Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
– 2 Corinthians 1:3–4
Oh, what a beautiful couple of verses to start the book of 2 Corinthians. Think about this description of God. He’s the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies. Just think about that in your life today amidst whatever you’re walking through. God is the Father of Mercies. He’s the author of mercy, the giver of mercy, the dispenser of mercy. Every morning there are new mercies flowing to you from the Father of Mercies and the God of All Comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 Portrays God As Our Comforter
He is the God of comfort. A beautiful description of God that points to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, who Jesus calls The Comforter. You have The Comforter, capital C, living inside you as you walk through afflictions, hardship, and challenges. You know the God of All Comfort. The Comforter lives inside of you. He comforts us in all our affliction. Then watch this purpose clause. So God comforts us when we walk through affliction. That in and of itself is awesome.
Then you take it a step further. So that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction. So that we might become dispensers of comfort… That we might be comforters to others as they walk through affliction, just as we have been comforted by God. So that we are able to comfort those in affliction with the comfort with which we are comforted by God.
Just pause and think about affliction, challenges, pain, trials, and things you have walked through. And think about how God has brought comfort to you during those times. And praise him for being the Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort. Then intentionally consider how you can show that kind of comfort to other people. Let’s open our eyes today to people around us who were walking through affliction.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 Teaches Us We are to Comfort Others
This last Sunday, in our church, we had a time where we prayed over people who were facing challenges. It was a reminder to me as I heard stories of things people were walking through. You never know what people are walking through, or who you’re interacting with on a daily basis. So stop to ask how people are truly doing, to ask how you can pray for people, and look for opportunities to be a source of comfort to others as a reflection of the comfort God is to you as the overflow of The Comforter living inside you.
God, we praise you as the Father of Mercies and the God of All Comfort. God, we praise you that you are not distant from us when we walk through trial, challenges, that you are with us, for us. We praise you for the new mercies from your hand that greet us every single morning and especially for times when we walk through affliction for the comfort that you provide. All glory be to your name as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies, and the God of All Comfort, and we praise you Holy Spirit in us for being our Comforter. You’re not just giving us comfort but you’re filling us with your comfort that comes from you.
And, God, we pray that you would help us to be a reflection of that comfort to others in their affliction. God, we pray that today you would help us to be sensitive to others around us who are walking through challenges and you would help us to be a source of comfort to them in ways that point them to you and to the Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort that you are.
Prayer for the Jiasou People
Oh God, as we pray for unreached people, we pray today for the Jiasou people of East Asia, 40,000 strong bordering near Vietnam. Hardly any known followers of Jesus. Hardly any of them know you as the Father of Mercies and the God of All Comfort, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, had never even heard about the Lord Jesus Christ. God, we pray that the Jiasou people would be reached with your mercy and your comfort with the Gospel, that they might know you, that they might be comforted in their affliction.
Oh, God, help us to share the Gospel in our lives with the people around us today and with people around the world that they might know you as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies, and the God of All Comfort. We pray all this according to your word, which we love, in 2 Corinthians 1:3–4. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
