A Prayer about God’s Wrath and Mercy
A Prayer about God’s Wrath and Mercy
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God. ’ Revelation 16:1
Holy, Wrathful, and Merciful Judge,
We confess, your wrath is not our favorite subject.
It’s true, we may avoid it because of violent street-corner preachers
who scream at us at a stoplight,
but nonetheless, the Bible teaches that you will judge your enemies,
those who rebel against you,
those who refuse to name you as the Lord of the universe,
those who prefer to rule their own lives.
Today, help us to consider your wrath
in the context of what we know about you and ourselves:
You are a holy God,
perfectly just, perfectly righteous,
so your wrath is not the impulsive, violent anger
of a power-hungry abuser.
We have all “sinned and fall short of” your glory (Romans 3:23).
Our sin is dark, complex, toxic, and destructive.
You are compassionate and merciful,
and because you are,
despite your people’s rebellion,
you “atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them…”;
you “restrained your anger often
and did not stir up your wrath” (Psalm 78:38).
We long for justice to be done, for evil to be eradicated,
for the day of no more racism, abuse, genocide, murder, rape,
or any other betrayal of your love
or demeaning of the dignity
of your image-bearers.
You send us out to share the good news of your grace,
to invite others to know your love and kindness
and mercy and forgiveness.
Help us to see you rightly
so that we may thank you
for your appropriate and deserved wrath
against all evil.
In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.
Read Revelation 15-19; Psalm 78:38; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:6-9.
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage
author, life and legacy coach, speaker
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is the author of Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven.
(affiliate link)
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Lord,
We believe; help our unbelief.
We believe you have already come into our midst
in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
We believe you are a mighty one
who has already saved us from our sins
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But in the next line of this magnificent verse,
we stutter and stumble.
We think that maybe you will rejoice in us
some day in the future
when we are more holy,
that you will love us
some day in the future
when we never sin again,
that you will exult in us with loud singing
some day in the future
when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.
But that’s not what Scripture tells us.
The gospel good news
for all who trust in Jesus
is that right this minute,
you are rejoicing over us,
right this minute
you are quieting us with your love,
right this minute
and you are exulting over us with loud singing.
You saved us.
You love us.
You delight in us.
You sing extra-loud over us,
like the five-year-old who loves to sing
at the top of his lungs
because he’s so happy.
Help us today to sit quietly
and listen for the sound
of your delight in us,
and may that delight
change the way we live and love
today and every day.
In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.
Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage
author, life and legacy coach, speaker
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is the author of Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven.
(affiliate link)
