23rd August 2026 Pentecost 13 Psalm 124:8

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.  A help that is there whenever we need it and ask the Lord for his help.  Yet how often do we delay asking the Lord for his help.  I remember the time of my Mother’s passing from this world.  It was the first really close family member that had passed from me.  I knew on my flight up to Cairns that she only had hours to live and saw and spoke to her before her passing.  It was a time of high emotion to me.  At some point I prayed to God asking for his comfort on myself and my family.  Two things happened after this time. Firstly I felt as if someone was standing beside me supporting and comforting me.  Secondly I had an urge to write, so I wrote my mother’s eulogy and a second piece which the Minister encouraged me to use as the coffin was being lowered into the ground.  During the time I spoke both the eulogy and the second piece again I felt that there was someone beside me – holding my hand.

So I go back to the question I started with “how often do we delay asking the Lord for his help?”.  The Lord is always there just waiting to help us in our time of need.  Perhaps next time you need the help of someone or something that you ask the Lord for his assistance – his assistance is always there and willingly provided to us.

Shirley Bowers

Lay Preacher