May God Regard with Favor Your Burnt Sacrifices

Text: Psalm 20

Reflection and Question: It is the custom in my church, The Community of Reconciliation, for the leader in worship to have a “signature” benediction. These verses have become very familiar to me because my friend, Pastor Tom, uses them when he closes our Sunday service. He catches me up every time when he asks that God “regard with favor your burnt sacrifices.” As far as I know I have not sacrificed any lambs or pigeons ever, let alone recently. In this way, Tom spurs me on to lay down my life as a sacrifice into God’s hands. What offerings of yours will God regard with favor?

Prayer: Eternal God, answer us in the day of trouble, protect us, send us help, give us support, grant us our heart’s desire, fulfill all our plans and petitions, answer us when we call. We ask this through the precious name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).