A Prayer to the Guardian of Your Soul
By Meg Bucher
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis 50:20
Listening to an old song, the lyrics speculated what the year 2000 would be like. Singing along, I laughed about how far away the current millennium was when the songwriter first hummed that tune. The world is kind of crazy. As I read the headlines about what’s happening in Ukraine, the Southern border of my own country, and listen to the suffering of humans trafficked around the world …empathy rises in my heart. Every generation fears for the next generation. Yet, if we study the history of humanity, every generation has a story of suffering to tell because suffering is a part of life here on earth.
In my generation alone, we watched the Challenger space shuttle explode live on tv in our grade-school classrooms. On September 11th, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC, and again, we watched it live on TV. In 2020, the global pandemic hit. These are just the first few significant moments I can recall. No matter what we go through, in our personal lives and on a grander scale alongside our generation, God doesn’t change. He is the Guardian of our souls.
Genesis 50:20 records the faithful words of Joseph; the man sold into slavery … by his brothers. “The principle that God ultimately overrules human sin for his glory and the good of mankind is important in Scripture,” the ESV Global Study Bible explains. Acts 3:13 says, “For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him.” The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28) Because of who God is and the sacrifice Jesus made to rescue us eternally, we can wholeheartedly proclaim:
“Let all that I am praise the LORD.” Psalm 104 :1
The theme of Psalm 104 is “appreciating God through his creation,” the NLT Life Application Bible explains, “He not only creates but also maintains his creation. The Lord’s care is the source of our joy.” Joseph wasn’t the only human to endure unfair trials and tribulations. Besides what he had personally gone through, the world as he knew it was experiencing a famine, which would affect his entire generation. God is the guardian of our souls. The plan has always been to rescue us through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Jesus went through the Old Testament Scripture with His disciples, pointing Himself out to them in the text!
Let’s pray:
Father,
You are the Guardian of our souls. Thank You for rescuing us through Jesus. Scripture says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 NLT) Regardless of what the world throws at us and the trouble we create for ourselves as sinners living on a cursed earth, You are the Guardian of our souls. Our souls will live on past our humanity on this earth and on to eternity with You, our Father and Savior. Your Word says, “Once you were like a sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25 NLT)
You, O God, are the guardian of our souls. When we turn to You through Christ Jesus, we have a safe place to hide when life is hard. We are not hidden away from trouble and pain but carried through it by Your compassion. You see us and guard us. When we fear our current situation or that of the world we are living in, we can pray the words of Psalm 17:8:
“Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.”
God, You will always be the Guardian of our souls. By the guidance of Your leadership, protection, wisdom, and love, we want to walk out our days on this earth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Photo Credit: © Unsplash/Cole Patrick
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Now that you've prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below!
Originally published Tuesday, 27 June 2023.
SHARE
