Psalm 28:6-9
“Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

I turned to this psalm this morning and in the margin of my bible was written a prayer of thanksgiving on 1 November 2007 to God for bringing my son home safely from Iraq after a 15 month tour there. As I read these verses again my heart wells up with joy and thanksgiving for God’s kindness and mercy. Yet, I have a confession to make. Once my son was back from Iraq I stopped paying attention to the war. I stopped praying regularly for our soldiers who serve so faithfully over there. I have a friend whose son is in Afghanistan and husband is in Iraq so this has reminded me to pray again for our soldiers. In yesterday’s news I heard that a 26 year old lieutenant from the city where I presently live was killed in Baghdad last week. He was my son’s age. It caused me to be so sad for this young man and his family and again so grateful to God for bringing my son home.

By God’s kindness I have been convicted of my selfish behavior. Once my son came home, I for all intent and purposes, forgot about the other soldiers there. My desire is to persevere in prayer for the soldiers who remain in harm’s way and for their families as they wait for their loved ones to come home. How have I even been able to consider NOT persevering when these people are willing to sacrifice their entire lives to serve their country?

Oh Lord, thank you for the gift of your conviction. I am so sorry for receiving what I wanted for my son and then not persevering in prayers for other’s sons and daughters. This is so prideful and selfish. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that covers my sins. You are so merciful to me. I am weak Lord and I need your help to persevere in prayer. These men and women persevere in WAR and I find it hard to remember to pray for them? Oh Lord, may you affect a change in my heart and help me to remember to pray for our soldiers. May you use their lives to advance the gospel and may peace there reign soon. Please keep them safe Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.