Jon Saunders, Campus Ministry Director at URC, led the congregation in prayer yesterday, asking all in attendance to pray collectively for little Louisa Minnaar, the newest covenant child at URC. Louisa, born last Tuesday, has a congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (the left side of the heart has not developed properly). Louisa is currently at U of M on full life support. The next days are especially critical. Would you please join us as we continue to pray Jons prayer for this child? This morning we want to come as a church family in prayer for precious Louisa Minnaar. Louisa was born earlier this week and is currently in critical condition. If you agree in your mind with all that I am about to pray, then pray with me by affirming the truths by saying amen. In this way our prayer will by multiplied up into the heavens. Our declaration this morning is that you are both our Lord and our Father, which brings us great comfort. For your Lordship means that you reign over all and that you sovereignly hold all things past, present and future in your hands. You rule in strength and majesty. You do not change course in the slightest. Everything and everyone is derived from you, and you are derived from nothing. And yet you are our Father, full of mercy, full of grace and full of compassion. Like any good father you long to bless and give us only the best. For these two attributes, your Lordship and your Fatherly care, we come to you confidently in prayer, petitioning on behalf of Nick and Carissa Minnaar. We thank you for the birth of Louisa Minnaar, born on Tuesday. All life is a gift and we rejoice in you that you are the giver of life. We are sobered by the updates we have been receiving throughout the week of her increasingly worsening condition. Lord, have mercy. Lord, hear our prayer. Lord, with all that we have in us, we plead with you to spare this precious child. In these trying hours we are drawn to Psalm 46. Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Lord, be this for the Minnaar family. Such a profound promise, that in the midst of the trouble, you will be our refuge, our strength and our help. Help the Minnaar family. Strengthen the Minnaar family. Be their refuge. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Father, though it appears that the earth is giving way, we do not fear, but we turn to you, as our Father and our Lord. For surely, if you are able to speak a word and an entire galaxy is brought into existence, then you can speak again and make a babys heart start to beat. And surely if you can part the Red Sea for your people to walk through on dry ground, then you can move again and stop bleeding on little Louisas brain. And surely, if you are able to conquer both sin and death by triumphantly raising your crucified Son to full resurrection glory, then surely you can raise Louisa to full life! Oh, the glory you would receive if you would answer our prayer! For the sake of your great name Father we ask that you would work. So that your church would be encouraged, we ask that you would work. So that the non-believing lips of this world would be shut-up in awestruck silence, we ask that you would work. For the joy of the Minnaar family, we ask that you would work. For the sake of Louisas life and for the sake of your great name, we plead with you to work. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. May this river whose streams make us glad, be more than a stream right now to the Minnaar family. May it be an overflowing mountain river, crashing over them in rich mercy. As the uncertainty of the last couple days has certainly rocked the Minnaar family, may the grace of this river grant them the certain hope that there is a coming city, full of joy, peace and ever increasing pleasure and happiness. We know that in this church body there are many other forms of suffering. We continue to pray for Elliott Orr and his bone cancer. Lord, have mercy. We know there are brothers and sisters struggling with anxiety and depression. Lord, have mercy. We know that even in this last week there have been other updates from doctors that have brought us grief. Lord, have mercy. We have so often confessed question and answer 1 from the Heidelberg Catechism so tritely. Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. We realize this is not the time to be trite or careless. May the comfort promised in the catechism be the rock solid confidence for the Minnaar family during these trying days. If you have agreed in your mind with all that I have just prayed, we can send it into the heavens by ending in unison. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:26:15 +0000
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