Where do we find grace to help us in our time of need?
The Letter to the Hebrews does not quite frame the question in that way. However, the Letter answers the question and points us to ‘Jesus, the Son of God’ as the One who acts on our behalf and who will bring us into the gracious presence of God.
Our time of need is now, and the needs of the world are plenty. In such a time as this, we turn to the great high priest who has faced and endured all that we face and endure. We do so knowing that the One who has endured all will enable us to ‘approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need’.
In the words of the hymn writer:
‘Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.’
We pray:
Living God,
Have mercy on us
And grant to us grace in time of need;
For we are those who struggle
And know our weaknesses all too well.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Have mercy on us
And grant to us grace in time of need;
For we know the struggles of the world
And the pain that so many bear.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Have mercy on us
And grant to us grace in time of need;
For You know us and You love us
And You reach out to us in the place where we are.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Have mercy on us
And grant to us grace in time of need;
For You call us to love our neighbour
And to bear one another’s burdens on the way.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Have mercy on us
And grant to us grace in time of need;
For we make bold to approach the throne of grace
And do so in the assurance that You will hear our cry.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Signed by:
- Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
- Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
- Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
- Rev. Dr David Miller, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
- Rev. Neil MacMillan, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland
- Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
- Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
- Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
- Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
- Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
- Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
- Rev. Ruth Turner, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
- Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
- Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
- Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)