the lives of prisoners
so they could go free before their enemies could kill them.
21 As a result, people will shout the Lord's name in Zion.
Yes, they will praise him in Jerusalem!
22 At that time, people from all nations
will meet together.
The kingdoms of the world
will come to serve the Lord.
23 But God has made me weak
before I have reached old age.
He has made my life short.
24 So I pray, ‘My God, please do not let me die now,
in the middle of my life.
The years of your life continue for ever!
25 Long ago, you built the world on a strong foundation.
You created the heavens with your own hands.
26 They will all disappear one day,
but you will remain.
They will become spoiled,
like old clothes.
Like clothes, you will remove them,
so that they disappear.
27 But you remain the same, Lord.
The years of your life will never finish.
28 As your servants,
our children will live here safely.
Their children too will be safe,
as they live near to you.’
God takes care of his people[a]
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love for his people continues for ever.
2 Everyone that the Lord has rescued
should tell others.
Tell them how he has rescued you
from the enemy's power.
3 He brought his people from foreign countries.
He brought them together from the east and the west,
from the north, and from the south.[b]
4 Some of them travelled through the wilderness
on a road that went nowhere.
They did not find any city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They were very weak and nearly dead.
6 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
7 He led them along a straight road,
to arrive at a city where they could live.
8 So God's people should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
9 He gives drink to people who are thirsty.
He gives plenty of good things to hungry people.
10 Some people sat in a completely dark place.
Iron chains held them as prisoners,
and they were very sad.
11 They had refused to obey God's commands.
They did not accept the teaching of the Most High God.
12 Because of that, God caused them to become weak
from very hard work.
When they fell down,
nobody would help them to stand up.
13 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
14 He took them out of the completely dark place.
He broke away the chains that held them.
15 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
16 He broke bronze gates into pieces
and he cut through iron bars.[c]
17 Some people became fools
and they turned against God.
They had trouble and pain
because of their sins.
18 They did not want to eat any food,
so they nearly died.
19 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
20 He sent his word to them
and he made them well again.
He rescued them from the deep hole of death.
21 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
22 They should offer sacrifices to thank God.
They should sing aloud
to tell about what he has done.
23 Some people were traders
who travelled far across the sea in ships.
24 They saw the great things that the Lord did,
even in the middle of the deep seas.
25 He would command a storm to come,
so that the wind caused big waves to rise up.
26 The waves threw the ships up high in the air,
then dropped them deep down.
The danger made the sailors afraid,
and they thought that they would die.
27 Like drunk people, they could not stand or walk properly.
They did not know what to do!
28 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
29 He caused the storm to stop,
so that the waves became quiet.
30 The sailors were happy when it became quiet.
God led them safely to the port,
where they wanted to go.
31 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
32 They should praise the Lord
when they meet together.
They should praise him
at the meeting of their leaders.
The special person comes as a judge
3 ‘Look! I will send someone to speak my message. He will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord that you are waiting for will quickly return to his temple. The one who brings the message about the covenant will certainly come. He is the one that you really want to see.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
2 ‘But when he comes, he will be like a hot fire that makes metal pure. He will be like strong soap that makes clothes completely clean. Nobody will be able to stand in front of him when he appears. On that day, nobody will remain the same.[a] 3 He will work like a man who uses a hot fire to make gold and silver pure. He will make the Levites clean and pure. He will remove their dirt. Then they can offer proper sacrifices to the Lord. 4 The Lord will accept the gifts that the people of Judah and Jerusalem offer to him. He will be happy with them as he was in earlier times.
5 At that time, I will come among you as your judge. I will speak clearly against those who have done wrong things. I will punish the magicians, the adulterers and those who tell lies against other people. I will punish those people who are cruel to their workers, or they deceive widows or children who have no family. And I will punish those who do not help foreigners who live among them. People who do those things show that they do not respect me.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
The Israelites are robbing God
6 ‘I am the Lord and I do not change. Because of my promises to my people, I have not destroyed you, descendants of Jacob. 7 I have told you my commands. But you do not listen to me any longer. You have not obeyed me, even since the time of your ancestors. Now, return to me! Then I will return to bless you.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
‘But you ask, “How do we return to you?”
8 I say to you, “A man should not rob God. But you are robbing me.”
But you ask, “How do we rob you?”
I say, “You do not give to me the tithes and the offerings that you should give.” 9 Yes, all of you are robbing me. The whole nation of Israel is guilty. So you will receive the punishment of a curse.
10 Now you must bring the whole tithe that belongs to me.[b] Store it in my temple, so that there will be food in my house.[c] Obey me and then see what I will do.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
‘You will see how much I will bless you! You will not have enough room to store all the good things that I will give to you. I will pour blessings out of the sky like rain. 11 I will stop insects from eating your crops. The grapes will not fall from your vines before they are ready to eat. 12 You will be happy to live in your land. The people of all the other nations will see that God has blessed you.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
Be patient until the Lord comes again
7 So, my Christian friends, be patient until the Lord Jesus returns. Think about how a farmer is patient. He waits for the ground to give him valuable food to eat. He waits patiently for the rain to come in the autumn and in the spring. 8 You also must be patient, because the Lord will return soon. Be strong as you continue to trust him.
9 My Christian friends, do not complain against each other. If you do, God will punish you. So be careful! He is the Judge and he is ready now to judge people.
10 Think about how God's prophets were also patient. They spoke messages on behalf of the Lord. Many troubles happened to them but they were patient. So, my Christian friends, you should copy their example. 11 We know that God blessed people who were like that. They continued to trust God when trouble happened to them. You have heard about Job. He waited patiently for God to help him in his troubles. You know how the Lord helped him in the end. Because of that, we see that the Lord God is very kind and he helps us.
12 Here is another important thing to remember, my Christian friends. When you want to make a strong promise, never use extra words. Do not say, ‘I promise by heaven,’ or ‘I promise by the earth.’ Do not use any extra words like that. When you say ‘yes,’ that should be enough. When you say ‘no,’ that should also be enough. If you say more than that, God will say that you are guilty.
Jesus talks about how to pray
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to teach them that they must go on praying always. They must not get tired. 2 He said to them, ‘In a certain city, there was a judge.[a] He was not afraid of God. He did not respect people.
3 A woman lived in that same city. Her husband had died. She came to the judge many times with a problem. “Somebody is doing bad things against me. Please keep me safe from that person,” she was saying. 4 For a long time, the judge would not do anything to help her. Later, he thought, “I am not afraid of God. Nor do I respect people. 5 But this woman causes me trouble. If I do not do anything for her, she will continue to come to me again and again. She will make me ill. So I will help her to be safe. I will say that she is right.” ’
6 Jesus then said, ‘This judge was not a good man. But you should think about what he said. He helped the woman because she caused him trouble. 7 But as for God, he always helps those that he has chosen to be his children. When they continue to ask him for help, in the day and in the night, he will answer them. He will not wait. 8 I tell you this. He will show that they are right. He will help them quickly. I, the Son of Man, will return to earth. But will I find many people that still believe in me then, or not?’
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