Episode 112: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Dear friends, welcome to Peace Prayers. My name is Juli, the creator and host of the podcast, and I would love to be able to spend some time with you today. Our goal is to take a few moments and dive deep into God’s word before meditating on it ourselves. I’ll read a scripture from the Bible, and then we’ll pray it together over our lives. Invite a friend to listen in and let’s start our day with God’s peace. I am so excited to get started; thank you for joining me today.
You’re listening to Episode 112 and today’s verse is 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
Let’s pray together.
God, I need comfort today. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I want to be wrapped in a blanket, sipping a hot drink, cozy in front of a fire, with someone stroking my head and telling me everything is going to be okay. I don’t want to think about war and death or work and finances or health and exercise or responsibilities or relationships or friends and family needs or anything remotely important. I just want to be free of worry and stress.
I know my troubles are relatively few comparatively. Sometimes they are anyway. Sometimes they’re the biggest of big. But it doesn’t matter because my pain is my pain. I feel it anyway. And I feel like a child or someone who’s selfish because I do need to take care of this pain somehow. I know Paul is talking about some tremendously big trials here, especially compared to my own. But I still feel small and needy.
So I pray for Your compassion and for Your help in my time of trouble. I pray that my suffering is not needless and that You are the lifter of my soul. I pray that when I feel as I do now, that You are with me. Comfort me, Father. You are the only one who really knows how. You bring ultimate peace and strength through hardship. And You always know what I need to hear. You know the solutions to my problems. And You know when I just need You. I always need You.
I pray it doesn’t end there, God. I pray that when You comfort me, I comfort others. I pray I extend that mercy forward, always willing and able to share the hope that I have. I pray that the trials I go through teach me how to help someone in a similar situation and that I use the wisdom and knowledge I have received for the benefit of others. Please don’t let me rest quietly in comfort and isolation, but help me reach behind me, extending a hand to those just a few steps behind who need the help You have given me.
And I thank You that when that happens, that it’s more than just helping someone and bringing them comfort, there is comfort in it for me as well. It’s the next layer of comfort You provide. And it brings with it maturity and growth, endurance and openness, that I couldn’t know unless I had both suffered and given grace. I still don’t want to go through this, LORD. But I know You’re there and You will sustain me. You will never leave me or forsake me. And I will get through this, whatever the next thing is, and I will hold Your hand through it all.
Let me walk on the water to You, LORD. And let me eyes be fixed on You. And let it be well with my soul.
I pray this in the co-suffering and teaching name of Jesus. Amen.
That is the end of our collective prayer, but don’t forget that you can keep praying and meditating on this on your own. Thank you so much for joining me and I hope you have a peaceful rest of your day. I’d love to ask you a favor before we go and that is to please subscribe and leave a review for the podcast if you haven’t already. That is the best way to invite other people to join us in our prayers and it helps me more than you can know.
And let’s get to know each other better. Follow me over on Instagram at thejulihernandez where you can DM me prayer requests or suggestions on verses you’d like me to pray on the podcast or just let me know what’s going on in your life. Another way to get in touch with what I’m up to is on my website at www.thejulihernandez.com. My website hosts a transcription of each prayer so that you can pray them whenever you like. You’ll also see monthly blog posts that detail my next writing project and I can’t wait to engage with you on that as well. Let’s connect, but for now, Shalom.
