⁵ The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, “Here’s the groom! Come to meet him!”

⁷ When the girls got up and started getting their lamps ready, ⁸ the foolish ones said to the others, “Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out.”

⁹ The girls who were wise answered, “There’s not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves.”

¹⁰ While the foolish girls were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The girls who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed. ¹¹ Later the other girls returned and shouted, “Sir, sir! Open the door for us!”

¹² But the groom replied, “I don’t even know you!”

¹³ So, my disciples, always be ready! You don’t know the day or the time when all this will happen.

Prayer

We know that history has been a sad course because of the fall of Adam and Eve, who were to serve You. Please instill in us anger over human history. The descendants of sinful Adam and Eve have continued until today with the inherited baggage of sin: driven, chased around, and suffering under hardships. Since You have responsibility as the Creator, and accordingly, can never forget them, You have been going through a historical course of toil to regain humankind, regardless of the age and time.

Please enable us to feel remorse over ourselves in such a position and to feel pain over Your having walked that path of infinite toil and suffering. Father, we eagerly hope and desire that You will give us the heart to feel shame together with You about who we are and anger over having inherited the sinful lineage of history.

We feel that the sinful character still remains in us. Our bodies are shackled in chains of sin. We are zealously waiting for You, merciful Father, to reveal Your power and ability. We are waiting to become true sons and daughters. We know that Your sorrow will deepen as You see sons and daughters fail, unable to cut off the barbed wire of sin, unable to sever the relationship with sin that invades them and fight.

You are longing for the one to appear who can open his mind and escape from the restriction of the body and call You “Father” with a new mind and body. Please help us be the sons and daughters who can say to You, “Father, please accept us, as we represent Your will.” We know that it is Your hope that such historical victors, sons and daughters who can win over the enemies and comfort Your anguished heart, will appear. We sincerely hope and desire now that You allow us to become such sons and daughters, calling You “our Father” from that position and comforting You.

Since we know that this is both Your hope and ours, please encourage us and lead us on to that place. Father, we eagerly hope and desire that through Your guidance we can become sons and daughters with a heart to hold onto Your hand of guidance and a desire to follow any path of hardship.

Father, please bless us today. Please come to us. Please remove all the darkness that is deeply seated in our minds and bodies, and let this be the day when we can be embraced in Your shining bosom. Father, we eagerly hope and desire this.

Please bless this nation and humankind. Please spread Your hand of compassion over the brothers and sisters who are bowing before You with lonely hearts. Enable them to regain the image of victors and to present it proudly. Lead this hour to be such that heaven and earth resonate and rejoice with worship and songs of praise. As we entrust You with everything from the beginning to the end, please rule over this hour. We pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.