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A Prayer for Being Gathered and Protected by Jesus

      O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not! Luke 13:34

     Dear Lord Jesus, of all the metaphors you used to help us understand your love and kindness, “mother hen” has to be the most surprising. And yet as I ponder the image, it profoundly endears you to my heart. It makes me want to know and worship you all the more.

     That you chose such a metaphor says much about the depths of your affection and the intensity of your engagement in our lives. It also reveals how fragile, vulnerable, and foolish we are as your “chicks”.

     Jesus, I praise you today for your ongoing commitment to gather me, because I am “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” Keep running after me, Jesus—when I drift naively or roam wantonly; when I run scared or am hiding in my pride; when I’m in the far country of self-indulgence, or in the near ghetto of my self-righteousness.

     Jesus, I praise you today that like a mother hen, you gather us and place us under your wings—next to your heart. There’s no place in history or the cosmos I’d rather be. You’re such a compassionate, kind, tender Savior. How foolish I am to think otherwise, even for a nanosecond.

    Though a nursing mother may even forget her suckling child (Isa. 49:15), you’ll never forget or forsake one of your chicks. Because the gospel is true and powerful, I live under the shelter of your wings. May the assurance of your love and protection, free me for a day of loving others as you love me. Give me your mercy and compassion, for friends and strangers alike. So very Amen I pray, in your great and gracious name.

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