God’s Grace in Special Needs (2 Samuel 4:4)

In this episode of Pray the Word on 2 Samuel 4:4, David Platt illustrates God’s grace and mercy toward individuals with special needs.

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Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from radical dot net. 2 Samuel chapter 4, verse 4. Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. As soon as I read this story about Mephibosheth, I immediately think about families and children and teenagers and adults with special needs in my church family. And I'm overwhelmed, won by the wonder and beauty of God's grace in each of these individuals with special needs, who are all created fearfully and wonderfully by God in His image. And just to see God's unique grace in them and then in their families who care for them, and in church family who comes alongside those individuals and families, to see buddies on a Sunday morning, individually connected with one of these children or teenagers or adults to show God's love to them and programs throughout the week that do the same. And I just want to encourage us as the body of Christ to be a picture of the love of Christ, of the provision and help and grace and mercy of Jesus for those families and individuals with special needs around us. I want to pray that God would help us to be a reflection of his character, his love, and his help. So, God, we pray based on this picture of Mephibosheth and obviously so much more we could say about him in light of how this story plays out in the days to come in 2 Samuel. But we praise you for your grace amidst mercy and power on display in the middle of special needs. And we pray that you would help us to be a picture of your mercy in our lives, our families, our churches, to come alongside individuals and families with special needs and to be a picture of your care for them. So, God, right now we intercede for those individuals and their families. We pray for your strength over them. We pray for your grace over them. We pray for your help for them in every way they need. We pray for your patience, for your joy, for your peace, for your hope, for your rest. Oh God, we pray for your provision in every way they need. And we pray, oh God, that as your church, as followers of Jesus, that we would be faithful to reflect your love, your provision, your character, your help toward those around us in the church and so many who are far from the church. God, we pray you would help us to spread the good news of your grace and your mercy, of the dignity and beauty and value of every person made in your image and what you have done, Jesus, not just to die on the cross for our sins and to rise from the grave, but to give us all the hope of resurrection through faith in you, resurrected bodies with no more disabilities. Oh Jesus, we praise you that this fallen world and all of the effects of sin and suffering and death, we praise you this is not the end of the story. So, God, please help us to spread the gospel. And even as we think about praying for unreached people around the world, God, we pray for multitudes of unreached people who have special needs, who are walking through such challenges in this world and don't have the good news of your grace and your mercy and your love in Jesus. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel to all kinds of people. We pray for deaf people groups, God, for those who cannot hear, for the spread of the gospel in languages that they can understand through sign language, through every means possible. God, we pray for the spread of your grace and your mercy in a world filled with special needs, near us and far from us. Oh God, we praise you for your love for all of us and every need we have, specifically for those who have special needs in their lives or their families. And we pray that you would help us to be a reflection of your love in our lives and our families and our church families. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.