This illustration dates from 2003, created to accompany a tribute to the “angels on assignment” who ministered to my dad and my family when we met up in Cape Town for a last Christmas together just weeks before my dad died. The illustration features a wood-carving that I bought during that trip and that now hangs in my front window.
Here is a prayer by Bruce Prewer for all those angels, human and heavenly, ministering in needy situations here on earth.
Prayer of Intercession
The word angel originally meant “messenger.”
For God’s angels on this earth,
let us now pray.
We thank you, loving God,
that you do not leave us without helpers.
Thank you for your special agents, those guardian angels —
both human and heavenly — who never cease to care.
Wherever there are situations of confusion,
where doubts proliferate and anxieties spawn,
please send in your angels of light.
Wherever people are crippled by guilt,
or deeply regret damage to others which they can never rectify,
send in your angels of mercy.
Wherever there is arrogance and deceit,
corruption and rapacious greed,
send in your fiery angels of judgement.
Wherever ignorance reigns
or superstition cripples individuals or communities,
please send in your angels of truth.
Wherever persons or nations become obsessed with aggression,
or resort to terrorism and warfare,
send in your agents of peace and goodwill.
Wherever families are at loggerheads,
or in the workplace folk feel alienated from one another,
send in your angels of reconciliation.
Wherever people see their future as bleak or dangerous,
and fall into the trap of inertia or despair,
please send in your angels of hope.
Wherever the church becomes exclusive,
or gets caught up in its own regulations,
traditions, or inflexible dogma,
send in your angels of reformation.
Wherever ministers lose their passion for the Gospel,
or congregations become self-satisfied or apathetic,
please send in your angels of rebuke.
Wherever there are people who are afflicted by disease
or injured in accidents,
struggle against mental ills
or suffer from criminal violence,
send in your angels of healing.
Wherever the dying endure fears or pain,
and the bereaved either shed the hot tears of a fresh grief
or endure the long-term loss of a partner or friend,
send in your angels of comfort.
Loving God,
Lord of all the messengers of grace on earth and in heaven,
hear our prayers and enlist us, please God,
within the ranks of your caring angels.
Through Jesus Christ your only True Son,
our Saviour and our inspiration.
Amen!
written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s website.
Have you got your next angel assignment yet?
from the blog: Fierce love #2
