Being Merciful

Father,

You have made it clear to us through your word the importance of mercy. You have told us that you desire mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6), you have said that you require of us to love mercy (Micah 6:8)you have told us that we will experience judgment without mercy unless we are merciful (James 2:13) and that our sins will not be forgiven unless we are merciful (Matthew 18:32-35).

I pray for these that you will continually soften their hearts by the experiences in their lives and by what they observe in the world around them. Though I pray they do not live in guilt from the mistakes they will make, I pray that they never forget the magnitude of your forgiveness and mercy shown to them, and by remembering your mercy, they will increasingly be merciful to those around them.

The challenge of mercy is that many who suffer hardship and failure, do so because of poor choices they have made and often continue to make. Help these children, oh Lord, understand that everyone makes poor choices in life and, by your protection and mercy, we may be spared the consequences of those choices, while others are not so spared and that, truly, there but by the grace of God go we.  Help them also to remember that, without the sacrifice of your Son, any poor choice on their part would mean eternal condemnation.

Help them to be people known for their mercy.

Amen