Lenten Meditation

Scripture Readings

Isaiah 50:1–5

Thus says the Lord:
Where is your mother’s bill of divorce
 with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
 to whom I have sold you?
No, because of your sins you were sold,
 and for your transgressions your mother was put away.
Why was no one there when I came?
 Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
 Or have I no power to deliver?
By my rebuke I dry up the sea,
 I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water,
 and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness,
 and make sackcloth their covering.

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

The Lord God has given me
 the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
 the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
 wakens my ear
 to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
 and I was not rebellious,
 I did not turn backwards.

Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
 for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
 those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
 from the east and from the west,
 from the north and from the south.

Some were sick through their sinful ways,
 and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
 and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
 and he saved them from their distress;
he sent out his word and healed them,
 and delivered them from destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
 for his wonderful works to humankind.
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
 and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

I Peter 3:8–16

Suffering for Doing Right

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing. For

‘Those who desire life
 and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
 and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
 let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

St. Luke 13:10–17

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Prayers

Opening Prayer

Our gracious and mericful Lord, we pray, please grant that we may observe this season of Lent with holy fasting, so that we may by Your power, battle against spiritual evils and grow in purity within and without. Enable us to live close to you and ceaselessly praise You, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.


Great Thanksgiving Prayer

It is indeed good and right to give you thanks and praise, Almighty God and Everlasting Father, through Jesus Christ Your Son. For in this season of Lent, You lead us into the desert of repentance, that through the pilgrimage of prayer and discipline we may grow in grace and become more like our Lord. Through fasting, prayer and acts of service, You bring us to Your generous heart. May our self denial bring glory to You, and help us to be humble and get rid of our sinful pride. Help us to care for the poor and the destitute. Help us, Lord, to imitate You in our deeds. We thank you for Your mercy and join with saints and angels to proclaim:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
heaven and earth are full of His glory,
hosanna in the highest;
blessed is He who has come,
and is to come
in the name of the Lord,
hosanna in the highest.


Post Communion Prayer

Gracious and compassionate Father in heaven, we thank you for strengthening our faith and hope. We praise You for deepening our love through this worship. Pour out the power of the Holy Spirit on us that we may live by the Word of Christ, the Bread of Life. We offer our life at your feet that in this season of Lent, the life and nature of Christ may grow deeper in us. We ascribe praise and thanksgiving to You, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.


Prayer Focus

 For the month of March GFA World’s prayer focus is clean water. Please join us in praying for clean water.

 “He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings.”—Psalm 107:35

 So often in the Holy Scriptures, God uses water to illustrate who He is and what He does for us. He compares His blessing to streams for dry ground, describes His Spirit as water for a thirsty man and calls Himself the “fountain of living waters” (Isaiah 44:3; Jeremiah 2:13).

 Just as God blesses, satisfies and gives us life, water has the power to bring fruitfulness to our communities, refreshment to our thirst and life to our bodies.

 Yet, in many places throughout Africa and Asia, precious people are living in “dry lands” and have yet to experience the gift of abundant, clean water. Their knowledge of the Living Water—and the wholeness He brings—is even more limited.

 This month, will you join us in asking God to bring water and hope to those still waiting in a “dry land”?

Please Pray with us

Source for Scripture Passages: Scripture texts are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Source for Prayers: Believers Eastern Church Liturgy Copyright © 2018 Believers Eastern Church. Used by permission.

Source for Art: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Woman with an Infirmity of Eighteen Years, from Art in the Christian Tradition a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57031 [retrieved 8 February 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HealWomanSabbath.jpg.

Hide this / Don't show me again

Bridge
Builders

Go Into All
The World

GFA's Bridge Builders answer
the Great Commission

Learn More