Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 Happy are those who think about the poor.
When trouble comes, the Lord will save them.
2 The Lord will protect them and spare their life
and will bless them in the land.
He will not let their enemies take them.
3 The Lord will give them strength when they are sick,
and he will make them well again.
4 I said, “Lord, have mercy on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying evil things about me.
They say, “When will he die and be forgotten?”
6 Some people come to see me,
but they lie.
They just come to get bad news.
Then they go and gossip.
7 All my enemies whisper about me
and think the worst about me.
8 They say, “He has a terrible disease.
He will never get out of bed again.”
9 My best and truest friend, who ate at my table,
has even turned against me.
10 Lord, have mercy on me.
Give me strength so I can pay them back.
11 Because my enemies do not defeat me,
I know you are pleased with me.
12 Because I am innocent, you support me
and will let me be with you forever.
13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He has always been,
and he will always be.
Amen and amen.
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself to be a Temple for sacrifices.
13 “I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people. 14 Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. 15 Now I will see them, and I will listen to the prayers prayed in this place. 16 I have chosen this Temple and made it holy. So I will be worshiped there forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.
17 “But you must serve me as your father David did. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my laws and rules. 18 If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David, saying, ‘Someone from your family will always rule in Israel.’
19 “But you must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods. 20 If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it. 21 This Temple is honored now, but then, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They decided to follow other gods and worshiped and served them, so he brought all this disaster on them.’”
2 My dear friend, I know your soul is doing fine, and I pray that you are doing well in every way and that your health is good. 3 I was very happy when some brothers and sisters came and told me about the truth in your life and how you are following the way of truth. 4 Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are following the way of truth.
5 My dear friend, it is good that you help the brothers and sisters, even those you do not know. 6 They told the church about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way worthy of God. 7 They started out in service to Christ, and they have been accepting nothing from nonbelievers. 8 So we should help such people; when we do, we share in their work for the truth.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.