The Lord foils the plans of the nations;

    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever,

    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

    the people he chose for his inheritance.

13 From heaven the Lord looks down

    and sees all mankind;

14 from his dwelling-place he watches

    all who live on earth –

15 he who forms the hearts of all,

    who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;

    no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

    despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him

    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death

    and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the Lord;

    he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,

    for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

    even as we put our hope in you.

Lord God,

We join in praying today, asking that you will foil the plans of all those who plot evil and intend harm to others. Please will you thwart wicked motivations and actions. Bring back the Red Sea upon Pharaoh and his armies once again.

We pray especially, though not exclusively, for the Ukraine, and for the complete overthrow of evil in this dreadful war. We do so knowing that, in the end, all sin will be defeated and evicted from the world when Jesus returns.

While some trust in chariots and some in horses, our confidence is in the Name of the Lord our God, and we wait in happy hope for you to intervene and bring an end to all wars. We thank you that your eyes are on us. You are attentive to our cries, and you are able to deliver. Help us to be patient, and steadfast in trust.

We also bring to you our nation, the United Kingdom, on this morning where it appears so much of value is crumbling. Truth lies fallen in the streets. We arrogantly shake our fists at you, glorying in our shame and daring to call it pride. Forgive us Lord.Even in your church, too many have moved away from your Word and now preach another gospel. Oh Lord, how long? Have mercy on us. Turn us to you and we will be turned. Restore us; heal our land, though we do not deserve it. Restore order where there is chaos. By your Spirit breathe upon the embers of our Christian heritage and fan them into flame. We confess we have drifted far out to sea; we are now a long way from the safe shoreline of revealed truth. May righteousness yet exalt this nation, and cause us to be a nation under God. We pray for integrity, truthfulness, compassion, justice, and the fear of God in our land.

Through Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour, Amen.