Prayer Of Comfort For Those Orphaned Or Abandoned

A Prayer for a Broken Heart

• Cortney Whiting
• 2017Nov 14

As I browse the checkout line at the grocery store, I notice the covers of the magazines. The decorated tables, beautiful homes, and smiling models. They are pictures of perfection. Yet, adjacent to these are the gossip tabloids, exploiting the misery and pain of others. The photographs are raw. Within the space of a few inches is a dichotomy that reflects how our world can turn on a dime.

Since sin entered the world, creation has suffered its consequences. Distrust, discomfort, and death were not original to Eden. Yet, because of sin, we live with brokenness. We suffer injustice by the hands of others. We experience the consequence of our own transgressions.

But by God’s grace, we can experience healing. Sometimes, we set limits on how God heals. We picture Jesus healing a blind man or a sick woman. Yet, these actions were signs to point to his authority. God sent the Wounded Healer to restore the brokenhearted back to himself.

We see this in the story of Hagar, the Egyptian slave, in Genesis 16 and 21. Though cast aside by her mistress and left to die, the Lord continued to see and provide for her and her child. She responds by giving him the name, “The God who sees.

” Psalm 147 praises God for his ability to heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

In Isaiah 61:1, God promises to bind up the brokenhearted. This was the verse Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue at the beginning of his ministry.

We sometimes confuse this promise with immediate healing and when we continue to feel pangs of sorrow, our faith wanes. His purpose was to bind up a world that had been broken by sin.

The concept of binding implies that he will wrap us tightly in his loving presence and hold us, making it so we can carry on.

When Jesus entered the world, he experienced the same grief and brokenness caused by sin that we experience today. He suffered and endured rejection, humiliation, hunger, temptation, sorrow, and betrayal. Yet, through his death and resurrection, he overcame the world by conquering sin and death.

Through his resurrection, we have victory over the darkness. By his stripes, we are healed. We have the hope to carry on because we are more than conquerors in Christ because nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:37-39).

It is this truth that we must cling to in times of crisis and heartbreak.

Before his crucifixion, Jesus predicted the heartbreak his disciples will experience (John 16). Even in his prediction was hope. This hope came through the promise of the Spirit. Through the Spirit, the disciples would be able to experience the fullness of God and a joy previously unknown. But it was by pathway of sorrow that the intimacy of rejoicing would follow.

After the resurrection and at through the Spirit, the disciples spread the gospel message and made way for the Church to make a lasting impact for thousands of years.

Perhaps healing should not be gauged by restoration of physical property or life, but rather a renewal of our intimacy with our Creator and Sustainer God. We were created to be at peace with God and with others. Sin has broken our ability to obtain that in and of ourselves.

Yet, through Christ, God has graciously given us an opportunity to receive healing to our delicate hearts in a broken world.

By Christ’s parting gift of His Spirit, we are comforted in the most trying times and are given the divine strength to live another day in the joy that only God can give.

A Prayer for a Broken Heart:

Lord, my heart is so heavy this morning. My sorrow is so great. In the midst of all this pain I am feeling, I am so thankful that you are God and I am not. I am thankful that you are all-powerful, that I do not have to hold it all together or be strong for everyone in my life.

You are my strength. You are strong for my loved-ones when I can’t be. I am thankful you are all-knowing – that you know the outcome to this misery I am facing. That I don’t have to figure out what the next week or month or year looks , because you have it all held together.

And you promise my feet won’t slip. Help me, Lord! Strengthen me for today. Give me daily bread, that I can be sustained through this heartache. Thank you God that you are close when I am hurting. Thank you God for the comfort, grace and joy that only you can give. Hold me up today.

In your name I pray, Amen.

A Short Prayer for a Broken Heart 

Lord, please heal my broken heart. Fill me with the peace and joy I know can only come from You during this hard time. Walk closely beside me during my journey to healing and recovery that I know is possible through Your power alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.

A Daily Morning Prayer
A Prayer for When You're Overwhelmed by Fear
A Prayer for a Broken Heart
A Prayer for Worry
A Prayer for First Thing in the Morning
A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to Do

Cortney is a wife and mother of two wonderfully energetic children. She received her Masters of Theology Degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. After serving in the church for nearly 15 years, Cortney currently serves as a lay-leader and writes for various Christian ministries. You can find her at www.unveilinggraces.blogspot.com.

Источник: //www.ibelieve.com/faith/a-prayer-for-a-broken-heart.html

A Prayer for When You’re Hurting: 10 Verses of Comfort for Tough Times

Some days, life is just hard. The days look dark. Uncertain times and stress mount high. An unexpected diagnosis or devastating loss can feel too difficult to face.

Though we may realize our faith is most strengthened, not in the easy times of life, but in the most trying, it’s often hard to walk that out once we're swirling in the midst of it all.

 We long for carefree days, yet sometimes, God takes our hand and leads us straight into the darkest of times. Not to harm us, ever.

 But to bring greater strength, character, trust, beauty, and perseverance to the deepest part of our souls. 

His desire for us in this life is to ultimately make us more Him. To have a relationship with us. He will not leave us sitting in dark days but will walk with us through until we come out on the other side. Changed. Stronger. Renewed. With great purpose.

For those who need fresh hope today…you are not alone. 

You are never forgotten. 

He is with you.

Every step of the way.

10 Verses for when you feel broken, for those in need of comfort:

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps 147:3

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Ps 34:18

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

“I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait on the Lord.” Ps 27:13-14

“Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor 1:3-4

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Ps 55:22

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor 12:9

Know that He loves you, He cares about what you're walking through, every single thing. And He hasn't left you, not ever. Praying that you'll have a fresh glimpse of His Presence as He's bringing you through, to the other side of the grief.

There's more in store…He has good for you…and whispers hope.

A Prayer for When You're Hurting

Dear God,

Some days feel too hard. We’re hurting. Struggling. Fighting fear and worry at every turn. Thank you in the midst of it all, you haven’t left us to fend for ourselves. Forgive us for doubting you are there. Forgive us for thinking you’ve forgotten. Forgive us for believing we somehow know the better way.

You are fully trustworthy. You are All-Powerful. You are Able. You are Lord over every situation no matter how difficult it may seem. You are Healer and will never waste the grief we carry today. You will use all things for good in some way. Anything is possible with you. Nothing is too difficult for you.

We pray for those who grieve today. We ask for your comfort to surround those who weep. We pray for the peace of your presence to cover our minds and thoughts, as you remind us, the enemy can never steal us  your hands. He never has the final say over our lives. We are kept safe in your presence forever, whether in life or in death.

We lay it all down at your feet, every burden, every care. Believing that is the safest place for it to be.

We love you, Lord, we need your fresh grace.

In the Powerful Name of Jesus,

Amen.

What are you praying for God to take control of today? Join our large community of praying believers in the comments below and experience hope, peace and comfort as you face each day.

Debbie McDaniel is a writer, pastor's wife, mom to three amazing kids (and a lot of pets). Join her each morning on Fresh Day Ahead's page, //www..com/DebbieWebbMcDaniel, for daily encouragement in living strong, free, hope-filled lives. Find her also at //.com/debbmcdaniel and //www.debbiemcdaniel.com.

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.

Prayer for Healing
Prayer for Strength
Intercessory Prayer
Prayer for Protection
Morning Prayers
The Prayer of Jabez
Short Prayers
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer of St Francis
A Birthday Prayer
Irish Prayers and Blessings
Advent Prayers
Christmas Prayers
Thanksgiving Prayer
Prayer Quotes

Now available is our new Daily Prayer devotional! An easy way to find start your day with prayer read today’s prayer and sign up to receive by email.

Источник: //www.crosswalk.com/blogs/debbie-mcdaniel/a-prayer-for-when-youre-hurting-10-verses-of-comfort-for-tough-times.html

A Prayer for When You’re Hurting: 10 Verses of Comfort for Tough Times – Prayers

Some days, life is just hard. The days look dark. Uncertain times and stress mount high. An unexpected diagnosis or devastating loss can feel too difficult to face.

Though we may realize our faith is most strengthened, not in the easy times of life, but in the most trying, it’s often hard to walk that out once we're swirling in the midst of it all.

 We long for carefree days, yet sometimes, God takes our hand and leads us straight into the darkest of times. Not to harm us, ever.

 But to bring greater strength, character, trust, beauty, and perseverance to the deepest part of our souls. 

His desire for us in this life is to ultimately make us more Him. To have a relationship with us. He will not leave us sitting in dark days but will walk with us through until we come out on the other side. Changed. Stronger. Renewed. With great purpose.

For those who need fresh hope today…you are not alone. 

You are never forgotten. 

He is with you.

Every step of the way.

Problems with Abandoned and Orphaned Wells

Left: Cabin Run orphaned oil well, Morgan County, Ohio. Many of the older oil and gas wells were either perfunctorily plugged, or else not at all. Right: The Pennsylvania DEP thinks this Bradford Township explosion in McKean County, PA might have been due to a nearby abandoned gas well that was drilled in 1881.

In April of 2000, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released a plan for dealing with the approximately 8,000 abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells throughout the Commonwealth.

This report singled out 550 wells that were especially problematic, and of those, 129 were flagged as the highest priority, with a point score of 30 or greater on their internal scale.

Eleven years later, there are over 8,500 abandoned and orphaned wells, and 186 with a point score of 30 or greater. Most ly, this increase doesn’t suggest newly abandoned wells so much as the discovery of additional old ones.

After all, according to Independant Petroleum Association of America estimates, over 325,000 oil and gas wells were drilled statewide between 1859 and 2000. The DEP has no information on more than half of those wells–about 184,000.

  Therefore, the actual number of abandoned and orphaned wells in Pennsylvania could be much higher than the estimates provided above.

Abandoned wells are those that have been production for a year or more, and orphaned wells are wells that were abandoned prior to 1985, and from which the current landholder or operator didn’t receive any economic benefits.  When wells are designated as orphaned, the DEP is responsible for plugging them.  As of February, there are 6,251 wells classified as orphaned and 2,272 abandoned wells.

Reasons for Concern

Obviously, the prospects of houses suddenly exploding, as in the picture above, is reason enough to be concerned, and yet there are a variety of ways in which abandoned oil and gas wells can impact Pennsylvania’s environment and the health and well being of our residents.

Most unplugged wells release some amount of oil, gas, condensate, or brine, which can kill vegetation, damage fragile riparian ecosystems, and contaminate aquifers. There is also the possibility of injury due to the sudden release of pressure.

Some abandoned wells are 30 inch diameter open holes that are obviously a danger for children to fall into.

May 30, 2011 sinkhole in Allentown, PA
There is also the possibility that the presence of wells, whether active or or not, will aggravate unstable geologic formations, which are fairly common in Pennsylvania, due to mining activities in the west and soluble limestone formations in the east. This recent Allentown sinkhole was reportedly caused by a water leak, and caused significant property damage.

To give an example of the potential impact of abandoned oil and gas wells, here are some of the comments from the Abandoned and Orphaned Wells Program, with corresponding point scores:

Comments on abandoned wells and their corresponding point scores.

It is not always clear why a well was given a particular priority rating.  Indeed, there are many instances where ratings are zero, but the comments give reason for concern, such as “Oil in water supply” and “Well intact, near implement dealer facility, is a fire hazard.” Additionally, less than 15 percent of the abandoned wells listed give any comment at all.

Incidents in McKean County

Recent explosion incidents in McKean County, PA. Please click on the gray compass rose and double chevron to hide those menus.

The Bradford Township fire mentioned above (the more southern of the two), is about half a mile from the nearest abandoned well on the list.  However, the suspected well, Rogers 9, was apparently only 300 feet away. Presumably, this well was not known about until the incident occurred.  Rogers 9 was drilled in 1881.

The other incident, in Foster Township, is at the northern edge of a tight cluster of recent drilling activity.  It is entirely possible that there are abandoned wells in that region too, but again, nothing is on our list in the immediate vicinity.

This information leads one to suspect that one of the fires was probably due to recent activity, while the other was caused by a long-forgotten well. Whether or not that was the case, it is clear that drilling holes in the earth near where people live can have an adverse effect for a very long time.

Well Plugging

While well plugging technology has obviously improved over the years, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is always done right.

A single $25,000 bond currently is the only insurance that an operator will plug all of their wells statewide, once they are no longer in production.

In most cases, that is probably adequate, since there are non-monetary incentives for the operator to stay in good graces with the DEP. However, there are numerous smaller operators with wells still in production, including some residents who have their own private wells.

According to the Bradford Era, over 2,700 wells have already been plugged statewide under the program. In McKean County, more than 950 wells have been plugged since 1989, at a cost of over $6.5 million.

As mentioned above, the DEP assumes responsibility for plugging the orphaned wells. The money for this comes from $150 fees added to oil permit applications, and $250 fees for gas permits. Money is clearly a limiting factor in how many wells the DEP can to plug.

Those 11 Erie County wells required funds from 550 new gas permits. If those wells represent the average current price for plugging a well, then the 6,251 orphaned wells still on the list would cost over $78 million to plug, requiring the permit fees from 312,550 new wells.

And that is still not including the approximately 184,000 abandoned wells that the DEP doesn’t even know about.

Maybe it is time for a new strategy.

Источник: //www.fractracker.org/2011/06/problems-with-abandoned-and-orphaned-wells/

Top 7 Bible Verses About Caring For Orphans

Here are my top seven Bible verses about caring for Orphans

James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

People might say they’re spiritual (whatever that means) or they might call themselves religious but God detests such talk if they neglect the widows and the orphans in the church.

God is the defender of the defenseless and their cry goes up before Him and He hears their afflictions. Talk is cheap; action is not.

Whoever says they’re religious and doesn’t provide for the widows and orphans, at least in some way, is not religious at all but actually a hypocrite. God doesn’t want more religious people; He desires disciples after His own heart.

Exodus 22:22-24 “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

This was a law for the nation of Israel but there is no reason to believe that this law should not apply to our world today, particularly in the church.

God’s wrath burns against those who mistreat or take advantage of the widows and the fatherless (orphans) because they are not in a position to take care of themselves, therefore it is incumbent upon Christians to make sure no one takes advantage of or mistreat any of the widows or the orphans (fatherless).

Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

Isaiah the Prophet puts it this way; we must seek justice and correct any oppression we see and bring swift justice to the orphans and plead for the widow’s cause because no one else ly will.

Isaiah says that we must “learn to do good” indicating that it doesn’t come naturally to us but we must also “seek justice” and if necessary, correct any injustices we see so it takes intentionality and not just seeing the injustices.

Seeking justice indicates that there might be injustices that no one knows about.

Psalm 82:3 “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

The psalmist says that we must give justice to the weak and the orphans so we are without excuse if we see the orphans who are afflicted and don’t do anything about it. We must “give justice to the weak,” meaning that we have to do something about it.

Job 29:12 “Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him.”

Sadly, many in Job’s day apparently didn’t attend to the poor and the orphans because he says that he saw that they “had none to help” so he did.

Job says he delivered the poor when they cried out in hunger since nobody else did.

Those who know about the needs of the orphans in the church and do nothing about it will have to give an account for their sin of omission to God someday because Jesus sees it as if we were doing to Him (Matt 25:4).

Psalm 146:9 “The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.”

Aren’t we all really sojourners in this life since this is not our home? Since many in the nation of Israel, those in the world today, didn’t uphold the widows and orphans, God did. How sad that we neglect our widows, widowers, and orphans in the church while most of us have plenty (for the most part).

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

This last verse about caring for the orphans is one that shows God’s faithfulness. He will not only never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5) but He won’t leave us as orphans either.

Just before Jesus was to go to the cross and died for sinners, they were anxious about Jesus leaving to return to the Father so Jesus reassures them that He isn’t going to ever leave them, as it were as orphans, but will come again to take them to Himself and into the kingdom of God.

Conclusion

We who have repented and trusted in Christ have God as our Father and His sure and certain promises are that He will come for us someday to bring us into the kingdom but in the meantime, He’s going to care for us as His own children and the last thing He’d ever do is forsake us or leave us in our time of need (Heb 13:5). Sadly, this is not so with the world that often overlooks the orphans because they’re so fixated on their own needs, pleasures, and comfort.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Источник: //www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/12/30/top-7-bible-verses-about-caring-for-orphans/