New Mercy (Exodus 37:9)

The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
—Exodus 37:9

We have seen this before in Exodus: we have talked about our need for God’s mercy in Christ and others’ need for God’s mercy in Christ, and we have prayed for others to know and receive God’s mercy. But as we come to Exodus 37:9 today, my mind and heart are drawn beyond our need for mercy and salvation—which is huge, fundamental, and foundational. I was thinking about my need for mercy in my life today in fresh ways, ways that differ from yesterday.

Exodus 37:9 points to a God who invites us to receive mercy.

I think about God’s promise in his Word that his mercies are new every morning. I think about new circumstances in my life that create the need for new mercy—new challenges and new temptations that create the need for new mercy. I think about these in my own life and then in the lives of others who are listening.

Where do you need mercy today? Where do you need help from God? Where do you need his gracious hand to reach down and meet your need in a way that may be different from yesterday, a week ago, or a month ago? Every day we need mercy from God in Christ. It is what salvation is built on. We need the gospel every day—the good news that God has made a way for our sins to be covered. We need that every day.

But in special and unique ways, we also need mercy daily. So I encourage you to consider what is happening in your life right now. Where do you need mercy? Ask God for it. Come to him for it. That is the picture here in Exodus 37:9. His presence is pictured by the mercy seat.

Exodus 37:9 points to a God eager to shower compassion on his people.

So we pray: God, we are freshly in need today. I think about a couple of things going on in my children’s lives, and in my parenting as a result. I think about matters in my work that require wisdom. Or about needing physical mercy in a couple of specific ways. And I can only imagine, as others are praying right now, the specific needs for mercy in their lives—and in our lives together.

So, God, we pray for mercy right now in those specific ways. We come to you, and we praise you that we find mercy waiting for us in you. Help, strength, and grace are ready to shower down upon us. God, we receive it now. We need your mercy in our lives, in our marriages, in our families. We pray for your mercy in our churches. Have mercy, O God, in the specific ways that come to our minds—for our churches and for our communities.

God, have mercy in the communities and cities where we live. God, show—shower—your mercy.

A Prayer for the Nations and the Unreached

We pray for the nations; we pray for your mercy. Have mercy, O God, among unreached peoples who have yet to hear the gospel. Please rain down your mercy on them. Show mercy to them, O God. Do not let them continue without hearing the gospel.

God, we pray for your mercy—your mercy on the lost, on people around us who do not know Christ. We pray for new mercies today, and we praise you that we may do this today and tomorrow and the next day, and all day long—for we find mercy every time we come to you. All glory be to your name for your mercy. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.