YES to Shepherding Care

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

---

God, our Lord and great Shepherd,
how we are thankful that we belong to you,
as the sheep of your pasture.
Today we're thankful and so relieved
that you do not leave us alone in the wilderness of life to navigate our journeys
or figure out how we're going to meet all of life demands by ourselves,
because we cannot.
Your Word assures us, in Psalm 23,
that because you are omniscient and all knowing, we can depend on you.

So, God, before we present our requests to you:
we ask that through Your Holy Spirit, you provide us as your sheep
with the power to hear and recognize the voice of Jesus  --
and obey, even when so many other competing voices are in our ears.

 Help us to stay united as the body of Christ,
as we travel through the wilderness of this world,
and through the trials and tests and troubles and persecutions
on our way to our eternal Promised Land.
Keep us together, as your followers. 

Make us good sheep
who follow with grateful and thankful and willing hearts
wherever you lead us.
We love you because you care for us,
and we can cast all of our cares upon you.
And so, God, you know our needs.
You know when we need green pastures for rest and recovery.
Some of us need that right now.

You know when we need still waters, when our souls require your refreshing.

 O loving Shepherd of the sheep, when we go astray,
come and bring us back into the flock again.

When we wander into unauthorized pastures of life,
bring us back to your bountiful table.
Where we can be nurtured back to spiritual health by your Word,
lead us into rest.

 Guide us beside peaceful waters and restore our souls daily.
We love you and we say YES to your personal care.
You are our personal shepherd!

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.