Main Thought:
This prayer from the central portion of Jeremiah expresses hope for the future. Although Israel is destroyed, God always remembers His children, and His heart yearns for us.
Jeremiah 31:17-20
There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
I have heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
bring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
For after I had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.
Prayer
Dear Father of all grace, let us receive Your discipline for our good, remembering Your great mercy and looking toward the end of our faith. Bring all who have wandered from Your presence and love back into Your tender care that Your people may live again in peace and harmony in Your kingdom. Amen.