Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A song of David.
41 Happy is the person who thinks about the poor.
When trouble comes, the Lord will save him.
2 The Lord will protect him and spare his life.
The Lord will bless him in the land.
The Lord will not let his enemies take him.
3 The Lord will give him strength when he is sick.
The Lord will make him well again.
4 I said, “Lord, be kind to me.
Heal me because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad 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.
They 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 ate at my table.
Now even he has turned against me.
10 Lord, have mercy on me.
Give me strength so I can pay them back.
11 My enemies do not defeat me.
That’s how I know you are pleased with me.
12 Because I am innocent, you support me.
You 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. The Lord said, “Solomon, I have heard your prayer. And I 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 my people, who are called by my name, will be sorry for what they have done. They will pray and obey me and stop their evil ways. If they do, 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 here forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.
17 “Solomon, obey me as your father David did. Obey all I have commanded. Obey my laws and rules. 18 If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David. I told him, ‘David, someone from your family will always be king in Israel.’
19 “But you must not turn away from me. You must not stop obeying the laws and commands I gave you. You must not serve and worship other gods. 20 If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I gave 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 surprised. They will say, ‘Why has the Lord done this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ 22 Then people will answer, ‘It’s because the Israelites left the Lord, the God their ancestors obeyed. He is the God who led them out of Egypt. But they accepted other gods and worshiped and served them. That is why the Lord brought this disaster on them.’”
2 My dear friend, I know your soul is doing well. I pray that you are doing fine in every way and that your health is good. 3 Some brothers in Christ came and told me about the truth in your life. They said that you are following the way of truth. This made me very happy. 4 It always gives me the greatest joy when I hear that my children are following the way of truth.
5 My dear friend, it is good that you continue to help the brothers. You are helping those that you do not even know! 6 These brothers told the church about the love you have. Please help them to continue their trip. Help them in a way that will please God. 7 They started out on their trip to serve Christ. They did not accept any help from those who are not believers. 8 So we should help these brothers. And when we do, we share in their work for the truth.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.