Morning Prayers on 24th October 25; drawing reflections together from Psalm 88, Luke 18, and Mark 16:1:8
A Psalm of Shadows; Psalm 88
It ends, as it starts, not with thanks and praise, but with pain.
The writer feels abandoned, unheard, and overwhelmed.
Although the prayer is persistent, it seems to echo into emptiness. And yet—he (she) prays.
They cry out to the God of their salvation, even when salvation feels far away.
This psalm was written in a time before the Messiah had come.
The people of Israel lived in the tension of a promise and longing.
They believed in a coming Redeemer, but they had not yet seen Him.
Their prayers were shaped by hope deferred, by faith that waited in the dark.
Then, finally, Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, came to earth; Luke 18:1-9
In St Luke’s Gospel, we hear a parable of a widow who refuses to stop pleading for justice.
Her faith and persistence convinces even an unjust judge to listen to her.
Jesus said: ‘if she was heard, how much more will God hear all His other children who cry out day and night?
This is a shift in the Old Testament to the New Testament: from waiting to fulfillment.
From the silence of Psalm 88, to the assurance of Luke 18
Because Jesus has now revealed himself to the world.
He has walked through our suffering, carried our sorrows, and conquered death.
So today, we no longer pray into a void—we pray through a risen Savior, to God Almighty.
Mark 16 brings the dawn; Mark 16
The women come to the tomb expecting to find death, but they find an empty grave.
“He is risen,” the angel declares.
The silence of Psalm 88 is shattered.
The persistence of Luke 18 is vindicated.
The Messiah has not only come—He has overcome.
Mark’s Gospel ends with trembling and awe.
The women flee in fear, overwhelmed by the miracle.
It’s a reminder that resurrection is not just a comfort—it’s a confrontation.
It demands a response.
It calls us to move from fear to faith, from silence to proclamation;
Psalm 88 teaches us to pray in the dark.
Luke 18 teaches us to pray with persistence.
Mark 16 teaches us that the dawn has come.
Today, we live in the light of the resurrection.
But we still carry the memory of the night.
And so we continue to pray—honestly, persistently, hopefully.
Because the tomb is empty. And Jesus is alive.
And this is the promise made centuries before we were born,
and offers the hope that was promised in the opening chapters of the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15) to us today;
of a saviour who would come to bring peace and life eternal.
Prayers of Intercession:
Let us pray for the Church and for the world, and let us thank God for His goodness.
- For those who feel like Psalm 88—alone, unheard, and overwhelmed.
Lord, hear their prayer. - For those who persist in prayer like the widow in Luke 18.
Lord, strengthen their faith. - For those who stand at the edge of the empty tomb, unsure how to respond.
Lord, fill them with resurrection joy. - For the Church, that we may proclaim the risen Christ with boldness and compassion.
Lord, empower Your people. - For ourselves, that we may live as Easter people—honest in lament, persistent in prayer, and confident in hope.
Lord, transform our hearts.
