My Prayer-Poem for the Second Sunday of Lent 28 February 2021

The Old Testament reading set for today is from Genesis Chapter 17, God’s promise to Abraham.


The faith of Father Abraham
Trusted and obeyed
Just because You said so,
Just because he’d prayed.


But the mission that You gave
to that faithful man,
old and weak in body,
was a shocking plan.


A plan I am quite certain
that in a hundred years
I would never contemplate;
a father’s deepest fears!


A plan to kill his only child
is what unfolded there,
even though you’d guaranteed
the answer to his prayer


that Sarah should conceive a child
despite her barren state
and myriad descendants
like stars proliferate.


How on earth to trust you Lord?
How can we believe
when we cannot justify
the horrors we perceive?


Perhaps the reason Abraham
is “Father” to our Creed
is built on how he trusted you,
believing You’d succeed


in keeping your great promises
even if Isaac died!
“Raise him again from death”, he thought;
Faith and Faith multiplied!


And so we follow Abraham;
Lord, give me faith like his;
despite the hopelessness of life,
to trust Your promises.


©️Mark Andrew Smith
#the100dayproject #KingsTaunton #PrayAPoem

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